I'm building my own CNC machine

[crashwg]

Following (mostly) Jim's book that he posted about, I'm going to try my hand a building a CNC machine.

The book is extremely informative and combined with the forums they have (RIGHT HERE in case you are wondering)  I thing I should be able to get this done with not much trouble.

I will warn you all now that this will most certainly be a slow build.  In order to keep the wife from blowing a gasket things will have to be purchased a little at a time.

So here's what I've done so far:

I picked up a 4x8 sheet of MDF that the Home Depot employee was so kind to cut into 4 pieces for me.  For some reason one of the pieces seems to be warping much more than the others.  I am going to try and cut the smallest pieces of the CNC from that piece.

I started to lay out the cuts today and even did a little cutting which sucked very much since the wind chill was below zero today.  Unfortunately I screwed some stuff up so I'm abandoning the straight edge and circular saw to use my father-in-law's table saw on Sunday.

I've ordered:  Bearings for the bearing rail assemblies and for the lead screws.  The couplings to join the lead screws to the motors.  The "cross dowels" and some hex head bolts to go into them.  The plans of course call for pan head machine screws but I like the idea of being able to crank down on the bolts which is something that might be a problem with the philips heads.

I have spent $135

[bigpete405]

That's going to be one of the coolest projects  . Ive been thinking about taking my cabinet to a shop with a cnc machine to make one the absolutely flawless. I can't wait to see your progress post pics of progress please when your ready. 

[Silas (son of Silas)]

This is on my radar for next year. I am in the process of trying to find a different job in order to work closer to where I live in order to free up some 'me time' for stuff like this.

I'll be following your progress with great interest, good luck!

[mountain]

Good luck with this. I built mine a year ago and must say it is the most satisfying project to date. However, it is also the most frustrating. I don't know how many times I have thrown my hands up and slammed the garage door behind me in disgust! There is a learning curve for sure, the build is the easy part. Have fun! 

[fredster]

That is a cool project.

How much do you think it will cost to do all that?

[crashwg]

Jim (the books author) claims it can be done for less than $800 and some other people who have built it have reported doing it for less than $700.  I'm hoping to keep it as cheap as possible of course.

[Santoro]

Whaoa.

*Santoro watches this space*

[crashwg]

I got a chance to use the in-law's table saw this weekend.  Now all the pieces are cut to width.  He didn't have the t-square for the table saw so I'll be going back over there next weekend at which time he will have borrowed his boss' compound miter saw which should make short work of cutting everything to length.

[DennisInMN]

Nice.  Like others, I am watching this build with great anticipation.  I've watched the videos up on their site and like mountain said, it looks like building it isn't too terribly difficult.  But then again, those pro golfers make that game look easy too.   

[melarky]

Me and my brother-in-law made a cnc machine a few years back (http://melarky.com/?page_id=351), it's been great (really is a fun project to build and even funner to use after it's built).  Someone just asked me where we got all of our CNC info and parts and I sent him an e-mail, I'll post the contents here in case it can help anyone else as well:

http://www.cnczone.com/ - The forums here is where you'll probably want to start.  Just go register (it's free) and cruise around, the people here are friendly and there is tons of good advice and tips etc...  It's been a while since I checked on this site for plans, but when I was looking before, there was a user named Joe that had popular diy plans for a wood machine, called something like "Joes 2006 Design" or something like that.

http://www.mcmaster.com/ - I'm sure you know about these guys already, but this is where we got much of our linear motion stuff (ball screws, pillow blocks, couplers, etc...).  Pretty spendy, but you can't beat their quality.  Also, our original (and expensive) couplers from mcmastercarr pooped out on us.  We didn't line our rods and motors up quite close enough that it created quite a bit of wear and tare on the couplers and they ultimately didn't hold up.  My cousin who made a machine as well found some couplers at some industrial place close to his house (he's up in Canada so I don't know the name of it).  He said the place sold tractors and such, and they just had them in stock, he sent us those and they have held up WAY better.  Doesn't show any wear and have run them much harder than the others.

