A lost camera, found again.

I have been working away the last few days without taking any pic's. So now, as I found my camera again, there is a bit of progress to be shown.
First here is a picture of the frame of the cutter itself. I was just laying it out to see the size and make a few decisions! Again the size being dictated by the belt length.(by the way, if you click any of the pictures, a larger sized slideshow should come up, nice!)

You can see the first of the X axis' supported rails here. The other is the gantry rail temporarily. I cut the box section with the bandsaw and finished it with the flycutter on the lathe. I really like the fly cutter, it such a lovely finish. Great for butt joints.

Below is the linear bearing and belt setup for the gantry. The "belt through the hole" idea is from the LightObject design. A nice space saving idea.

It allows gubbins to be directly above the bearing and belt. The clamping plate setup is the same as the gantry. One fixed and one adjustable.

In the picture above you can see the bolt holes for the motor mount and the access for the linear bearing bolts. Mine is off to the side a bit, due to the fact the I had to bolt the bearing and spacer on from above.
Here is a wide of the gantry minus the rail, motor etc.

Just tonight I finished drilling the 8, 22mm holes in the bearing blocks for the X axis belts. Each hole took 8  different sized drill bits. Spotter, centering bit, 4mm, 7mm 11mm 13mm 16mm 20mm 22mm. It makes it time consuming but the way the hole is still in the right place at the end makes worth while. More on that in the next post.

Good money for scrap metal

Here are some photos of progress!
Below is how the bottom frame will be held together. I am dubious about how good this method can be as there is no triangulation. The Aluminium here is box 50x50x3 and angle 80x80x8

 I'm not sure exactly how long the Y axis will be it is dictated by the length of the belts, plus whatever they are tied to, ie: the gantry.

 This is in no particular order, I'm kind of working on the whole thing at the same time. Its the way this has to happen as far as I can see. Every part has an effect on the other parts. Its messy!
Below is the gantry toothed pulley. 15 3m 24 size. That is to suit 15mm wide belt, 3mm pitch, 24 teeth.(thats a mouthful)

 I was out on a film shoot and I spotted the camera dolly was on round tracks, supported on a U channel, not a solid block. It must be stronger that I guessed. I used solid bar on my last supported rail effort for my CNC router.

 Here is the 1800 3m 15 belt from Polybelt in th US of all things this is dictating the size of my cutting area.

Its probably going to be under 900x900mm

Thats not the end of the world. Its also a floor space issue!

 There is the Y axis motor. Salvaged from an old photocopier, years ago! I drilled out the pully and pushed it on. It was drilled out on the lathe. I'll eventually put a grub screw into it.

 I'm really waiting for the linear bearings to arrive now. I don't want to do any work assuming they will match their description regarding tapped hole positions. C'mon China Post!