[Nitroghost]

:wave: I'm aslo new to cnc. i have never seen a forum that has a better group of friendly people that are more than happy to share information or to help out the newbe. I have gotten a lot of information and will start getting parts and supplies this weekend for my build.

[baldrik]

Hi

I bought an old cnc mill and now I have to learn how to use it

[mrshirls]

Hi all,

I am just a tinkerer and I wanted to make a low cost CNC to play with. I started looking at the RepRap but that seems to be to week and the controller is unnecessarily complicated. I have made my own XYZ slides and now have to make the motors and controllers. Eventually I want to bump it up to full sized machine to make real parts from. Not sure exactly what though, so just playing for now.

Nathan.

[Thorn3]

Hello all. I have been lurking since my sign-up. Sorry! I am new to CNC. I am an ME, presently living in Arizona. My brother in Germany has asked me to move out there to take the ME position in his company. I will be purchasing a starter CNC mill when I get there. Since I design and build prototypes, a CNC mill will come in very handy! I am proficient in AutoCAD (using 2007 presently). I am also good at machining manually. CNC will be a nice step up. I will be starting out with an OPTI BF 46 Vario (Optimum Machines) with ball screw CNC upgrade. Software will be MegaNC. Is anyone familiar with this software? Opinions? Any English tutorials? My German is not good enough to delve into German CNC manuals.

[Thorn3]

Hello all. I have been lurking since my sign-up. Sorry! I am new to CNC. I am an ME, presently living in Arizona. My brother in Germany has asked me to move out there to take the ME position in his company. I will be purchasing a starter CNC mill when I get there. Since I design and build prototypes, a CNC mill will come in very handy! I am proficient in AutoCAD (using 2007 presently). I am also good at machining manually. CNC will be a nice step up. I will be starting out with an OPTI BF 46 Vario (Optimum Machines) with ball screw CNC upgrade. Software will be MegaNC. Is anyone familiar with this software? Opinions? Any English tutorials? My German is not good enough to delve into German CNC manuals.

[alasdar]

Hello

I am looking into cnc and joined this forum to learn as much as I could. I have 2 interests. One design and build small boats and two do some carving. I have been trying to figure out which machine might be best ezrouter or shopbot. I am not committed to these but they are in the right budget.

Best regards Alasdar

[twobob2]

I was looking thru the list of users and was shocked to see that 3/5th or more of the members have ZERO posts.

I'd like to say WELCOME to all the new members, and to the old members that haven't posted.

I'd also like to extend an offer for you all to chime in and say hullo, mayhaps tell us what you do, how you're involved in CNC etc. We'd love to hear from you!!

(group)

'Rekd

Yet to do any work. I am waiting on a delivery from a Belgian firm Colinbus.
The learning curve will be steep no doubt, but that is the beauty of it isn't it?
My interest is in milling printed circuit boards instead using chemicals to etch
them.

[bfeer2000]

Hi all, my name is Bevan and i am an older fellow who does a bit of aluminium casting at home and would love one of these machines. My ideas of joining this group was to see if i can work out how to build one of these fine machines. So far i have just been reading the replys and doing some homework. Thanks for all the info so far. Bevan. ( PS. I forgot to mention that i am from in the Wide Bay Burnett area in Queensland, Australia )

[bisjoe]

I've just joined and thought I'd introduce myself. I'm the owner of a sign shop, since 1993. After 3 moves, 2 strip mall locations and one business park, I have moved to my home. I have been running an Epilog laser for 3 years, and have had 1 or more plotters for 14 years now. Currently running a Copam 24" and a Graphtec 30", have also used Gerber/Mutoh, Ioline, and even a Gerber 4B way back when. I'm doing a lot more wholesale work now and shipping or delivering most orders. Located in Sammamish, WA, but ship all over the US.

Besides the sign business I am into stained glass, woodworking, and bonsai.

[Roboticus]

Hullo, all--

I've been lurking about, trying to learn more about CNC. I've been wanting to CNC my 9x20 lathe, and X3 mill. In the last week of August, I'm going to have an intensive build session to get the 9x20 going. (Two friends from out of town are coming to stay with me and build. They also have 9x20s, so we're hopefully going to have one CNC machine and "kits" for the other fellas to take home and put on their machines.)

We've got experience in plenty of fields between us, but not (unfortunately) in CNC. We're still navigating the "which motor is gonna be big enough" questions & such. Current plans are to build motor mounts that would handle Nema 23 and 34 so we can switch motors until we get it right.

Luckily, we're not too concerned about pretty, and speed is a secondary concern. What we want is something that *works* and is reliable. As these'll be our first CNC, we're positive we're going to make mistakes, so we also expect that once the mill is going, we'll be redoing the lathes. Basically, we're hoping to learn enough about CNC on the build that we'll have a working CNC lathe, so we can do a good job next time.

