Build machine to do metal, wood etc.

Hi all; been ages since here and site's changed quite a bit.

The Dream
It's a dream to build my own machine one day. I know very little about cnc, and was hoping to build my own cnc router one day:

I was hoping to design my own kitchen with Autocad, then send part designs e.g. cabinet or wardrobe and send it straight to the cnc router; is this possible with a little tweaking and the correct software?

CNC routing
Surely it would be possible to build one with different tools, At the end of the day it's just a router/ drill with various heads?
But the software must need to know what head / tool is being used as it knows how many strokes is required to drill a hole, then selects a different one for routering an edge etc.
Is this where cnc software comes in?

I have many different ideas and am hoping to use computers and machines to turn them into a reality. Am I in wonderland of ambitious and requiring a large brain??

Thanks for any input.

In order to make your designs you need to create toolpaths in a cam software, there is where you select tool diameter, depth of cut, and tool profiles. I would recommend using cam software even before you make your machine. Cambam is one software that can be used 40 free times, which is more than sufficient for learing it. Hope this helps, I had the same questions when I started.

-George

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I was hoping to design my own kitchen with Autocad, then send part designs e.g. cabinet or wardrobe and send it straight to the cnc router; is this possible with a little tweaking and the correct software?

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Yes. It's actually my day job. :)

There are even some software dedicated to kitchen and cabinet design, and will even do the toolpaths needed to cut the parts.

But aside from CAD, like the others mention you also need CAM, where you assign different toolpath strategies and such to different features of your part. Most DIYers do toolchanges manually, though there are a few that have adopted auto toolchangers.

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I was hoping to design my own kitchen with Autocad, then send part designs e.g. cabinet or wardrobe and send it straight to the cnc router; is this possible with a little tweaking and the correct software

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I should probably clarify that there is other software involved between AutoCAD and the router. :) But with the right software, it only takes a few mouse clicks to be ready to run.

Just go to ikea.com and buy em :)

Then build something fun with that CNC.

But serious, unless you invest huge dollars i don't think it makes much sense for kitchen cabinets. Carcasses are the easy part, the doors with joinery are the hard part and you would need very specialized eq to do that via cnc. Even if you route a door from a slab, you can't thermofoil it, and cutting hardwood round via a router bit for the raised panel would be just silly.

That said, its is crazy easy to build cnc today. Software and hardware easily gotten.

I think "kitchen cabinets" are a great excuse to convince the wife to let you build a CNC!

As for doing panels, rails and stiles, this could be done without too much difficulty on even the most basic software with a little creativity, using rail and stile cutters and raised panel cutters, profile toolpaths and lead-in/lead-out. Though I think it would be faster to do on a router table or shaper.

When I had my shop, and we did paint-grade doors, I would run hundreds of feet, routing the profile for the doorframe edges, then cut the pieces to the lengths I needed, adding 3/4" to the rails, and then doing the copes using a backer piece to prevent blow-out. Goes real fast.

Same with the carcasses. We cut all the base and upper partitions at once, the it's trivial to cut all the stretchers and shelves. The CNC is nice for this however, as far as cutting all the rabbets, grooves and dadoes, and you can easily route an undersize groove for example to get a tight joint. The other thing is shelf pins. We didi this manually, one by one, since we didn't have a gang drill, but CNC does this effortlessly. You can simply pin or screw the cases together from the sides, since the end panels (or laminate if you're making laminate cabinets) will cover everything up. Also take advantage of using pre-finished plywood (and melamine if you're doing laminated cabinets); the time saving is pretty huge.

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Originally Posted by louieatienza

I think "kitchen cabinets" are a great excuse to convince the wife to let you build a CNC!

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:cheers::cheers::cheers:

Kitchen cabs are almost fun with CNC.

The hinge pockets, dadoes and shelf pin holes are what CNC was made for.

I'd still do the rails for the doors on a router or shaper table.

Thanks for all your replies guys. I would be looking to work solid hardwoods, such as oak or walnut; no laminating or melamine.

If I am to build one what software would one need? Would it be three programmes?:

1) I imagine it would be Autocad or something similar so you can actually design the kitchen itself.

2) Then it would be some sort of software I guess that would automatically calculate the spacings of your dovetail joints etc, or must this be fairly manual. I imagine nowadays there must be something to calculate widths with some sort of algorithm?

3) Software to delegate it to the router in paths?

Any info or recommendations would be appreciated. I know absolutely nothing of this and am doing my research before jumping in.

Regards