DIY Milling Machine Part 1: The base and concrete parts

1. Thanks for all the suggestions in the comments. I decided to scrape the surfaces and everything looks fine so far. There will be a video about that soon 🙂

2. How did you manage to get good and true holes on drill press without cross table? I could never get serious precision on drill press.

3. uses multi million dollar 5axis machine. LMAO

4. Hi Allex, would you like to Share the the drawing of this project!! We can try to learn something! Please..

5. Where did you buy the rails?

6. Nice "diy" with professional tools.

7. Why you had this problem when you machined all surfaces in one clamping ? This should not be happening ?

8. Hi Alex, very impressive project! I am building one soon, i am finishing my CAD file. Can you tell me what aggregate you used, like what size of sand and in which mixing ration ? Thanks !

9. Hello Alex, I'm currently designing a cnc gantry mill with the sole purpose of machining steel and aluminum. Roughly a 20" x 20" x 10" machining envelope. I will use concrete like you to add mass and rigidity. I really like your cnc machine do you have a design of it?
   My biggest worry is will my gantry be rigid enough. I am thinking of sharing my design now for collaboration from other builders. Did you collaborate with others to fine tune your design? Great job on the mill and thanks for sharing…
   Mike – Plus8Precision

10. Why concrete instead of epoxy granite?

11. omg you used a MASSIVE 5 axis mill to make this LMAO

12. Scrapping steel is a massive undertaking grinding is your only feasible option

13. remove the linear rails, have the bottom of the rails machined in a way that will correct for the discrepancy? Or add a block of steel between the body of the machine and the rail and have this machined to correct for the twist instead of having the entire block machined.. this way you don't have to take the whole concrete slab to the big milling machine again. What you think?

14. Hi! Thank you for VERY interesting videos!! I did need to see them to trust that tis kind project is possible to do bt one man, thank you again!! Where did you find those linear bars? I cannot find these from anywhere, please help me..!!

15. Thanks for sharing your lessons learn, I plan to build my own machine soon and your video is a good help.
    The problem with casting with wooden forms like plywood, is that the pressure of fresh concrete can move your parts, wood is compressible and easily warp.
    The better way as a lesson learn you can use rigid form like steel plate reinforced by steel rods and nuts in betweens. Epoxy grout is also better alternative and can pour slowly by layer to reduce pressure.

16. Very impressive build! What is the linear rail size on all Y, X and Z-axis? I understood the square profile is 50×50 so the rails must be 35mm? Also what is the brand of the rails.

17. Awesome project. Would you mind to share the link where to buy the linear rails like your or their specs? I can't find them in this size. Thanks a lot.

18. Hi, What kind of shirt is that and where can I get one? I love it!

    Also I feel your pain on the email thing. I feel if I used my company email that I would get a better response, but it seems that companies dont want to deal with people who dont have a company email :(. Its a shame too. I was looking for cast iron and wanted to get quotes.

19. great video! i've start getting the materials together for my build in australia 🙂

    thanks for the insights

20. It would be nice if you explained why you used UHPC rather than epoxy granite. Which is better in terms of accuracy in the long run for a precision CNC machine?

21. The angle you put under the z travel is not necessary

22. Can you give some information where you bought your UHPC? myuhpc or durcrete?
    Did you think about shrinkage over time? UHPC tends to do this unless it's been annealed (48h at 90°C)

    Very nice project!

23. What size linear rails are you using?

24. Hi Alex! I have question regarding thermal expansion: Is there potential problem with combining UHPC concrete with steel parts (or is it cast iron?) in it? Something like a "bimetal" effect? Thanks! Milan.

25. Hi Alex. Can you tell me exactly where you got Nanodur cement from and how much it cost? Same with the additive used in the recipe. Thanks.

26. Guess no mineral concrete for these? And not precision ground but milled?

27. Hello. Congratulations on your work. Can you tell us what brand of linear rails did you put on your machine ?

28. They can't steal it, that's for sure! 🙂

29. Lass es sein!!!! Bleib deiner Muttersprache treu

30. Achei uma ideia excelente usar concreto comum para a base da máquina. É barato, relativamente fácil, mas o concreto não é ruim pra absorver vibrações? E o concreto quando curado não contrai, deixando as partes chumbadas com uma brecha? São dúvidas que eu queria tirar, pois tenho interesse em fazer como você fez, mas tenho estás dúvidas. Muito obrigado, e agradeceria mais ainda se vc pudesse me responder, obrigado.

31. I've seen several videos! but I can't know what kind of concrete or epoxy is used because nobody shows them in detail, and what about sand? and cement?

32. Hello, awesome project. I would appreciate if you are be able to share with recipe of epoxy granite and which resin did you. I look forward to hearing from you.

33. Hi Alex. Great build so far, following along on YouTube and on Instagram.
    Just a question, I have been thinking. Of doing a cnc with epoxy granite, but after seeing your build, thought that the concrete route might be a cheaper route seeing that epoxy is very expensive. Just wondering how you were able to get the mixture for the concrete to have the right strength for what you are using It for. Also is it a special type of concrete or can I use the 52N concrete for the mix?
    Anyway. Hope you can help.
    Cheers.

34. Awesome project Alex! Can you please tell me the manufacturer of the concrete you used for the base?

35. Hi Alex , love your project, saw the title and thought you were building something to mill concrete 😂, I have never thought of this idea of an actual concrete machine , what is the reason for choosing concrete ?

36. You can correct the error by CNC program

37. Great work Alex, what type of concrete you use, and what are its technical specs
    Thanks, 👍

38. Hi, is concrete dimensionally stable enough for such purpose? I know it shrinks during the curring process, but don't know for how long. Maybe this is the reason of warping? Many use epoxy granite for CNC bases, as it is maybe superior material, but I suppose it's too expensive for such big machine.

39. Yes, scraping! Always the best solution. You will be an expert by the time you get that all square 😀

40. give stl format

41. Nice project Alex. I look forward to seeing it progress.
    Forgive me if this has already been asked but what concrete have you used? I've been researching how ordinary portland cement corrodes steel and your remarks about how it "flows" tells me this isn't just any old concrete 🙂

42. Impressive build! Have you considered using steel filled machine epoxy such as DWH to set the linear rails on to achieve perfect accuracy? This could be a good solution for you and much faster than scrapping…. All the best.

43. Can't wait to see the next video. Great job. Scraping really isn't that difficult, just time consuming.

44. The best thing I heard from you in this video is "I won't give up". 👍

45. Another possibility if the two surfaces are close to flat would be to lap them in. You can get large old cast iron laps for not too much money on ebay, and use it across both surfaces at once to even out the twist. Just start with a more aggressive grit lapping fluid to move more material

Comments are closed.