Part 1) The Design process behind the Behemoth C-Beam desktop size Bridge milling machine
Openbuilds c-beam platform by Mark Carew was the inspiration behind my design so thanks guys and hopefully I can contribute back to the community with my build ideas. I finally decided to build my behemoth c-beam mid-2017, originally was going to build the Sphinx style moving gantry router 750×500 but during my Cad design process & planning I started to realise with my mods I had planned the extra weight would effects the machines quality (X axis was going to weigh over 20-30 kilos)
My end goal for this machine was to produce the good quality alloy parts so sacrificing build size for extra rigidity and easy of calibration was a no brainier, but I must admit if it wasn’t for Kyo Sphinx build I probably wouldn’t have started this venture so if you read this Kyo, thanks mate. So even though I had already ordered the parts for a sphinx build I went back to my cad software and started from scratch on a fixed Gantry design that soon turned into what I nicknamed the Behemoth C-Beam from its oversized pillar beams and mass of weight from all the epoxy granite + steel rods threw the pillars
Mocking up bridge with c-beam using some scrap 80160 profiles I had gave me the direction I wanted to go with my build
Above image was my 1st stage to my behemoth design but I went through subtle changes over the coming weeks. Frame design changed from using c-beams + 2080 to using 4080 profiles for extra strength and dampening effects from the larger profiles. I still plan to use the c-beams for xyz actuators paired up with genuine hiwin rails (MGW15H + HGW15C)
Final Design
The above image is where the project is headed and overall I’m pretty happy with all the changes. Though due to my design changes I’ll have enough spares to build another c-beam, mini mill or plasma table which could be a future project. 😉
http://diycnc.com.au/part-2-c-beam-cnc-rigidity-epoxy-filled-profilesbehemoth/