[vinot]

Hi all,

I just have finished my first cnc machine!!!! and runs!!!! (ok, sorry)

well... my question: should I be able to attach a printer head on my Z axis?

I must supose that yes but, does anybody tried it?

I looked at http://reprap.org

but I'm not sure about few questions:

- I have a DeskCNC controller plus controller stepper board to control the milling, so I don't know how exactly can plug the required inputs (motor, extruder,...)
- DeskCNC controller says that can support 3 aux output support and a pwm spindle speed control support, should be this sufficiently?

There are some sites that sells extruder kits, but all of them uses its own controller card, that is the same for the rest of the machine (basically a milling but with a printer head), and really would be great to have a 3d printer for a low cost!!

Any comments or suggestions are welcome

Toni

[RWBennett]

Have you made any progress with this issue? I am planning on building a CNC end mill and would like to be able to attach a 3D printer head and control.

I'd also be interested in what your end mill looks like. Did you design it yourself or get plans from someone else.

Let me know!

Ralph Bennett
[email protected]

[vinot]

hi,

no, after some more experience I decided to split the project just to make it more easy.

I did a workshop where a reprap machine was constructed. The main difference is that all electric circuit is based on arduino and that its software is designed to make parts injecting plastic (or whatever). It means that it preforms also the CAM process, very specifically for this kind of job.

On the other side, all this electrical parts (say cnc control and cam module) are very cheap. As mechanical parts you can use whatever that has 3 axis, ie my cnc machine. But this would mean that I must disconnect all motor wires to connect them to arduino. In this workshop we used a very simple design but very stable (error should be 0.1-0.5 mm), very suitable for my needing. And using simple but better materials error must fall a lot.

Because actually I have loooot of work in my job I'm planning to acquire a new cnc milling to put it on the run and later use the older milling with arduino.

Maybe the lesson is: one machine one job. Actually they could be very very affordable (2 or 3K for a commercial kit) with high results.

Toni

[Saminvent]

Hi!!

I'm new to cnczone but are always referencing from it and I thought I might as well sign up...

In response to your question, it is possible to do and not that difficult.

In mach3 it has been done and I am making a cnc mill/3D printer from scratch.

I will be using a tb6560 4 axis stepper controller, plus a reprap style v2.3 extruder controller - also as used on a makerbot.

This, with a stepper motor driver carrier board I have made based off of a pololu stepper driver attatched, will connect to a computer. ( The tb6560 and extruder controller/stepper driver) are completely electrically seperate.

This whole thing works because we can use the set/read temperature or pwm commands in the software to control functions on the extruder. If we say we are using a dc motor extruder, then in MACH3 a command of T210 would tell the extruder controller to set temperature of 210 degrees or a command of M255 would mean a PWM of 255.

Some people at The University of Southern California have written up how to do this and have created some firmware which you can download for free.

Here's the link:3D Printing on CNC using Mach3 by kai - Thingiverse

If you haven't been on that website its great for all sorts of printable items, I myself upload on there occasionally (saminvent)


Hope this helps,

Sam

[Adverse Effects]

well i just got a CNC 6040 (ebay) for about $200 less than going price and that should cover most of the replacement controler if needed

i will be looking in to ways of putting a 3D printer head on it

[Joe S.]

I too had the belief that there was something special about the Arduino controllers, farther research has convinced me that isn't quite so. It appears they are pretty much std. stepper translator controllers and the Special Motherboard appears to serve as a buffer to the stepper controllers. At any rate, they make all the source code available free of charge, however; the website is a bit of a free for all as to how those files are organized. It appears Arduino source code will run across the Arduino platform by simply recompiling it. I am not too savy with C code as yet, but I read that somewhere. So if you are using something like Mach 3 with a 4th axis I think it will work.(the 4th axis controlling the extruder's stepper motor)