big_jack wrote:Thank’s . I do have a touch screen installed at the end of my workbench but îm sure going to look at a way to control the gantry and be able to ajust the router on the corners of my pieces to set everything to zero.
....to adjust the router on the corners...., For work in wood where initial starting accuracy of +/-0.010" is okay, I added a drill-press laser cross-hairs mounted around the spindle. You can see it with the red knobs in the photo above. Otherwise, I use the mechanical wobbler / clicker style and electronic LED edge-finders fitted in the spindle chuck and spun <1K RPM (!) when working in metal.
If you are thinking about getting away from the router*, when you buy the VFD (variable frequency drive), check to see if the faceplate will come off. On the one I have, it does! And, it takes a simple cat-5 ethernet cable to extend it where ever. You can see I mounted that on/off/speed control on the left side-panel of the gantry. They often don't really mention it except tucked away in the manuals. That way, you can set the speed to 0.1K RPM resolution, you know it's spot on, and you can change it easily from the sidelines if things are going too fast/slow to make a good cut. Here's the one I'm using:
https://www.automationtechnologiesinc.c ... vfd-2-2kw/
If you're sticking with the router, and it doesn't have a digital speed control, I love the $13 no-contact, optical tachometer from Amazon or elsewhere. They're awesome because you can see the real RPM you're working at, which gets more important the finer accuracy you're going for
.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077D3MKK3
Cheers!
Thom
* I won't pressure you, but moving from router to spindle is a HUGE improvement. Far quieter, much more accurate, less chips blowing everywhere from the downdraft, no brushes to wear out ever, replaceable standard-sized bearings, and so on. In fact, if you dig into that variable-frequency-drive (VFD, a fancy AC power-supply. Something of an expensive wall-wart that takes 220VAC
) user manual, you might find you can move the max frequency up to get 30, 36, even 60K RPM. Now you can run a 1/32" end-mill in aluminum at the proper spindle speed! Indeed, the real speed that even an 1/8" bit wants in aluminum is in the 33-36K range...a bit beyond your average router
. Anyway, it's a key upgrade you'll be happy every day you use it. But, you didn't hear it from me
.