http://igus.com/ - We tried some linear motion stuff from these guys (they had some ceramic bearings, the pillow blocks were metal, but the inserts instead of being ball bearing were ceramic tiles kind of, sounded great in theory, but we have since replaced them with ball bearings, the ceramic worked great if the rods were greased, but the sawdust created by the machine would land on the grease and soak it up, so the bearings would stutter too much, ball bearings just need to be cleaned out every once in a while when they get packed with crud, but run much smoother).  We also got some cable carriers and stuff like that to clean the machine up from these guys, but not a total necessity.

http://www.vxb.com/ - We got our hardened steel rods from these guys, and I think we may have gotten some other linear motion stuff from them (possibly some pillowblocks etc...).  They have been fine, no complaints.  I think I found them through ebay, so I was a little unsure, but if I recall, they shipped quickly and their stuff has been good.

http://www.hobbycnc.com/ - This is the place where we got our first board and motor kit, it was good high quality with good documentation, we just quickly outgrew it. There site is different now and it looks like their offering is better now, but just click on their "CNC Packages" link and they have board/motor combos there.  I see they sell plans for router tables there, but I wouldn't bother if it were me, that cnczone.com site has tons of plans for free and they are probably comparable.

http://www.vectric.com/ - This is the software that I mostly use to create my g-code, just can't beat the simplicity of their stuff, I really like it.  My bro-in-law used to work as a machinist and knows mastercam really well, but has almost completely switched over to this software now (unless he needs something super accurate, but even still, you can do accurate machining with the vcarve stuff).  I haven't used their new "Aspire" software, we use the suite of programs V-carve, Photo V-carve, and 3DCut.

http://www.machsupport.com/ - This is the site for the controller software that we are using.  We have the Mach3 software (we started with Mach2, worked great, but Mach3 is much nicer).  They have other options out there, but this was a nice economical option that just works well.  You'll obviously need a computer to run this on.

http://www.homeshopcnc.com/ - This is where we ended up getting out bigger stepper motors.  They also sell the geckodriver boards through their shop, and by themselves they about the same as everywhere else, but I contacted the guy before we purchased and got him to throw us a deal for buying the driver boards and motors all at the same time (I don't think he gave us a huge discount, but it was still better than no discount).  The motors have been rock solid and we've been very happy with them.

http://2linc.com/ - This is a nice place to get bits.  They have both end mills and v bits, and we have gotten both from them.  They have great prices, ship quickly, and the quality has been good.  The 1/8" bits are cheaper, and so I tend to like those more (plus you can fit your parts closer together on your tool paths with a smaller bit).  Just need to have a rotozip adapter.

http://www.amazon.com/Roto-Zip-Roto-Zip-Chuck-Adapter/dp/B0000TIFOY - This is the 1/4" to 1/8" adapter mentioned in the section above.  I would just go to Lowes and pick it up though, I don't remember how much it was, but I don't think it was much (maybe a little more than the site, but no shipping etc...).  It works awesome and has helped a ton.

http://mtm.cba.mit.edu/machines/mtm_az/index.html - just saw this on a blog, kind of on the small side, but he gives you all of the needed materials plus the DXF or shopbot files to cut your machine out (fun desktop sized machine).

[crashwg]

First picture!

Here's pieces A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S cut to their proper widths but not to length as I explained three posts up.

Pieces T,U,V,W,X were not cut because they were not on the cut grouping layout in the book like I had assumed they were. Y and Z are what the X-axis table consists of and measure 24x49.  Yep, I said 49...  For those who don't work with MDF a whole lot, it comes in a standard size of 49x97 (1 inch over 4x8 in each direction) because, well I don't really know for sure but I would assume to have something to cut off when the edges are damaged in shipping.

Sunday I will hopefully be cutting every piece A-X to it's finished dimension.  After that I'll have to get my hands on a 45° chamfering bit for my router to move much further.  Harbor Freight has one for less than a dollar believe it or not but the shipping is something like six dollars so that's kinda frustrating.  I'll have to find some additional stuff to make the shipping worth it.

