[bearmos]

Hi all,

I messed around with making a CNC for milling PCB's - I wound up with a machine that never worked quite well enough to be useful, but some knowledge of what *not* to do ;-)

I got around to detailing some of the lessons learned and thought I would share (although the vast majority of this community is WAY ahead of me!). At any rate, I hope this might be useful and save someone some time!

How NOT to make a CNC Mill (part 1) - CNC - Twilight Robotics

How NOT to make a CNC Mill (part 2) - CNC - Twilight Robotics

[BackyardWorkshop]

Nice articles - I enjoyed reading them!

I just got started milling my own PCBs and I was thinking of building a CNC just for them - right now I am using my 33"X47" CNC - it's like using a sledge hammer to hammer in a ten penny nail

[bearmos]

Nice articles - I enjoyed reading them!

I just got started milling my own PCBs and I was thinking of building a CNC just for them - right now I am using my 33"X47" CNC - it's like using a sledge hammer to hammer in a ten penny nail

Thanks, I'm glad you liked them. One of the conclusions I've come to (well, affirmed) is that if you want to get going quickly, without wasting a lot of time, it's far easier to just buy a kit. . .especially if you have limited experience. I like this sort of thing - and couldn't really justify the cost of a kit, so I worked with what I could scrounge up!

Good luck on your mill - save yourself some time and don't make any of the same mistakes as me ;-)

[BackyardWorkshop]

Ahhh building the CNC machine is most of the fun this would be my third home built CNC if I decide to undertake it - I probably already have nearly everything I need already too, otherwise I might not be thinking about it too much hehe

[bearmos]

Ahhh building the CNC machine is most of the fun this would be my third home built CNC if I decide to undertake it - I probably already have nearly everything I need already too, otherwise I might not be thinking about it too much hehe

Looks like I'm in the right place!

[Jay C]

Allow me to suggest another "issue" The Dremel tool as a spindle. The run out on those is awful. For tips/hints on using MDF be sure to visit http://www.cnczone.com/forums/diy-cn...p_machine.html thread. John has a lot of experience with them.

I like your simple pressure foot, that would be a worthwhile addition to my router.

[bearmos]

Yeah, I'm hoping that after I have all of the other issues taken care of I'll be complaining about the Dremel runout ;-). After I get some different stepper drivers up and running again I *hope* to run into this - since it means the machine is accurate enough for it to become a problem!

[bearmos]

For tips/hints on using MDF be sure to visit http://www.cnczone.com/forums/diy-cn...p_machine.html thread. John has a lot of experience with them.

Jay C,

Thanks a lot for the link to that thread- I finally had a chance to sit down and look at it in some detail - what a build. I especially like his solution for attaching the sides to the front of the machine - very well thought out.