RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] How naive am I?

First off your idea is not beyond reach and is realistic.

Torchmate is actually at the low end price spectrum for a CNC plasma cutting
system. This is not to say that it doesn't seem expensive, but I don't know
of much for less unless you roll your own. I have a friend that has a
Torchmate and while it is great for a plasma cutter or oxy-acetylene and I
am not sure how it would work for a drill and I definitely don't think it
would work with a router. The concern with a drill is that it is not
designed to hold the gantry down and the gantry arm may lift as the drill is
pressed down. For a router my concern would be that the gantry is only
driven on one side and is likely to flex back quite a bit under load.

There are a number of people on the list who are/have built gantry style CNC
machines and I am sure they can help you out.

Tim
[Denver, CO]

> -----Original Message-----
>
>
> I am joining this group to find out how difficult it would be to
> build a CNC router/plasma cutting table. My application is geared
> towards homebuilt aircraft. My goal would be to accurately cut
> aluminum sheet to size and drill holes for rivets, and perhaps even
> to deburr and dimple the holes too. One of the most time consuming
> task of building an all-metal airplane is measuring and drilling the
> some 20,000 rivet holes. I am looking at multi function table that
> would be able to handle a plasma cutter and router. My design
> inspiration is the Torchmate table but this design seems somewhat
> expensive to me. Any thoughts? Thanks.
>
>
> Addresses:
> FAQ: http://www.ktmarketing.com/faq.html
> FILES: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO/files/