[jkarisny]

This is my newly finished Hardware store CNC machine. Let me know what you think!



[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki6YhrPeuQM]Home made CNC with hardware store parts - YouTube[/ame]

[jkarisny]

Here are some pictures:

[judleroy]

You have done an excellent job. It seems to work very smoothly. A great machine to get into Cnc.
Judleroy

[jkarisny]

You have done an excellent job. It seems to work very smoothly. A great machine to get into Cnc.
Judleroy

Thank you!

I have a lot to learn, but I'm certainly addicted. I have been working on my code writing, in the video I have a lot of unnecessary and redundant machine moves. I have reduced my cut time dramatically just from experimenting.

I think I have less than $200 into the machine....including electronics. I also designed and built it rather quickly...less than 2 weeks, after work.

[RomanLini]

Nice build! That's a good arrangement for getting reliable motion from drawer slides.

One weak point looks to be the use of a single narrow rail for the Z axis, that's a lot of side leverage there on that narrow rail. I would be tempted to screw a flate plate of wood to the Z structure, then use 2 drawer slides for Z or 2 rails/rods of some type.

And maybe lower Z a little bit, to give you a bit more rigidity to cut out flat stock as being "addicted" I'm guessing you will use this machine to make parts for the next one...

[cyclestart]

I think I have less than $200 into the machine....including electronics.

What are the details of the electronics ?
You've built yourself a very cool unit for $200.

[jkarisny]

What are the details of the electronics ?
You've built yourself a very cool unit for $200.

I have the TB6560 driver ($22), a 12v power supply ($12) off ebay and small 5.3v/ .75A stepper motors ($10).

For the computer running the whole deal, I used a HP Pavillion 503n I had laying around.

How do you guys wire up everything? I want sockets on the cpu case that I can plug the steppers into, so I don't have to drill holes and use grommets. As you see from the pictures below, I need to clean up the wiring.

[jkarisny]

Nice build! That's a good arrangement for getting reliable motion from drawer slides.

One weak point looks to be the use of a single narrow rail for the Z axis, that's a lot of side leverage there on that narrow rail. I would be tempted to screw a flate plate of wood to the Z structure, then use 2 drawer slides for Z or 2 rails/rods of some type.

And maybe lower Z a little bit, to give you a bit more rigidity to cut out flat stock as being "addicted" I'm guessing you will use this machine to make parts for the next one...

Thank you!
I was thinking the same thing about the Z, but turns out, it's the strongest axis! The part I need to make is the router mount itself, as you can see I have a pipe clamp and some wire holding it on.

And yes, It's already cutting parts for the next machine....

[EBC]

I love it!!! Well done and don't worry about cleaning up the wires....:cheers:

[jkarisny]

I love it!!! Well done and don't worry about cleaning up the wires....:cheers:

Thanks!

Even though it doesn't look like much, I still want to clean up the wiring so It can be more mobile. I still need to build a large base/cabinet for it. I'll post some pics after I find some 6 pin sockets and plugs...

[process_pro]

I like it!
Most of it appears very simple...cut and dry!
What did you use to drive the steppers and where did you obtain them?

[RomanLini]

...
The part I need to make is the router mount itself, as you can see I have a pipe clamp and some wire holding it on.
...

Take a look at this for a cheap $29.99 spindle choice;
http://www.harborfreight.com/electri...aft-44141.html



That will be easier to mount than the Dremel and a much better functioning spindle.

[jkarisny]

Take a look at this for a cheap $29.99 spindle choice;
Electric Die Grinder with Long Shaft



That will be easier to mount than the Dremel and a much better functioning spindle.

You really think it will be a better spindle? I can see it being easier to mount. I just used the dremel because I had it but it seems to have some run-out. Does anyone use the Harbor Freight spindle? I'd be interested to see how those bearings are compared to the dremel.

[judleroy]

It's a die grinder so it should have better bearings. As for tuning that's questionable. If it were me I'd save up for a Bosch colt or similar small router. Dremal tools do not have good bearings and are not very rigid although it is a good starter spindle.
Judleroy

[judleroy]

Sorry instead of "tuning" it should say runout. These iPads auto correct spelling even when you don't want them to.
Judleroy

[CarveOne]

That die grinder's manual says it's 14 inches overall length and weighs a little over 4 pounds, 500 watt, 25k rpm. It is considerably more power than a Dremel, and far more rigid where it counts.

The big question is what is the typical run-out of these things. I doubt it is as good as most routers considering the intended uses of a die grinder.

CarveOne

[RomanLini]

Yeah it definitely has MUCH better bearing support in the cast metal "neck" then a Dremel has in it's flimsy plastic neck... Although sorry to the OP, I didn't realise they were over 4 pounds!

CarveOne- usually die-grinding is an application where the runout needs to be pretty small, most air die grinders for instance are pretty good. But these are all probably made in the far east by some factory contracted to the lowest dollar bid... So runout is anyone's guess. I'm still using a cheap brand router with good runout but I hand picked it in the store and it was the third one tested. The other 2 were nasty. And a lot of that is the collets too I think.

[CarveOne]

Yeah it definitely has MUCH better bearing support in the cast metal "neck" then a Dremel has in it's flimsy plastic neck... Although sorry to the OP, I didn't realise they were over 4 pounds!

CarveOne- usually die-grinding is an application where the runout needs to be pretty small, most air die grinders for instance are pretty good. But these are all probably made in the far east by some factory contracted to the lowest dollar bid... So runout is anyone's guess. I'm still using a cheap brand router with good runout but I hand picked it in the store and it was the third one tested. The other 2 were nasty. And a lot of that is the collets too I think.

I'm 100 miles from the nearest Harbor Freight store (they know me all too well though) and I've never seen one at that store. I've never seen or used one either, so run-out was the first question. It also seemed to be a bit unwieldy for use on a small CNC machine, but if it clears the ceiling ...... and doesn't topple the machine over on fast direction reversals ....... then it might work perfectly for General Overkill's CNC machine.

CarveOne

[jkarisny]

Yikes, over 4 pounds!?

I don't think my tiny little steppers could handle that amount of weight. I guess I could upgrade, but I'd rather not. Wonder if I could add a spring assist, to lessen the "weight"? Has anyone done this?

[ma1]

Good job, the setup looks clean. Is that a linear rail in the z-axis?

I am also building a drawer-slide low cost CNC, I had started a thread a while back, you might be able to find it. My design has only x-axis with drawer slides (slides in a vertical position). It is going very slow due to lack of time.

However, one thing that I have noticed is that the 100 lbs load bearing drawer slides are great for in-plane, but have a lot of play in the out-of-plane direction (+z direction the way you mounted them). I am afraid that if your dremel catches even slightly on the work piece, it will lift your entire x-y table up with it. This is the reason I mounted mine in a vertical direction with mechanical constraints in the out-of-plane direction.