Designs

| Introduction | Proposed | Actual |

Introduction
The Cubes are a fairly simple concept:
A frame of 12 equal length members made from 25 or 40mm T-Slot aluminum (for the smaller sizes) 8 corner connectors and 24 socket head cap screws.

25x600mm Cube Disassembled Assembled

Added to that is a group of parts in the base for the pallet mover (if required),
Another group for the "coupling" that creates an electrical, mechanical, and networking connection between two cubes,
and a motion control "package" to give the cube whatever machining, pick and place, rapid prototyping, or manipulation capabilities its designed for.
All these groups, together will form the individual machines that perform some step in a manufacturing process.

I like to think of each group of parts as a "module" that add specific capabilities to a cube...

3 axis Motion Module

Why 600mm?

Modular Coordination/Preferred Dimensions (ISO 2848) (wiki - metric foot)

The Cubes are based on 300mm module sizes, leading to 300mm cubes, 600mm cubes and so on.
This provides a standard metric framework that works well with imperial units as well.

Why Metric?
Really now!! This is a project FTW!
For U.S. users many fractional parts are "close enough" and typically cheaper, so the designs hope to accomodate what's readily available, while ensuring compatability between material variation in the designs and keeping to the principle of interoperability.

For other countries, I do not have a broad knowledge of the availablility of various T-slot types and specifications around the globe - feel free to adapt it to your local conditions.

Best not to get bogged down by small details, we are thinking animals - so we CAN make it work!

The image below is a System Concept for a Mill Module:
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The center cube is a mill/extruder cell.
Below and right of the Mill is a "Head Changer" to swap between the extruder and a simple mill spindle, on the center left is the frame for the a tool changer.
The lower frame to the left is for a tool setter to feed mounted tools to the tool changer and unmount them for sharpening.
The Dark grey/black rectangles are linear motors to manage the flow of pallets through this portion of the system and of course, the 3 octagonal pieces are the pallets that workpieces and thier fixtures will be mounted to...