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MikeMa's CNC Build

19K views 60 replies 15 participants last post by  MikeMa 
#1 ·
So as I have alluded to in some other posts, I am in the process of build my own CNC. I started the process earlier in the year, and have spent much time planning and procure (as the budget allowed) the various components for the machine. I worked with a friend who designed and built his own CNC a number of years ago to design my machine.

The build got started in July when I assembled the frame for the gantry. From there I built the stand. So far the most time spent was making the bed. Which is a torsion box design made out of MDF. I went this route as the torsion box design is very strong, flat and stable, with the added benefit of the MDF being heavy, which makes a solid foundation for the machine, and to help dampen vibration.

Last night I reached the milestone where I successfully attached the gantry to the bed, and was able to (With ease!) move it back and forth. I posted a couple pics, and here is a link to a quick video of me moving it: https://www.instagram.com/p/BZAPFd_F4bv/

Materials used so far:
Plywood for the stand
MDF for the bed
8020 (30 series) extruded metal (size 6060 for the side rails, and the uprights for the gantry, 6030 for the rails of the gantry)
Linear Bearing Rails are SBR20
Lead screws are C7 Ballscrews
 

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#3 ·
So far it has been both! I have never done precision work with any metals till now, so that has been very educational. So far all my metal pieces were pre-cut. However, after ordering the wrong connectors, and re-ordering the right connectors, I had to precision drill some holes. The setup at the drill press took me longer than the actual drilling of the holes. Despite the fact I have been woodworking as serious hobby for over 8 years, and have made plenty of boxes, the torsion box pushed my woodworking skills more than I thought it would. I used some techniques I never used before, and took a lot of time, patience, and skill at the table saw to get the pieces and joinery cut exactly right.

I attached a couple pics, one shows the web structure of the torsion box, the other shows the setup I used to create a dead flat surface to assemble the torsion box on. The 2x4s were all jointed on one edge, and the sent through the planer on the opposite side. Using shims they were all leveled. Using a precision straight edge, I verified I had them flat.
 

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#8 ·
I plan on wiring the electronic components myself. In fact, that is something I have been starting researching is what to use as an enclosure. Maybe I am being cheap, but it seems like electronics enclosures in the size I need are very expensive! Right now, I am thinking about making a plywood box (with appropriate venting for fans!).
 
#16 ·
Have you seen the Maslow CNC 4' x 8' router? They were a successful Kickstarter campaign and sold as a kit for $500. They've made 750 so far with electronics & SW. I was an early backer and have received mine, so they're real. They're software and electronics are open source as well so it can be hacked. You may want to check it out here: Maslow and on KS
if they used a four wire system, the unit could be layed down, and also, be less susceptible to kickbacks.
 
#17 ·
I have made a little more progress on my build. I completed installing the lead screw for the bed axis. I made and glued brackets to the bottom of the bed to hold the mounting blocks for the screw. I drilled a hole in the center of the 8020 bar on the bottom of the gantry so that the screw can pass through it. I also fabricated a nut adapter out of aluminum plate so I could get the screw nut attached securely to the 8020. There were a few first for me on this, as I have never worked with a blank of any metal to make it into something useful. I have also never tapped screw threads either. I was able to get everything assembled, and tested it by attaching a battery powered drill to the screw, and was able to move the gantry back and forth with it.
 

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#42 ·
Out of curiosity... are you guys able to place (2) dual lead screws for the bed axis??
I ask because I saw some screw lead on each side with the gantry. It was dual X I
believe, just not sure which company had it. What would it do for you? beats me
just sounds cool. Maybe balloon could enlighten us or others?
 
#18 ·
Congratulations on your progress! I have been rooting for you as another intrepid DIY router builder, but realized I had not posted any encouragements to your build log. Don't be afraid of a simple wood box for your electronics - its what I did. I did add a plexiglas cover - it helps troubleshooting if you can see all the blinky lights inside!

My electronics were very simple, Ethernet Smoothstepper, Gecko 540 stepper driver, a 48V Power supply and a simple relay (which actually could be eliminated, but it works and was cheap).

