Hey Guys,
I have a CNC now but would like to build a Root Lite CNC. I have a table and enclosure and would like to build the largest unit I can in that footprint. When looking at the sizing guide it gives the work area and the ball screws and metal needed but not the overall footprint, is there a good way to know how much over the metal tube value the extra overhang is for mounting the motors and other parts so it will fit in the enclosure?
This is something I tried to figure out for my build, not because of a pre-existing enclosure but for space constraints and to get the right size for the base plate.
I’m still building mine so unfortunately, I don’t have a real response for you!
You basically have two tools to estimate the overall size.
The Baseboard mounting hole location you can find in the tool section of the site:
with this, you can calculate where the 4 mounts will be located
you can then use the dxf of the baseboard you find in the github page to see how much Pete added on the sides for his build and try by looking at the videos if there are parts (mainly the x and y motors) that are protruding out of the baseboard.
You can also use some math and the build guide to help you
Also the ballscrews are made on 50mm increments, so maybe you can select the smaller step in case of dubts.
Also maybe giving us the size of your enclosure could help us helping you.
I can help you with some measurement
taking the box section as a base, for the x axis you have
on the left:
side panel(12mm) + 55mm motor mount + motor length (in my case 46mm, I’ll round this up to 50)
so 117mm on the left side
on the right:
side panel (12mm) + Y carriage (50mm)
so 62mm
the total footprint in the x axis would then be:
179mm + the x box length
For the Y axis I can estimate, as there could be something I can’t see until the build is complete
on the front side you have the front Y box mount, it’s 35mm with the box section that goes inside for about 20mm, so it adds 15mm to the overall size
on the rear side you have the motor mount bolted to another Y box mount. I can take a measure, but it’s not mounted yet on my build, so maybe add some mm for errors.
The back of the motor mount should be 40mm past the end of the box section, to this you should add the motor length (rounded to 50mm in my case)
so the total overall length on the Y direction should be:
15mm + box section length + 40mm + motor length
so in my case it’s:
105mm + box section length
I’m still building mine, so I can’t say if the y carriage moving front/back can go past these limits. It seems that there should be enough space but I can’t guarantee!
Thank you very much that is fantastic, I really appreciate the insights on sizing.
I would like to be around 1000mm on X (total width) and 930mm on Y (total depth) but the enclosure is about 1300mm wide by 1250 deep overall.
Jesse
ok… at that sizes I think you’re around the limit, consider if it would be better in terms of rigidity to build a root 4 instead of the root 4 lite.
Also at that size for a lite I would strongly encourage you to use steel box sections instead of aluminum ones!
@Pete @sailorpete (don’t know which one is the right one to mention) would be surely better to give you advice about the standard/lite choice for your size.
Okay thank you I will take a look at the Root 4, I was just going by the calculator but now that I look at I can see what you are saying about rigidity at those sizes.
I was just hoping to re-use the Nema 17’s I have but maybe its time to just bite the bullet and do a full upgrade.