Sneak Peek: A Totally New CNC Machine (In Pipe!)
I'm back and I have a treat for you. I have been doing a lot of tinkering lately (yup, that's why!). I cannot get the mechanical aspect of CNCs out of my system, so until then, enjoy the crazy concoctions.
Today, I'm offering a sneak peek to what I've been working on for the past two weeks. It is possible to build this CNC within a weekend, if you have all of the correct parts. In addition, manual cutting and power tools are at a minimum. So far, the only major tool that I've used is a hack saw to cut-off some threaded rod (very simple). With the vast selection of pipe sizes, the scalability for this CNC machine is great. I have also been recording the build on video... again. Read on...
8 comments:
That is one nasty, MEAN looking machine. I can't wait to see how it progresses.
Thanks Stewie! It's a fun build.
more pics!!!
This is exactly the type of build I was looking for! Simple, strong and precise! Can't wait of the instructional details on this one!
After playing around with some 1" galvanized I had laying around I can see a potentially big problem trying to design with it. I tried to create two sections using 2 12" long pipes and a union that were "EXACTLY" the same length. Let me dfine "EXACTLY" a bit. I mean within a 1/16" tolerance in length. While I could do it, the problem arose that I had to loosen the threads on one section to match the length of the other that I had tightened as tight as I could get it. I could get within that 1/16" tolerance, but the thread i loosened was too loose. if I then loosened the other section a bit and tightened this one, it was acceptable. I'm not saying it can't be done, just be prepared to do a lot of finagling to achieve equal lengths. even just creating the two long "X axis" rails as depicted in the picture was a pain in the arse. Just food for thought...
Thanks Les for the "heads-up". I have not precisely measured the resultant assembly, but I know exactly what you are talking about. Some of the connections that I made can loosen pretty easily. That is why I bought epoxy. I must have been lucky with the z-axis since it lines-up pretty well and glides very smoothly. A good pipe wrench should be used to get those pipes tight.
Hello,
This is a very simple and effective design. I would like to know how you handeld with the transmission. Maybe you have some sketches and don't mind sharing them. Thanks a lot.
great job!! but... works?? do you have more info about this? i'll try to do it.
un trabajo muy ingenioso, veo si lo pongo en practica.
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