Have you figured out what control software you will use?
 
#19 ·
@BalloonEngineer Thank you for your encouragement! While this project is one of my most challenging and complex projects, I have been having a LOT of fun building it.

I have been leaning towards a wood box as well as using a plexiglas cover, especially since I have more than enough from another project.

As for software, I am going to start out using LinuxCNC, largely because it is free, and seems well regarded. I do have a PC with parallel port on the motherboard, and I do have some working knowledge of using Linux. Since parallel ports are getting to be a rarity on PCs, I eventually will be adding a Smoothstepper, and switching to Mach 3 on a Windows machine.

For the CAD/CAM side, I plan on using Fusion360, which is also free for hobbyists. While it is used more for the 3D printers, it does work well with CNC Routers as well. As the budget allows, I do hope to get VCarve at some point.
 
#20 ·
Its true electronics enclosures are expensive but don’t forget they are for a reason, they are used by professionals. I build cnc as a hobby and I make my enclosures with 1/8” thick aluminum plates which my local supplier cuts to my dimensions.

Sometimes if I have to trim these plates I made a jig and along with my Skill Saw (with aluminum cut blade) I can cut these plates to what I want

The average size is about 20”x20”x12” deep but it depends what you want to put inside – you don’t want the enclosure to be crowded. To make for a nice looking job I always use DIN rails for all my connections plus wiring ducts to enclose all wiring.

Don’t forget you want to have 1 or 2 fans inside to help with the air circulation. I buy all my 22.5mm ON/OFF push buttons from eBay (hard to find because most are momentary switches)
 
#21 ·
@kolias, I do understand why they are expensive. I know they are typically all metal so that you can easily ground all the components. I am actually planning lining the bottom, where all the components will attach to, with aluminum. In my research I have seen the importance of good airflow, and I am planning on putting a good cooling fan in the enclosure. I think I have a good source on where I will be getting the power bottom for my control box. Thanks!
 
#22 ·
A quick progress update. I worked on attaching the lead screw for the X Axis on the gantry. The 8020 bar that holds the screw is set back on the gantry for two reasons. First, if it was lined up to the other two bars, I wasn't able to get the anchor fasteners tightened, and two, it does add it the overall rigidity of the gantry. So I ended up fabricating L brackets to extend up high enough so that the screw will be centered to the stepper, once it is mounted, but also so that the nut was below the level of the bearing guides. It took some tweaking to get it where I wanted it.

My next step is to start making a prototype of the Z Axis, out of MDF. This will help me work out any issues that I wasn't able to identify in my drawings, as well as allow me to order the exact amount of aluminum plate I will need.
 

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#23 ·
I'm looking forward to seeing the finished machine, especially how you approach the z axis.

If you're going to use a dedicated PC for running LinuxCNC, one without lots of extra hard drives and fancy graphics cards, you may have room for the motor drivers etc. in the same case. Either that or a separate PC enclosure. A local advert may produce an obsolete computer (with free dust!) for a few dollars who's case alone will be worth the investment.

Re parallel ports: Although these have dissapeared from the back of most new motherboards, many still include a parallel header on the motherboard itself. That old (but not THAT old) PC may be just the thing after all.

Kit
 
#24 ·
Thank you @Kitwn. I had considered using the PC case, or one of the many I have laying around in our basement, from previous PC builds. The PC I am going to use has a fairly compact case, so I wouldn't want to put much more into it for fear of blocking air flow.

I dd a quick search on new motherboards, and even the headers seemed to have disappeared, unless you look for a model that is a couple years old.

For me, LinuxCNC and the old PC I have is to get the machine running. The reality is I don't want to rely on the parallel port long term. I will eventually move to Mach3/4 and use a smooth stepper.
 