[hyiu]

any update on this project ?
 

I'm thinking about one.... although I would like to build one that can handle a 4 x 8 if possible....

[crashwg]

Cash flow issues.    Will be a month or two before I can make any more purchases...

[crashwg]

Like I said, this project is going to take a while!  It's actually taking a bit longer (at least between updates) than I had originally hoped but c'est la vie.

In the first picture you'll see all the tools I've bought specifically for this project.  Costing nearly $100 for the lot of it, it is certainly adding it's cost to the project.  Fortunately it's all stuff that I would have liked to buy eventually although I probably would not have bought a 'SKIL' brand router bit nor the single 7/16ths drill bit that cost $7.77.

The second picture is an overview of the state of the project.  Yep, it's standing on it's own two legs, hooray!

The third picture highlights the profile of the edges of the table.  As you can see, there is a 45° chamfer on the top and the bottom to make a 90° for the aluminum angle (resting on the table) to fit against.  Soon it will be bolted on and will act as the rails for the gantry ride in the X-Axis.  It will look something like the fourth picture which is just me (and the wall) holding the aluminum angle on.

Funny story about the aluminum angle.  Well maybe not funny so much as a ridiculous example of how much you pay for the convenience of a big box store...  Following the book, the table's dimensions are 49" long because MDF comes oversized and you might as well get all the travel you can get out of the thing right?  So I made it that way.  Then I head out to get the aluminum angle from Home Depot and wouldn't you know, the only size they have it in is an 8 ft length.  So if I cut that in half, I'll get 2 - 48" pieces leaving a half inch on each end not covered by the aluminum which wouldn't be the end of the world but I had already drilled the holes that will attach the aluminum to the MDF and they would be right at the tips of the aluminum and I figured that wouldn't work so well.  Did I mention the aluminum was $30?  So the other option from HD was two pieces for $60!  Calling on my days as a purchasing agent for a company that worked in metal, I called up the local supplier and asked for a quote.  They said they couldn't sell me just the two 49" pieces but I would have to buy a whole 20 ft stick and they'd cut off the pieces I need and I would take them and the "drop."  Price, $30!  So now I've got the pieces I need plus a ~12 ft leftover.  Maybe the next revision will have a 6 ft table?!?

The last picture is of the Y-Axis (bottom), the Y-Axis reinforcement (with the holes) which will be bolted to the Y-Axis, and the Z-Axis on top.  As you'll notice, there's some more chamferred edges for some aluminum angle.  I'll be calling up my local metal supplier when I get to that part (it's a different size of aluminum angle.)

Oh yea, and I picked up the first piece of the dust collection system...  While I was out looking for the forstner bits that I ultimately bought at Lowes, I couldn't resist the 50% off of the shop vac that I picked up at Sears.  It's from Sears' new "evolv" line and it's a fairly small one at only 9 gallon capacity and 8.2A but I think it'll get the job done once I put a cyclonic separator in line with it.  Heck, it was only $30 so worst case scenario it will be used for cleaning the car...  It's also helping me keep the "play room" clean while I'm working on this project.  You see, I friggin hate bringing projects in and out of the apartment all the time so I set up shop in my children's play room and put a closed sign on the door for a couple weeks.  I drill a few holes then vacuum up, drill a few more...  You get it.  It takes a bit longer but I'm checking measurements ten times before I drill a hole anyway so in the scheme of things it's not taking too much longer.

So don't be surprised if there's no more updates for a month or so.  Money is tight (heck I sold my bass guitar to afford the progress I made these past weeks.)  Believe me, nobody wants this project to be done sooner.  As much fun as it is to build it, I'm looking forward to a time when it helps me build instead.

[crashwg]

To anyone who was looking forward to the completion of this project I'm sorry it's been taking so long.  Believe me, no one wants it done sooner than myself.

