CompositesWorld
Issue link: https://cw.epubxp.com/i/882089
45 CompositesWorld.com CFRP Gantry Components saw the advantages of a larger machine and replaced the second machine with a third machine. As I got bigger, the parts had to be stiffer, using more steel." By 2010, Bolfing was the owner and operator of Autoscale CNC LLC (Santa Clara, CA, US), busy providing contract CNC services and selling his own brand of all-steel CNC machines. Although he could market the versatility and flexibility of a larger CNC machine, the problem was speed — or a lack thereof — which was compounded by the conventional machine's dependence on its steel construction. "We were like a dog chasing its tail," he Illustration / Karl Reque Autoscale Monster cgr-series CNC Machining Gantry › Carbon fiber composite gantry yields weight savings of 90% compared to steel alternative. › Linear composites manufacturing process speeds production by eliminating welding and powder coating associated with steel alternative. › Lighter weight components on the y and z axes reduce cutting time by 50% compared to steel alternative, with no accuracy penalty. says. "As the [CNC] machines got bigger, they got heavier, and as they got heavier, they got slower." Having seen how well compos- ites had performed in windsurf board and kiteboard applications, Bolfing began to wonder if there was a place for carbon fiber composites in the fabrication of a CNC machine. Additionally, notes Bolfing, the all-steel CNC machines required extruded steel, which is expensive, as well as multiple high-skill processes — assembly, welding, powder coating. Each is costly and time-consuming, particularly in a skilled labor market as pricey as that in the San Francisco Bay Area, where Autoscale is Z-axis arm Z-axis carrier Y-axis gantry 174 inches 100.5 inches Z-axis rails 8- by 8-inch box beam 32- by 32-inch z-axis carrier Y-axis gantry mass, 350 lb/159 kg Servomotor Servomotors 8- by 8-inch box beam