#25 ·
Mike,
My own machine is operated using a scrap PC, cheap Chinese breakout board and stepper drivers which were chosen on price partly because I wasn't sure I could build a working machine at all.
Now I have a router which has done useful work but has many mechanical flaws which are it's major weaknesses at present. Once I have the next upgrade completed I suspect performance will be primarily limited by the electronics so that's where the next round of improvements will be. I very much like the Smoothstepper concept, taking exact pulse timing out of the computer's hands has to be a good thing and driving/monitoring the router via an Ethernet cable from my main PC outside the dusty area will be more convenient and free up a small area of precious bench space in my tiny workshop.

Kit
 
#26 ·
@Kitwn
The nice thing is, you don't really need a high-end PC to run a CNC, just a dedicated one that isn't running too many other processes that could interrupt the pulses. I am going to make some small upgrades to the PC I am going to use, more for purposes of extending longevity as well to better stand up to the shop environment. My original plan for the steppers and electronics was to get a cheap Chinese set via eBay. However, Automation Technologies has a better kit for a little more money. The cost difference for me is worth it for buying from a company that I can contact easily if I have any issues.

As for any home built machines, I think there will always be opportunity to make improvements on them. We are probably never really done building them. :)
 
#27 ·
Mike,
A big part of the motivation for me to build a CNC router was the challenge of designing and building the machine itself, on a budget and using materials I could buy locally in a remote corner of WA or get online without crippling postage costs. Having got the move-things-with-stepper-motors bug from moving cameras about it was an obvious step.
I would never have just bought an OTS machine, where's the fun in that? (I do understand that many readers want a machine as a production tool, not as a project in itself).

Having made the router, you then have to find things to do with it...

https://vimeo.com/210020811
https://vimeo.com/224014481

Kit
 
#28 ·
@Kitwn 100% agree on the challenge of designing and building the machine, while keeping a reasonable budget! I have thoroughly enjoyed this project. And I am right there with you, part of that challenge is sourcing the material without breaking the bank. The next thing I have to source is the 1/2" thick aluminum plate for my Z axis and router mount.

Great work on those projects! They are beautifully done! Definitely gives me inspiration and motivation to get my machine up and running.
 
#29 ·
Made some more progress on the CNC this weekend. First the longer rails for the gantry I ordered arrived. I decided to get the longer rails after taking some measurements of the bed, gantry, and lead screw, and found that I would definitely benefit from a little large capacity. (About 2-3 inches mores) After getting those installed, I worked on making prototypes of the parts I will be making out of aluminum plate with MDF. Next steps, I need to source the ½” aluminum plate and fabricate the actual parts. Also, I need to finish the stand the CNC is on. I need to put the bottom shelf in place, and build a rack for the PC and control panel.
 

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#30 ·
Good progress! Have you figured out your final X, Y, and Z travels? Looks like a very useful size.

One thing about SBR rails is that you can alter the hole pattern, the aluminum support is easy to drill out. I replaced expensive to buy metric hardware with less expensive (and larger) inch sized hardware. If you choose to do this, you can separate the hardened steel rails by removing the Allen screws on back side (add a number on one end so you can keep rails and supports matched). At a minimum, I would remove the Allen screws, separate the rails, debur the holes in the aluminum supports and reinstall the screws with loctite. There were burrs on mine that kept rails from seating fully, and some were not very tight.

Richard
 
#31 ·
Thank you Richard!

The travel is approximately 27.5"x20.75"x8".

With exception to the bearing block screws, All my screws are standard units. I did drill out the mounting holes on the aluminum support to accept a 1/4" screw. I did pull the rails off the aluminum stands, and made sure all the screws were tight (like you, I found some were not).

I did order the aluminum plate that I will need to finish out the Z axis, so hopefully that will arrive soon. In the meantime, I am working on finishing out the stand with putting the bottom shelf in place, and making another shelf so that I can stack the PC and the control panel, with room between each to allow air flow.
 
#37 ·
I am not sure what software that difalkner used to create the electrical drawing, however I do agree he did a very nice job on it!
Hey Guys - @Gary Salisbury and @MikeMa - sorry, but I'm just now seeing this. I'm glad y'all like what I drew; it was fun to draw! I used CorelDraw X8 and drew from scratch, no templates or ready-made clipart. I mention this because some of what I drew may not be to any known standard.

David
 
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