Starting Out in CNC Part 3 - New Nutblocks! [Video #321]

After my little hiccup in Part 2 brought the #CNC build to an early pause, I crack on with my replacement nut blocks to complete the mechanical build of my #Ooznest #Workbee CNC. This is an ongoing build and the rest of this series will come through as they're available, or as the stages are completed. Enjoy!

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[Cradley]

I think you are getting there Peter, nice one Mate !!!

[karlpopewoodcraft]

So glad your putting yourself through this for us Peter. Maybe one day ill have one, not for a long time yet though.

[ooznest]

Thanks for the Peter, and very inventive method on changing out the nut blocks. We do admit changing these post assembly can be a bit of a pain. Also apologies for the faulty nut blocks the first time round, but glad you got the replacements quickly. We look forward to seeing what you can do with the machine.

[AshcraftFraming]

I've just ordered mine so looking forward to following

[BischBaschBosch]

Have to say Peter, not so much a well done for sticking with it and solving the problem, but recognising there was a problem in the first place. Good little series this. Can't wait to see how you get on. All the best mate.

[keithstanley]

Congrats for sticking with it!!! I would suggest that at some point you get a Pencil size piece of doweling and fit a magnet into the end, it would have helped with those washers and shims. I know I would have been lost without mine when I built my machine.

[stevereed]

I think I'll wait and buy a secondhand one, i'd lose the will to live putting that together. You have the patience of a saint. I really hope you make some money from whatever you use it for, as you'll need to make up for all those lost hours. Keep up the great work

[thewoodworker]

My hands were sweating just watching lol Great job Peter.

[HobbyPrints]

I am looking forward to seeing you produce some very handy jigs and perhaps some interesting solutions for cabinetry challenges.

[frankslittleworkshop]

Well done.. very fiddly.. been there.. done that. I like the "sticky stick" idea. Looks like the kind of thing you put down on the bench.... and find it two days later... stuck to the cat 😂😂. The lead screws look a lot better than my belt drive setup.. I think I should convert. Keep up the good work 👍.

[MrLovblad]

I was just about to mention that you should use small neodymium magnets on the head of the screws when fitting the shims. You usually can turn the screw with your fingers a few turn to attach it and the remove the magnets to use the screwdriver. Also I would have used a magnet on the the rod to catch the shims when loosening the blocks. As always, nice video 👍

[northotagogolf]

Hello Peter... a clip from my Openbuilds blog.


The nut blocks…mmm. The current nut blocks appear to be of a design that is used in some other applications which I know nothing of. They have counterbores which a 5mm low-profile screw fits nicely into. The problem is, however, the nut block counterbores are redundant on the Workbee (and others?) and are used differently. They are normally fitted with a small spacer and precision shim between the nut blocks and the plates. The issue is, because of the counterbores, the precision shim or indeed the spacer has only about 0.5mm of metal surrounding the edge of the hole – not a firm foundation for the block at all. I removed the shims and spacers and made some 4mm plastic nut block size spacers to fit the entire back of the block. Much better, a solid foundation for the blocks and they cost virtually nothing.


It's time these old style nut blocks were purged!

[SMee]

Well that looked like a right royal pain in the arse!
Done and dusted though, happy to hear it's operating smoothly. 👌
Itching to see what you get up to with this new bad boy... 😎
Good job, mate. 👍

[negotiableaffections]

So, some previous engineering savvy required? Surely the Ooznest, people don't go through all that to install the blocks? I hope they're finding your videos as enlightening as we are. Keep at it, Peter, it is afterall sold as a kit, so we're keen to see how that works out. [check your frustration 'chip' at the door?]

[SudburyDave]

If you thread the stop collar and bearing on the acme rod as you passed it through the left had side plate, you could of avoided taking the stepper motor off. Well done for fitting the new nut blocks without taking the X plates of the machine.
I have a Workbee and am well pleased with it, hope you will be with yours.

[coleve]

I watch A few bloggers like yourself and many of them fit the cnc under their worktop on extended heavy lift drawer runner brackets that allow them to fully pull out.

[Mrfreezeee]

Better be careful where you put that sticky stick Peter, lol

[HDwoat]

Hi, I have seen a few videos now of people assembling the workabee, the issue with the threaded blocks seems to be a fairly common occurrence. I mentioned it to the guys when I was at makers central but they seemed to be more of a mind to just send out replacements rather than deal with quality control. Seems a bit of a shame.

[daviemaclean]

Wow! That wasn't fiddly and irritating at all! ;-) Can't help thinking some pre-assembly (by the manufacturer) wouldn't go amiss?

[bobuk]

Hi Folks. So, there was the problem. Now, a word of warning. These were 'just' threaded leadscrew nuts that needed replacing. No big deal with a local supplier, and American companies also tend to have a very good customer care ethos. Bit of a worry if from the far East! You may find though that some manufacturers have used ball nuts. These contain an 'endless' run of small ball bearings. Do not just take such nuts off the threaded shaft. All those ball bearings will fall out. You will probably never find them all and even if you do re-assembly is, shall I say, a bit tricky. Read the instructions carefully about how to remove them. A retainer has to be slipped in as the threaded shaft is withdrawn. The same thing applies if you actually have to put ball nuts on the lead screw shaft yourself. Do not just pull that retainer out. Let the shaft push it out as you run the nut on, and keep it safe, you may need it one day. Ball nuts, for those interested, have much less friction and wear out much, much more slowly and so stay more accurate for longer and don't suffer anything like as much from backlash. That level of precision - 0.01 mm or better - is not really needed in this application. They are, of course, also a lot more expensive. BobUK.