I Finally Bought A MicroRouter

All info relating to the Denford MicroRouter and MicroRouter Pro CNC Routers

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bxproject
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun 23 Jan , 2022 21:16 pm
Hardware/Software: Denford Microrouter V3
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I Finally Bought A MicroRouter

Post by bxproject » Sun 10 Apr , 2022 16:30 pm

A long time ago, while I was still in "high school", there was a Denford MircoRouter.

I suspect that's how this CNC journey starts for a lot of people, only in my case, students weren't allowed to use it. I suspect this is partly because it was brand new and even the staff didn't know how to use it.

For several years I've been enjoying 3D printing, and while I've had some great results, it's always felt like a stopgap to making 'proper' parts. At the start of the year, I was on eBay generally looking for anything with 'CNC' in the title and came across a tidy looking MicroRouter. The earlier type with the big black side case with all the electronics.
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After a short drive with the trailer, and bit of help lifting, I had this beast loaded on.
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One of the attractions of this particular router is that it seemed complete. It included some tooling and a variety of clamps, even dust extraction adapters and some hand tools (Allen keys and the like)
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The only notable problem I've found so far was the gas struts had failed, well one of them at least. The giveaway was the puddle of oil in the bottom of the housing. I spoke to the UK agent of the original manufacturer (ACE Gas Springs), and against the part number, they give me a hideous price.
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Instead, I opted for a generic/adjustable off the shelf set of struts from Camloc through the RS website. The set of struts was less than a single strut from ACE. I've tuned the opening pressure, its probably a little high, but they work very well.
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While I've struggled to find the time to do much with the router, I'm yet to find any issues and it all works as it should. I've done some basics 2D modelling/engraving which went ok in OSB, although this is far from the best material. More recently, I've figured out how to get Fusion 360 to create the tool paths and export the FNC file which is giving some good '3D' results in MDF.

It's still a huge learning curve, but the advice, tips and hints on this board have been invaluable. So I thought I'd say 'hi' and thanks to all those who have contributed in the past!

Vanny

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