I've been having lots of fun reading various threads here. This is quite a nifty place for learning CNC. If only I could put it all together in my head....

Thanks all! I'll try to get my camera working and document the build so others can learn from some of our mistakes (and hopefully successes!).

[jkB2]

This way my first mail is predict helo
I have already read very much, but am not yet to building my own machien. It will come, however, but I am not this way well in English there for my excuus.

gr

Jos

[bootsnhats]

Hi I am new at this. I bought a BobCad-Cam program , Wow does this look complacated. We are looking for a 3 axis CNC mill to make gun parts on. Production would be small , 10 to 100 unites. A modestley priced machine. Any suggestions on manufactor and model that would serve me well in my situation? The parts will be small , but some will have close tollarencs but not in the 10ths. .001 to .002 will work for us. The material we will be maching is 4140 4350 17-4 303 416 and a few others. Can any body please make some suggestion as to what type of maching we need with a limited budget. This will be our first CNC and want to go slow. Jerry

[DonW]

Hi all,

I'm also very new to CNC, and am at present working on a design based on SteveSpo's 8020 unit. I do accounting by day, and evenings I build acoustic guitars as a hobby, although I have done this is a business in the past. My CNC router will be used primarily to support my addiction to guitar building, but for other fun things as well. Seems crazy to spend this much on a hobby, but that's me. And man is cnc a slippery-slope...yikes!

I've been buying extruded aluminum from 8020 Inc. via their eBay Garage Sale. I've also picked up all my linear rails, aluminum plate, and an actuator off eBay. Most of my materials for the frame are in hand, but as yet I have not started cutting.
My weakness is the electronics, and am still trying to decide between steppers and servos (isn't everyone?), and plan on using Gecko drives, whichever I choose. I'm still reading up on break-out boards and e-stop and all that stuff which may as well be Martian for all I understand it. Trying to decide how much power and how much speed I want, and balancing all that with budget isn't an easy task. Then there is of course the decision as to which CAD/CAM software to buy and use, etc... I plan on using rolled ballscrews, which seem to me to be able to do the job decently.

There seems to be no shortage of decisions to be made regarding which method or type of part or component to use. And the possibilities seem endless too. Wouldn't it be great if someone would simply post a spreadsheet of all the design criteria along with recommendations of which motors/ drivers/ ballscrews/ bearings/ computers/ machining/ electronics/ boards/ software/ etc. for us to use so this would be easier???
Of course, that might take away some of the fun and the challenge I suppose.

Well, back to work!

Don Williams

http://www.dewguitars.com

[bushwacker]

This is bushwacker for first post.

[p3t3rv]

hi all
im lurking in the wings waiting for my workshop backlog to clear so i can get some workbench action happening untill then i lurk and absorb info but im getting the feeling my time is coming to get building

Pete

[balsadust_au]

G'day all,
this is my first day on the job,so to speak,I am looking into making a CNC router from plans I purchased on Ebay.
I build and fly R/C model aircraft and thought CNC was the way to go to save time and to be more accurate.So,any info I can get from you guys will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for listening,
seeya,
balsadust_au........(aka Larry)

[jldavidian]

Okay, guys. Maybe this will be too elementary, but it took me quite a while to get this. The problem is that there are multiple words for almost every part of a CNC system and it gets quite confusing. But the concept is what you want. So here are the pieces-- and some suggestions. They are based on my 6 or 7 years of working on about 5 different CNC machines at various levels. I'm no engineer, but this my help someone get started.

The pieces you need:
1. Computer -- Just a PC. it doesn't need to be very fast, have a lot of memory, or even run the latest software. A 1 ghz PC with 1/2 meg of ram is enough. Run Windows, 2000 or NC will do. Most of the other software won't run on a Mac, but some does run on Linux, not as easy though.

2. Software -- you need CNC software. There are several, but I would recommend Mach 3. Very powerful, many options, yet easy to learn, and well-documented. And only $160 with excellent technical forums and customer service. This and most other software uses "Step and Direction" (go this many steps in that direction) signals to tell your motors where and how far to go.

3. Parallel Port. Not all the new computers have them, and laptops often run at too low a voltage. Use your old desktop machine.

4. A breakout board -- This board hooks to your parallel port by a cable (DB-25) and gives you power supplies, and all the hookups (terminals) you need to connect the various pieces of your system. A lot easier than a jumble of wires. Just run a wire from this terminal to that switch, all labelled, and you're set. It also has optocouplers (signal transferred by light, no electrical connection) on board that isolate the board from the computer. Your may fry your controller board, but not your computer. Campbell designs makes a good one.

