My MPCNC frame has all come together. Everything fits. Motion is smooth.

After several days of printing several dozen plastic parts, cutting conduit, collecting hardware and waiting for my bearings to arrive, another moment of truth has been achieved. Ta-da!

As previously described, I attached the outer rails to the corner blocks, and then placed the roller assemblies on the outer rails. A bit of sanding was required to get the rails to fit nicely into the plastic parts. Then followed the construction of the complex middle assembly, which is comprised of seven plastic parts and twenty-four bearings. These are all held together with bolts. I will describe this middle assembly more fully in my next article.

Lastly, the Z mount and vertical pipes are required to complete the MPCNC frame. The Z mount and vertical pipes are what will hold the routing or milling tool, and move it up and down. The roller assemblies are used to move the tool along the X and Y axes.

Other than the 3D printer, the only tools needed to put the MPCNC frame together are wrenches and a screwdriver.

MPCNC Frame – snug but not tight

At this point in time, all of the hardware is snug but not tight. This is so for several reasons. First, you will need to take things apart. For example, you need to disconnect the outer rails to attach the roller assemblies. Then, you need to disconnect the inner rails to attach the middle assembly. Second, you want the combination of bearings and rails to self align. When everything is attached and rolling smoothly, it will be time to do a final tightening.

Probably I will do the final tightening when I mount the MPCNC frame onto the work table and square it up. In the meantime, there is a little bit of play as parts move around.

The next steps will include finalizing the vertical axis, then mounting the stepper motors.