I've been looking for but not finding, a portable benchtop/table sized
pantograph machine primarily for engraving or manually milling small parts
from a pattern.
I probably wouldn't be needing a workpiece coverage of over 4x4", and not
particularly powerful.. something a Dremel or Foredom handpiece could
handle.
Materials will likely be limited to thin brass, aluminum, wood and plastic..
with maybe only 2 square inches of actual work area, and nothing as detailed
as circuit boards or complex large rosettes.
What I've found so far are router accessory add-ons for sign making, and
those would be overkill for the small parts I have in mind.
I don't want a CNC solution, just a manually positioned cutter which follows
the handheld stylus.. with the increase-decrease size feature of a
pantograph.
I've got high-speed motors and spindles so something more substantial than a
plastic toy would probably meet my purpose.
Thanks,
If you haven't already set your heart on building, how about one of
these?
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I have one that's collecting dust. The spindle bearings are iffy, and
I don't have as many accessories, but wouldn't expect to get $200.
Maybe half that, or an interesting trade. Email me if you have any
interest, or if you just want some pics of the construction details.
I didn't see them arrive Steve, but there is a munge in my address, the
XSPAM part.
Apologies for your wasted time, but if you'd care to resend the plans, I'd
be interested in seeing them.
Thanks,
Got 'em now Steve.. thanks for resending them.
They're really cool plans for two similar versions and although the
fabrication materials used are wood, the same parts can be fabricated from
common metal stock. There are a lot of choices for improvising various
details.
Either of the projects would be suitable for making/duplicating small parts,
and molds, which I hadn't considered.
These plan sets would be perfect/completely adequate for what I had in mind.
Thank you, very much appreciated
No problem. I built the carving pantograph one a few years ago. With
good cutter bits you can do quite a lot of things.
One thing to keep in mind is that the stylus shape means a lot. I made a
few different ones following the shapes of
the cutters used.
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