Routermate
The Routermate was designed from the ground up with the sole purpose of routing in mind. It is available in sizes from 2 ’ x 4’ all the way up to 10’ x 40’ (sizes are cutting surface size). The Z-axis has a travel distance of up to 12 inches. To maintain rigidity the Z-axis bearings are located at the bottom of the axis plate, and do not move away from the material as the Z-axis moves up like most machines on the market today. The standard version of the Routermate is equipped with stepper motors, servos are available as an option. All drive systems are completely gear driven, with the exception of the Z-axis that is a recirculating ball screw drive. The Y and Z axes have 24 bearings each for linear rigidity, and the X-axis runs on 16 cam follower type bearings.
The Routermate is available in a complete bolt together kit. The bolt together option offers you the ease of assembling your table with basic hand tools. You may prefer our gantry kit option in which you can build your own table and just purchase the Routermate gantry (Y and Z axes). We can also provide the precision ground X-axis rails for mounting to your table. The gantry portion of the Routermate comes from our factory completely assembled if you choose the DIY kit. The DIY kit is a great economical way of saving on shipping dollars by assembling your table from locally purchased steel.
Table height adjustment brackets The Routermate’s table is adjustable in height from 6” to 34”. In addition each of the table cross slat brackets is adjustable left and right, allowing side clamping of larger parts. The cross slats can also be mounted vertically by adjusting the end brackets. This can be used to reduce deflection on heavier materials.
The table has additional independent vertical stops to allow one person to change the height. (A bottle jack would be necessary for lifting of larger tables) All the surfaces of the cross brackets are T-slotted for clamping work on any surface. Other table options include: flood and spray coolant, coolant capture/ return membrane for reusing coolant when a flood system is utilized, zoned vacuum table surfaces.
The Routermate’s Z-axis can accept various attachments. This is accomplished with the four mounting holes on the three quarter inch thick main plate.
If your needs are true 3-D routing, you will need to purchase either RhinoCAM or BobCAD-CAM for simultaneously moving all three axis.
Pictured here is the profile of a face cut using 3d routing.
This picture is a single pass cut, .100” deep, 10 inches per minute travel rate, made with our base DeWALT router motor and a spray mist coolant sprayer. The material is 6061 aluminum. The Z-axis for this cut was 7-1/2” extended.
Specifications
Machine Size
- 2’x4’ to 10’x40’
- 4’x8’ machines leaves 80”x132” footprint
Table Type
- Gantry kit or bolt together
Model Features
- Adjustable table height from 6” to 34”
- Rigid gantry capable of up to 400 lbs of down pressure for drilling applications
- Up to 12 inch stroke on z-axis
Standard Equipment
- Universal mounting plate accepts various attachments
- Leveling feet or anchor mount
Construction
- Reinforced extruded aluminum
- Z-axis/y-axis industrial linear motion components
- X-axis hardened needle bearing cam followers riding on ground steel rails
- 24 bearings on z-axis and y-axis
- 16 cam follower type bearings on x-axis
- Rail height 38”
Electronics/Motion System
- X-axis two 264 oz. in. motors with gearboxes
- Y- axis single 264 oz. in. motor with gearbox
- Z- axis single 264 oz. in. motor
- Electronics 2 amp half-stepping stepper motors
- Servo motors available
- Spindle motors available
User Controls
- PC based control software with USB interface
Weight
- Approximately 400 lbs. for 4’x8’ table
Input Power
- 15 amp/ 110 volt for controls
- 220 volt models available for international customers
Cutting Area
- 2’x4’ to 10’x40’
Cutting Capacity
- Tool dependent
Drive System
- Gear driven x-axis and y-axis and recirculating ball screw z-axis
- 10:1 low backlash gearboxes with rack and pinion drive system
Traverse Speed
- Up to 200 ipm with stepper motors
- Up to 1000 ipm with servo motors
Cut Speed
- Up to 150 ipm with stepper motors
- Up to 250 ipm with servo motors
Machine Resolution
- Approximately .0008” with stepper motors
- Approximately .0004” with servo motors
Available Plasma Units
Compatible with most plasma cutters
Thermal Dynamics
- Auto Cut Series
- Ultra Cut Series
- Manual Systems
- Cutmaster A Series
- Drag-Gun Plus
Hypertherm
- Powermax Series
Standard Software
- Torchmate Driver Software
- Accepts any .dxf or G-code
Available Software
Torchmate CAD
- Everything in CAD Lite plus nesting, scanning and hogging
Torchmate CAD Pro
- The Torchmate CAD program with additional advanced features such as advanced tool pathing for 3D routing
BobCAD-CAM
- In addition to being a full-blown computer assisted design program, BobCAD renders 2D images into three dimensional shpes. It then generates G-code to create the 3D pieces with Torchmate’s automated z-axis in conjunction with a router, roto-ZIP tool, engraver, etc.
Rhino 3D
- Create digital 3D models of your projects before you start the actual fabrication process. All parts fit together just as they would in a physical model. It is possible to rotate the model, zoom in to see the finest detail, and view its components model from the real thing.
RhinoCAM
- RhinoCAM is a general purpose machining program for the general machinist. RhinoCAM includes 2 ½ axis, 3 axis, 4 axis and 5 axis operations. This powerful package is ideal for mold, die and tooling, wood working rapid prototyping and general machining markets and generate G-code to be directly sent to the Torchmate machines. This product boasts of powerful toolpath generation strategies coupled with tools for efficiently controlling the cutting tool for detailed machining capabilities, while not sacrificing ease of use. It has all the basic functionality as well as additional features suitable for demanding users with sophisticated manufacturing requirements.
Computer Requirements
- Windows XP/Vista/’07
- 1 GHz processor
- 1 GB RAM
- 30 GB hard drive
Warranty
- Full 1 year warranty on electronics, parts, and software
- Lifetime unlimited free technical support