This "update" could have been posted a few months ago but wasn't/isn't all that important of an update.

I found the brains to the CNC machine sitting next to a dumpster.  If I had to guess why it was there I'd go with the power supply being switched to 240v and the original owner (a recent refugee immigrant judging by the pictures I found on the HDD) couldn't figure out why it wouldn't work.

I don't remember the specs off the top of my head but it's something under 1ghz with 256megs or less of ram.  Everything was working right after I switched the power supply back to 120v and a fresh install of TinyXP handles pretty well.

I installed the Mach3 and ran a test on the system and it passed with flying colors so I think I should do alright with it.

I'm not sure it would have passed the test without it's new paint job though, what do you think?

[crashwg]

A more recent update (just started today as a matter of fact) is that I'm building it's home in a closet in my bedroom.  Boy is the wife excited!

Here's the current state of that part of the project.

Construction is 2x3s with 3" screws holding everything together.  I plan on lining the top of the joists with some foam before installing the deck to attempt to isolate sound as much as possible.

As you can see I wasted no time filling in the space under the shelf and even putting most of the CNC machine's parts on the unfinished shelf.

I plan on getting most of what's missing of the project with my tax return so hopefully updates will come quicker in the months to come!

[crashwg]

I received the electronics today.  This was by far the largest purchase that will have been made to complete this project.  The total (incl. $27 shipping) was $433!

I've set up a little test area on my kitchen table and connected everything as it should be only I'm only using 1 motor (and motor controller) and I'm keeping the wires short seeing as though this is only a test...

As far as I can tell everything is working as it should.  When I plug it all in the stepper motor jumps a tiny bit and then holds strong so that I cannot turn it manually.

Unfortunately I'm a complete idiot and I cut one end off of the parallel cable I bought from Goodwill a couple months back.  I don't know why I thought I needed to wire that manually but whatever, I guess I'll have to keep my eyes out for another!

Here's a pic of my test setup.  From left to right, power supply - breakout board - stepper motor driver - stepper motor

p.s.
Sorry about the picture quality.  I can't seem to find the camera so I used the webcam on my netbook...

[Woodshop Flunky]

I know you're already buying, but for others that might be looking at building their own...

I converted my Sherline mill to CNC using a 3 axis kit from http://www.xylotex.com/.  Mine is several years old, but I have been very pleased with the results.

For doing full sheets of ply or MDF, my coworker and I have been looking at http://www.mechmate.com/.  Lots of VERY cool Mechmates have been built.

[crashwg]

The total is now $649 in parts.  I believe the total for the tools I've had to purchase is still about $90.  I still have to get a router ($100 +/-) and the lead screws which are just going to be 1/2" threaded rod for now.  I think I'll be up and running with that.

A couple things that are planned but not essential are an enclosure for the electronics and a cyclonic separator.

[crashwg]

Things are coming together now, albeit not as fast as I would like.  I had a couple days to work on this and have made some progress.  I'm working on it in a relative's woodshop that is not very well organized so that has significantly slowed things down.  Add to that not having a few things I needed requiring me to make some trips to the hardware store and you'll understand why I'm a little frustrated.  Oh and my wife just told me she needs the car today so I can't work on it right now! 

Anyway, here's what it looked like before I left last night.  It now can be pushed in the X-axis and goes rather smoothly I might add.  The Y-axis is next.  Currently it's just held there with a clamp but it too travels nicely.  I'm getting excited!  Provided nobody snipes the parallel cable I currently winning on ebay I think I'll have movement in two weeks or so!

[Yvan256]

Provided nobody snipes the parallel cable I currently winning on ebay I think I'll have movement in two weeks or so!

If not, there's always Monoprice (I picked a DB25 M/F cable at random, search Monoprice if that's not what you need).

[crashwg]

I got the parallel port cable today and here's the first test!  I still only have the one stepper hooked up.  The stepper "hisses" when power is applied and I'm waiting on verification that that's normal before I hook up any more.

