Vericle shopbot

[hwd_woodworking]

has any one ever modified a shopbot to run in the verticle position similar to a verticle panel saw?
I was looking a a cnc that does do this but it runs around $35,000. Can it be done?

[ron brown]

I'm sure it can be done. It takes a LOT of time to prototype any tool. There are many things that must be considered and compensted for.

Good Luck,

Ron

[richards]

Changing from horizontal to vertical would create a number of interesting problems.

The forces on the rails would be substantially different if the machine were turned on its side, requiring different springs, hold-downs, bearings and load-bearing surfaces, if the machine were to operate effectively. Rotating everything 90-degrees means rotating the bearings and the bearing surfaces 90-degrees too.

Assuming that the Y-axis would be running vertically, you would have to compensate for the effect of gravity, meaning, I suppose that you would, at the very least, have to add a second Y-axis motor, and possibilly need to replace the motors with ones having more torque. (It might be possible to use a counter-weight to offset the effect of gravity - we use counter-weights to help with lens positioning in the photographic industry.)

If the machine were tilted 90 degrees, you would also have to modify the method of holding the material to the table. Gravity would allow any piece cut free to fall or slide downwards. It seems to me that a vacuum hold-down system would not be as effective, since the vacuum would have to hold both the weight of the material as well as holding the material stable against the cutting forces of the router/spindle, where normally gravity would help hold the material in place.

Mounting the router/spindle would require substantially heavier brackets to compensate for the effect of gravity to twist the router/spindle on its axis.

If those basic problems were addressed, and all of the other problems yet to be discovered, having a machine tilted 90 degrees would probably save two or three feet, depending on the model and Z-axis height.

It seems like a lot of effort to save two or three feet.