Hi all,
I'm planning a gantry router build for machining composite panels into cabinet components. Looking for advice on machine choice and stack.
Material
- Sandwich panels: 1mm aluminium skins on both faces, polyurethane foam core
- Total thickness: ~60mm nominal, but varies ±1mm across a batch
- Panel size: up to 1500x3000mm
Parts and operations
- Cutting outlines
- Pockets and step joints on panel face
- V-scoring the aluminium skin to create precise fold lines (score-and-fold)
These operations require multiple tools in a single job (end mills for pockets and joints, V-bit for scoring), so automatic tool change (ATC) is a hard requirement.
The step joints are the critical operation: they create mechanical overlap between mating panels so cabinets assemble with tight joints.
A 1mm thickness variation in the stock translates directly into a gap.
Workflow
probing → generate Z map → process map (Python) → adjust G-code geometry (XY and Z) → send corrected G-code → machining
- Fusion 360 CAM produces nominal G-code
- Before cutting, I probe a grid of Z points across the panel surface
- A Python script reads the probe map and rewrites the G-code: step depths and joint profiles are adjusted to the actual measured local thickness — for both the panel being cut and its mating counterpart
- This is not just Z surface compensation: XY profiles are modified based on the probe map so that mating joints match regardless of thickness variation
Why LinuxCNC
- Workflow already tested with LinuxCNC + MESA cards (7i96/7i77) on an entry level router.
- Plan to use the Python socket interface for probe data collection and G-code rewriting — tight integration between probing and post-processing is central to the workflow
My questions
1. Are there manufacturers selling new gantry routers with these specs who ship with LinuxCNC, or sell mechanics separately from the controller?
- Working envelope: ~1600x3200mm
- HF spindle: 18k+ RPM
- Integrated vacuum table with independently switchable zones
- ATC (tool magazine or rack)
- Probe input
2. For a retrofit path: which used industrial gantry platforms have the best LinuxCNC community experience?
- Main concerns: ATC integration and vacuum zone management via MESA I/O
3. Any experience with probe-map-driven G-code modification beyond simple Z surface mapping?
- Currently planning G38.x + Python
- Is there a better pattern for this use case?
Thanks