Hi there, CNC people.
I’ve been lurking for a while, but here is short introduction about me; I started out building RepRap 3D printers in 2010, and have since build one regular Sells Mendel, a custom big Prusa i2, two Mendel90 Sturdies, and have another two custom printers in the works. They’ve all used arduino variants for electronics (Tech Zone Gen3 Remix, Sanguinololu, Ramps1.4).
While I love the versatility of plastic (I mainly use PLA, but also some ABS), I miss the features wood and aluminium can offer. I’ve pondered about a CNC build for a couple of years, but since we were going to move I didn’t start out. Recently we have settled on the Faroe Islands, and I am finally ready to start sourcing parts.
Electronics wise, I would like to use GRBL and Chilipeppr on either a smoothieboard or pibot. I see the pibot is on sale now for $130, which seems like a good deal.
I would like to use the CNC for both small things like buttons, and milling larger sheets for 3D printers and furniture. This means I would like a size of about 60x100cm (~24x40") for mdf sheet cut in quarters from the lumber yard. I’m looking a the Openbuilds OX http://openbuilds.org/builds/openbuilds-ox-cnc-machine.341/ but if there is a machine that uses 3D printed parts, that would be great.
Is this plausible to want out of a first build? Can I get both precision on tiny things and huge size in the same machine, or would I need two anyway?
Should I buy a 3040 base off ebay and use that to mill out the parts I need for the OX? Or should I just buy the needed plates and start right on with the big build? I guess I could modify my mendel90 to a simple mill, but it’s limited to 20x20 size, which I believe is too small for the OX plates.
Thanks for reading, have a nice day!
http://openbuilds.org/builds/openbuilds-ox-cnc-machine.341
I was in the same situation as you 3 years ago.
At that time I had a Mendel 3D printer, which i sold to get start capital for my CNC project. It turned out that i needed a lot more money than first imagined.
By now, I have a small desktop cnc, a Max NC10, and have built a larger cnc in a mix of alu and wood and have almost finished all the mechanical parts for a table size steel alu cnc.
I found a fantastic cnc pal through an online forum and we have had many hours together in the work shop by now. I’ll say, just start and soon you are surrounded by machinery and people with the same interest.
Even large, i mean table size, cnc machines are usually accurate to about 1/20 mm, which is good for pcb and any hobby project you throw at it.
I got a lot of useful experience from the prototype cnc, built in wood and alu and that one cut alu pretty reasonably. It has served us well but has its limitations. Still it has cut most of the parts for the next gen. cnc we build now.
I built an Open Builds Machine. Works great. You should check out the communities related to Openbuilds aka @Mark_Carew_OpenBuild there is one that has a pay it forward program going so you can get the plates made for you.
I also have gone through the process of building in iterations, and I kept needing the bigger platform. If you have the money, I would recommend going as big as possible right from the start. I also think as @Henrik_Larsen mentioned, see if there are people close by that share the CNC bug. I had help getting started, and have paid it forward by cutting parts for a friend who wanted to get into CNC, so he could get in with a larger frame too. I absolutely think the OX platform is a great path to follow.
@Henrik_Larsen Thanks for the comments, while I would love to go the way of my own prototype and do a custom build, I feel like I can’t sink that much time into it as of right now. Though I probably will use this CNC to build an even larger one down the road, if I can make the space for it.
@nick_wiegand Thanks for the links, a lot of great info there! Right now I’m looking at the OX kit from ooznest: http://ooznest.co.uk/3D-Printer-CNC-Kits-Bundles/OX-CNC-Machine/OX-CNC-Mechanical-Kit What are the general community feeling towards a place like that, are they “good guys”, or just reaping open source files for own profit, which is sadly far too common in the 3D printer community.
@Bruce_Lunde I love pay it forward programs! But how much would a build cost if you choose to go the self-source route? I can build myself a simple RepRap for about 150£-250£ because I print my own parts, order single parts from china that ends up tax-free, and have a lot of spare parts from previous projects. The OX kit I look at will cost me about 750£ + shipping and tax (guessing 900£ total). So how much could I save?
@Krzysztof_Foltman Thank you for the comments, since I don’t have much experience with the CNC side of mechanical choices I would prefer to start with a proven design instead of rolling my own. I see a lot of RepRap CNC machines, but they are either tiny and/or mostly built for PCB milling and wood, so if I wanted that I could just slap a dremel on my Mendel90. What I can’t seem to find is a hybrid machine, which utilizes both 3D printed parts and routed parts, bringing out the benefit of both worlds?
Heh, I just stubled upon the old Lumenlab micRo CNC, which I drooled a lot over back then, after I just build a Lumenlab-style DIY projector. Fun times!