1K Workshop

From Adam Colton
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The original goal a workshop for $1k. Now I'm pretty sure that's no where near feasible. But we can still setup a very powerful lab at a low(er) cost. See Vulcan Open Lab for current project.

The new goal is a modular, tech-tree workshop.

I would also like the pin the value at 140-person-hours at minimum wage, so that the costs can be adjusted over time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P14zJ2mkL8o

Look at

I think I'll name this project Cobl. I also want to build a suite of CAD/CAM software for it: Cobl Suite

Why

Part of the motivation is cost. And I expect that will be the most attractive aspect to many people. But the labor required will probably mean that it's actually more expensive at almost any income level.

There are some other things that make it more valuable. With a few revisions, I think this could have very high quality tools despite the low cost.

But most important, the user will understand the tools. They will know how they work, how they were built, how to service them. The process of building the workshop will give the user experience along the way.

Finally, the workshop will provide a standard unit. Users can share how they constructed things knowing that other users have access to the exact same set of tools. With automation, users can share not just the description but cnc files.

Tools

Unpowered Hand tools

  • Hammer
  • screwdriver ratchet bitdriver (like I have)
  • wrench
  • pliers
  • box cutter
  • measuring tape
  • square
  • clamps
  • sand paper
  • files

Powered Hand Tools

  • rotary tool
  • circular saw ???
  • hand drill
  • impact driver ???
  • orbital sander ???
  • plunge router ???

Table/Bench Tools

  • band saw
  • table router
  • belt sander
  • drill press
  • miter saw
  • table saw
  • jointer
  • planer
  • shopvac

And a work bench to work on and system to store everything.

For hand powered tools, I may be able to drop everything but the drill. I'd really like the keep the impact driver, but I may be able to do that with the drill. That really frees everything else up, because I can get a decent AC cord drill for less than $40.

Motor

Almost all plans require a large motor. Pneumatic motors are built by Gast and Speedaire. For pneumatic it looks like 1hp is about 30Nm of torque.

The Gast 4AM-NRV-92 might work for hand tools. It's just about the right size(4" wide, 4" diameter, 1.1" shaft). Also about $150.

The Gast 6AM line of pneumatic motors provide 4HP and generally go for $150-200.

I did find the motor armature for a circular saw. Actually, looking for "120V Armature" turned up a lot, and they're pretty cheap. Now I just need to figure out what the stator looks like. It looks like this one matches the previous one. It's just called a "field". The set looks like they cost about $120 together, with a little poking around, I can probably find something workable in the $80 range.

So either way, it looks like something around $300 for power systems.

Another option is to use a plunge router as the powerhouse (at least for the smaller tools). They run anywhere from $90 to $220 (for what we're looking for).

One more option, just use the large motor, and use a Bowden cable as the transmission to hand tools. For something like a circular saw that can jam, it might be worth adding a transmission. Finding torque ratings seems difficult though. It doesn't seem like you can just buy the type I would be most interested in. It may be possible to construct one though, steel cable for the center, wrapped in nylon (to reduce friction) and use a hydraulic hose as the outside. It looks like the best bet is to step up the RPM really high for transmission, then step them back down and use a small transmission.

A 6.5HP 4 stroke gas engine is around $125. But that brings in issue of ventilation and the speed would be very difficult to control.

For electric motors, look at the Grizzly H5388 (3HP) or H5390 (5HP), approximately $350 / $400. Actually, we should limit electric motors to 2HP. Most homes run 20A circuits which can only handle 3HP. Add lights and a few things, and we'll blow a circuit.

Small electric motors:

  • RS 555 or 550 seems to be common for drills.
    • TC683LG: this one looks good

but it's hard to get solid numbers on their strength. Above 100W is probably good, that's about 5.5 amps @ 18V

As I'm looking at this, I'm coming back around to compressed air approach. It can provide much higher power until the tank is depleted.

Motor Builds

Parts

  • Hammer $6
  • screwdriver + bit set $24
  • wrench $5
  • pliers set $12
  • box cutter $8
  • measuring tape $10
  • square $9

Total: $74

Powered Hand Tools

  • circular saw blade $15
  • drill chuck $15
  • router chuck $15

total $45

Table/Bench Tools

  • band saw blade $10
  • sanding belt $10
  • jointer cutter head $50
  • trash can (for shop vac) $30

total $100

Electronics

  • soldering iron: ~50
  • multi-meter: ~20
  • breadboard2: 3x$2

total: $100

Kiln

  • refractory cement: $45
  • kiln element: $10

total: $55

grand total: $369

So between the must-haves and the power plant, it's almost at $600. The remaining $400 gets spent on wood, cement, screws, bearings and the various metal framing pieces.

Bootstrapping

One of the challenges is that there will be a limited number of tools to start with, and the order building up is important.

We can use some creative solutions to get around this - a plunge router can be used as a saw.

It also would be with in the rules to rent tools. But need to keep timing in mind, if someone was trying to replicate this, they may not go as fast.

CNC Centered Build

I could drop the jointer and planar and add a cnc program.

Electronics Lab

Cheap solder station build: need to bootstrap, probably build this on a breadboard, use the breadboard version to solder a permanent model, then fine tune that

Tools

  • soldering station
  • wire cutter / stripper
  • laser printer
  • Atmega programmer

Parts

  • wire
  • solder
  • desolder braid

Small CNC

Something like homofaciens build. Threaded rod, linear guides. X and Y are low and ride on weight bearing rails. The tool grip can be exchanged for either a router (rotary tool) or a printer. This can then be used to print a collection of pieces that fit together into different hand power tools. A handle and trigger, a motor body, a drill chuck, an impact driver chuck. I can also print a gears so each tool runs at the correct speed.

Motors

A drill motor will be the small motor, a router motor will be the large motor. Router motors go up to 3HP.

Forge

Use an electric kiln element as the heat source, refractory cement for the walls. It will only be good for aluminum, but that's still really useful. I may be able to get enough control to use it for reflow soldering.

A small forge can easily work with aluminum. I can use the small CNC machine to cast wax pieces, do a plaster mold then cast aluminum. The larger machine can be built up from smaller aluminum pieces. For common pieces, I can cut molds from steel and they'll be reusable.

One route this opens up is that it may be possible to build a ~3hp pneumatic motor and drive it from a cheaper air compressor. Compressor would cost around $150.

Big CNC

A larger (and hopefully better) CNC will come next. I think it should be 5-axis. A classic 3-axis, plus the ability for the large motor to rotate, though it may be better to have that be manual process, and simply mount the motor in a balanced position.

The larger CNC can act as any number of machines. With almost no alterations, it can act as a drill press with manual controls. It can also act as a manual mill or router (though inverted). By turning it sideways and attaching a circular saw blade, it could act as miter saw (and a very precise one). If the blade attachment is flat, it could be use as a two-pass saw mill. If the gantry can drop below the table, it could be used as a table saw, this feature would also allow for a more traditional router table. Swap out the blade for a wheel and we can run it as a bandsaw.

It should also have a vacuum bed, those are really cool.

Electronics Parts

  • AVR chips
  • 555
  • op amps
  • resistors
    • resistor pack
    • 10K tie downs
  • capacitors
  • inductors
  • push buttons
  • wire
    • solid core (bread board size)
    • stranded
    • tinned
  • perf board
  • copper clad board
  • LEDs
  • diodes
    • rectifier
    • zener
  • transistors
    • bjt
    • mosfet (to-220)

That should give a solid start to any project.

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