December 31, 2014
Description
It's important to have a well supported linear rail system if you ever intend to cut through thick metal using your CNC mill. It's unfortunate that professionally made bearings can be so pricey.
Several makers in the past have come up with great ways to machine their own homemade railing from the 1/2" steel rods you find at hardware stores, but so far no one has yet attempted to make their own bearings, at least to my knowledge.
I've designed a jig you can print out in order to do so. The jig can be wrapped around a 1" aluminum cube, allowing guide holes to be drilled for the screws and bushing.
To make an entire CNC machine, you'll need 12 of these. This translates to approximately 1 foot of 1" aluminum bar stock. You can find this available on amazon for less than the cost of a single 4 pack of bearings.
License:
Creative Commons - Attribution - Share Alike