[crashwg]

I got the confirmation that the noise I was hearing is normal so I went ahead and hooked up the other two steppers.  Here's a video of me running my very first G-Code on the electronics!

[crashwg]

For those more interested in the non-electronics, here's the current state of the table.

[Woodshop Flunky]

I love the sounds!  It's looking great!

[amendonz]

wow!

awesome project! 

sorry if i missed this part, but what ya gonna build when it's done???

[crashwg]

what ya gonna build when it's done???

I have plans to build a couple bar top arcade machines, a fancy wooden sign and some holiday decorations so far.  I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to producing G-Code though so who knows how long it will be before I produce anything!

[crashwg]

I'm almost done!

So I've been able to put in a respectable amount of time on this project lately and have made some good progress.  The "mechanics" would have been complete tonight if I had remembered to pick up some bolts that I need on the way home.    All that's left to do is attach the motors to the lead-screws and wiring for it to be a functioning CNC machine!

To be honest I have mixed emotions on coming to an end with this project.  The closer I get to completing it the more I dislike the design.  There is definitely room for improvement, that's for sure.  Hopefully it will be accurate enough to use to cut the parts for my second go.  Yep, already thinking about upgrading!    Don't tell my wife.  

Here's the current state of affairs.

[DaOld Man]

Looks good!
I gotta make one now..

[Rick]

Looks awesome!  Even though I purchased a CarveWright recently, I'm already planning for my CNC machine.  I'm planning a large footprint system - with a cutting area of 48" x 96" - and judging by the interest in your project, I'll be certain to post it up here as well!

I really like the way everything came together!  Congratulations.

[javeryh]

This is really cool.

[restless1]

Crash did you put any grease or lubricant on the lead screw?

[johnd23]

@crashwg - i plan on building one sometime in the near future, what dont you like about the design of yours?

[crashwg]

Crash did you put any grease or lubricant on the lead screw?

Yes, Du Pont - Teflon - Multi-Use - Dry, Wax Lubricant

@crashwg - i plan on building one sometime in the near future, what dont you like about the design of yours?

The only adjustment you can make to most of the machine is "cut a little more off" and "add a washer as a spacer."  The dowel nuts have an off-center hole which causes them to crush the MDF on one side when you tighten them.  The nuts on the lead-screws are attached in a way that when you tighten them the bolts/nuts that hold them in place get in the way of the lead screw.  I'm sure I could think if more...

[crashwg]

The stepper motors are now attached and after extending the wires with what I had lying around I officially have a working CNC machine!

Once the hardware was buttoned up a little software configuration was in store and after an oversight of a misplaced decimal all seems to be working as designed.  The first thing I cut was a square by manually inputting the coordinates into the CAM software.  After that I opened one of the files that come with Mach3 which is a 2D Roadrunner design.  For some reason the code stopped mid way which has not been solved as of right now.  Here's the usual videos and pictures:

[restless1]

Crash if you are using the demo version of mach3 it will only do 500 lines of gcode....
heres a picture of the small and large machines i am working on..
had to stop for the winter sorry about the junk in the garage..

[crashwg]

Crash if you are using the demo version of mach3 it will only do 500 lines of gcode....

I was thinking that might be the case although I would have expected some sort of popup window saying "hey dummy, if you want to finish your project, buy the full version."

[restless1]

ummm i learned the same way i thought mach3 was broken then asked that question...
but i asked it in a forum that  just does cnc....boy did i get told to read the manual lol!!

[mountain]

crashwg - load it up again and look at mach, there is a line counter on there.

Good job on the machine. swaggs over at CNCzone wrote a break-in wizard for mach3. It will generate gcode that will run the machine back and forth for hours. Very useful.

[crashwg]

crashwg - load it up again and look at mach, there is a line counter on there.

Good job on the machine. swaggs over at CNCzone wrote a break-in wizard for mach3. It will generate gcode that will run the machine back and forth for hours. Very useful.

Yep, line counter reads 490 something.

Why would one want to "break-in" a CNC machine?