I have gotten a lot of requests asking, can this machine make a guitar? Alessandro created a 2nd generation CNC machine using this website as a guide and from the images he provided, I can say he was quite successful. Not only that, he also built his electronics from scratch and his wire management is absolutely fantastic. Read on...
As always, the Maker Faire was an awesome experience. There were makers from all over. All of the really great stuff was exhibited like engineering, crafts, sustainable technology, art and other interesting things that was conjured up by makers. Can you guess what my favorite part of the show was? Well... Fabrication, of course. Oh yeah, they were nice enough to slap on a couple of Editor's Choice ribbons (very very shameless plug). Read on...
I think it's about time to talk about lead screws. So, what is a lead screw that is always mentioned throughout this website. Lead screws also have all of these terminologies and esoteric language that I will demystify. Maybe you will also start to understand the math behind the linear motion and how different lead screws will provide various linear motion characteristics.
I receive a healthy dose of questions about end mills and which ones that I use. I usually respond with answers like, my end mill will probably differ from your end mill. So, what is this thing called an end mill anyhow. If you are new to CNC machining and routing, you may have never heard of the thing. I could imagine people googling something like, "CNC bits". Using the terminology "bit" is not all that incorrect. Bits are commonly referred to as drill bits, but routers use router bits. If you're looking to cut various metals and composites, end mills are the tools of choice. However, end mills will also work on wood, depending on the type of end mill selected. Read on...
I have put together a video tutorial of the entire process from drawing a part in CAD (Computer Assisted/Aided Design) to the final product that is cut out from the CNC machine. This three part series will step you through the design of a very simple object that uses drills and profiles. Drills are simply holes created from the end mill (router bit) into the material and profiles are horizontal cuts, usually in geometric form, that create various shapes. Read on and watch the videos...
I finally got around to creating step by step instructions on how to connect the stepping motors, drivers, power supplies, fan and computer. These videos detail the procedure for wiring the electronics combo for sale here. This may also show similar wiring schemes for other systems like Geckos. Read/View on...
This creative coupling solution comes from another generous user of the site (Marc K.). He has devised a way to couple the motor to the leadscrew with standard aluminum tubing. Marc has graciously allowed me to show you this creative idea. Read on...
I am extending the rights associated to the work I'm doing here. I have licensed my work and kits under the Creative Commons Attribution License. Since this is a machine that can replicate itself, I'm giving the users the right to be able to reproduce the machine and elements of the machine for non-commercial distribution. So, if you purchase or build the machine, you can improve upon the design and/or make reproductions of it and give it to others, but you must attribute the credit to this work and site. Click on the license to get more information.
This technique comes from one of the users of this site (Robert L). He has come up with a brilliant clamping idea. I get many emails asking, "how do you clamp your workpiece." I would often reply with the screw and wood scrap idea, but when I saw the method below, I knew this was the one to seriously consider. The historic reference is icing on the cake. When he talks about the moving to various positions, he is making reference to g-code. He specifies, assuming that you have zeroed out the correct position of the origin, that you move to x0 y0... and so on. You would read on...
If you enjoy the antics of the family chaotically trying to assembly the CNC Machine, or you just want to know how to do the assembly, watch the videos. My wife tries to do it, but I think she better at filming the process. :)
There have been a few requests for a demonstration of the new CNC Router Kit Ver. 1.2. Since I have been hard at work cutting out a bunch of CNC parts for shipping, I dusted off the camera and shot a bit of the CNC in action. The beginning of the video shows actual speed. The video is sped up so a majority of the cutting can be shown. Enjoy the video and as always, give me some feedback.
Update:
I've added a video to give a first look at the version 1.2 kit. I would like to thank all those that purchased the CNC kit during the development phase of the new expandable CNC router kit. Your patience is greatly appreciated and you will find that as I state below, the price you are paying is well worth the wait. Below, you will see a video of the progress of the machine. It is nearly completed and I can start on the next phase: production. Errata to the video: I state that the smaller kit has a routing area of 24" x 48" and the correction is that the x-axis actually has a longer routing area than 48" (approximately 51") due to the modular pieces being used.
After understanding the amount of work that goes into creating this CNC machine, the price points will be higher than previously stated. Read on...
So, what does a woodpecker do? It pecks, and the pecking is to bore a hole. It would be very difficult for a woodpecker to bore a hole in a tree with just one thrust into the tree. The same goes with machining various materials. I previously mentioned pecking in a previous page, but I think it's important to mention it with an example. Read on with video...
No, my son didn't build it, as much as he wanted to. That drill he is holding will soon be in a very deep hiding place. Thank goodness cordless drills are cheap! The new expandable CNC Router Machine is in the final phase of development and everything is fitting perfectly and sliding smoothly. In the image above, you will notice a few pieces to the CNC machine. I'm only showing about half of the pieces necessary to assemble the complete CNC. All of these parts are machined so the alignments will be to acceptable tolerances. You will also notice that the CNC machine's structure is beefed up. This machine is built like a house. Read on...
The Printed Circuit Board (PCB) finally arrived in the mail today. I can't believe it took so long, but I'm excited regardless. I spent about 4 days non-stop... Driving my wife and kids crazy designing this thing. It was so bad that when I got up from the continual sitting position, my back had some serious hurtin'. I fit 3 axes in an extremely small footprint. Not that I really had to work in such a confined space... I mean, I could have just purchased the Eagle license to work with a larger board area, right? The board is about half the size of a slice of bread. Yep, that's why it took me four days, and the signal routing was especially fun?!? Read on...
I have devised a CNC Router that is actually expandable, in a modular way. Does one even exist in this world? At this time, I'm offering pre-sales introductory prices for these units. The standard CNC router kit will also take on these same design features and they are offered also. Introductory prices will be $750 for the expandable CNC router that will have a routing area of 2'x4' expandable to a whopping 4'x8'. Yes, I said it right, routing area! The non-expandable CNC router with an actual routing area of 2'x4' has an introductory pre-sale price of $405.00. These prices are only available during this design phase to implementation (a price break for the expanded lead time, if you will). Once the kits are available, new purchasers will have to pay the regular price of $1050 (expandable) and $550 (non-expandable) respectively. See the kit in the sales page.
Hamburger? Not! ... Tasty? Absolutely not! ... Fulfilling and enjoyable? YES! Well, if your a fabricator junkie like me. This is the budget kit that replaces the MDF pieces with cut sheets and plans. These are my hand picked components and hardware for the perfect leap into this CNC process. You will also get the cut sheets and plans for cutting the necessary MDF pieces (including my easier and improved design). This is the perfect kit if you don't want the expense of shipping all of the MDF with the original kit read on...
It's the new year and the kit is ready to go! Check out that beautiful dust collector and vacuum attachment. When I turned this on and started cutting, my alergenic wife, in total shock, said "there's no dust!" I was confidently standing beside her in the "I told you so" mode.
The size of this kit, if purchased as standard, will travel 40" in the x direction, 20" in the y direction and 5" in the z direction. Other table sizes are possible upon request. The lead time for this kit is 7 to 10 days and read on...
Happy New Year!! Although the CNC structure kit is available, I'm still in prototype stage with the electronics. The driver design has changed slightly to take advantage of more power to enable a wider variety of stepper motors. The electronics will now be based on the L297 and L6304 combo and will drive bi-polar stepping motors up to a whopping 4 amps per phase. The driver circuit will be designed to drive three axes without the need for a breakout board. That is to say, you will only need one driver board that the parallel port will connect read on...
