I have a few questions on the baseplate as supplied with the machine . My apologies if my questions are basic, its my first CNC (but not my first mill)
The baseplate appears smaller than the travel area of the spindle by quite a bit, why was it not made larger, or at least as large as the travel of the spindle? Surfacing should not be an issue as long as it fits inside the travel envelope.
Is the idea for workholding is the vice pallet can be mounted on the baseplate and can be cantilevered out beyond the baseplate if the items are large, ie the work is not restricted to the size of the baseplate?
Can the baseplate be replaced if needed given it’s cemented and epoxied in?
you must have saw the last video where he decked it? i wondered the same thing lol. seems like it could be 2" larger. I am also kinda surprised that it comes predrilled vs drilling it with the mill once its all setup.
The baseplate measures 20.0625 in the X direction and 20.25 in the Y direction. Nominal XY travel of the machine is 23" x 21.8". So yes the travel envelope is marginally larger than baseplate.
The reason boils down to what we were able to source as far as material size and thickness goes and weighing the benefits relative to the costs.
We drill and tap the baseplates as a convenience to our customers- since these plates are already being drilled/c’bored for the anchor bolts, doing the tooling holes was a relatively minor cost increase.
Yes the baseplates are replaceable since the anchors are left embedded in the concrete and the baseplates secure via bolts. If you are installing the epoxy kit and believe you may want to remove the baseplates later, i would recommend applying mold release to the exterior surfaces of the baseplates so that the epoxy doesn’t bond to the aluminum. This will make removal easier in the future.
Lastly, if you order additional baseplates from us, they will be identical to the originals. You may be required to walk around the outside of the baseplates with the end mill to take .020-.030" off so that they drop into the cavities left behind by the removal of the original baseplates.
Thanks - that helps understand it. I might also put a release agent on the underside of the plate as well so the binding to the concrete is not as strong. I have had to chip concrete off aluminum before, it can really stick. I doubt if that will affect the stability of the plate since it’s locked into a tight hole.
I suppose if the piece being machined is bigger than the plate you will need to rely on pallets to extend the work holding out beyond the baseplate. I know the workpiece envelope is 31" x 37" and I might have some pieces that may use almost all that space (even if the machining is contained in a much smaller area).
You can also use housewrap tape - Tyvek makes it but there are others. You can get it at the big box stores. I don’t know how long mold release will stay effective vs potentially evaporating off, but the tape isn’t going to go anywhere.