5. Controller -- This is what converts the step and direction signals of the software into a sequence of voltages to drive your motors. Various types of motors use different sequences. But what you need is a "Bipolar Chopper" to run the 2-phase motors below. This should be a microstepper (goes 2 to 8 steps for every click of the motor) with current control (no resistors). There are many other features that you will see but those are the main ones. Gecko are probably the best, but there are others that are cheaper, but easier to fry. Look at Rutex, Xylotex, CNC4PC, and others. I don't recommend the cheapo asian ones as the documentation isn't.

6. Drivers -- These are usually combined with your controller, but may be separate if you're driving a big honking motor. Also called an amplifier, this is the big mosfet stage that controls the actual current to the motor

Almost there.

7. Power supplies -- A big sucker to drive your motors. If you aren't VERY familiar with electronics buy it already made up. Most things if you screw up you fry the board. THIS one if you screw up, it may fry YOU. Usually 48 to 90 volts to run big motors. You also have to have a separate supply at 5 or 12 volts to run your electonics. This you can often get from your computers power supply. The breakout board may have the power supply you need, too.

8. And then the motors. Step motors are the easiest, cheapest, and in my book the most reliable. There is no encoder feedback (that's "closed-loop") and with well sized motors (not too small) they are very reliable. Bipolar, "2-phase". Don't use Wave-drive, Unipolar, 5-phase or any other wierdo. They require other types of drivers, aren't as efficient, etc.

You can set all this out on the table, hook up everything, put a piece of tape on the shaft of each motor, and watch all the motors go roundy-round. Fun.

The rest is just mechanics. Hook 'em up and go.

[wab0372]

Hi All'
I guess iv'e been shamed into making my first post on this great site. As a newbie it offers a wealth of information to us un-informed neophytes. I am a retired engineer from the Gemini and Apollo space program and years of satellite communicatios flight testing.
I have accumulated most of the components to build a gantry design CNC machine but have the problem of too many projects and too little time to put it all together. I am sure there are many of you out there that have this same problem. This posting is just one of the many tasks I have been putting off but feel it needs to be done. It is just one of those steps necessary to get out of the "NEWBIE" category. Looking forward to more exciting steps in this line.

[tooldev]

Hi all,
I am a new member; unfortunately I am one of those that lurk in the dark a lot.
The reason for this is that mostly I am too busy fighting fires.
However, I love sites like this mainly because the members in this forum have a passion for this job.
With this passion come ingenuity and good ideas.
I have a small shop north of Toronto Canada; using Haas VF3 and VF4’s today I am receiving my SL20 Lathe.
We use Mastercam for programming.

[bgriggs]

Okay, guys. Maybe this will be too elementary, but it took me quite a while to get this. The problem is that there are multiple words for almost every part of a CNC system and it gets quite confusing. But the concept is what you want. So here are the pieces-- and some suggestions. They are based on my 6 or 7 years of working on about 5 different CNC machines at various levels. I'm no engineer, but this my help someone get started.

The pieces you need:
1. Computer -- Just a PC. it doesn't need to be very fast, have a lot of memory, or even run the latest software. A 1 ghz PC with 1/2 meg of ram is enough. Run Windows, 2000 or NC will do. Most of the other software won't run on a Mac, but some does run on Linux, not as easy though.

2. Software -- you need CNC software. There are several, but I would recommend Mach 3. Very powerful, many options, yet easy to learn, and well-documented. And only $160 with excellent technical forums and customer service. This and most other software uses "Step and Direction" (go this many steps in that direction) signals to tell your motors where and how far to go.

3. Parallel Port. Not all the new computers have them, and laptops often run at too low a voltage. Use your old desktop machine.

4. A breakout board -- This board hooks to your parallel port by a cable (DB-25) and gives you power supplies, and all the hookups (terminals) you need to connect the various pieces of your system. A lot easier than a jumble of wires. Just run a wire from this terminal to that switch, all labelled, and you're set. It also has optocouplers (signal transferred by light, no electrical connection) on board that isolate the board from the computer. Your may fry your controller board, but not your computer. Campbell designs makes a good one.

5. Controller -- This is what converts the step and direction signals of the software into a sequence of voltages to drive your motors. Various types of motors use different sequences. But what you need is a "Bipolar Chopper" to run the 2-phase motors below. This should be a microstepper (goes 2 to 8 steps for every click of the motor) with current control (no resistors). There are many other features that you will see but those are the main ones. Gecko are probably the best, but there are others that are cheaper, but easier to fry. Look at Rutex, Xylotex, CNC4PC, and others. I don't recommend the cheapo asian ones as the documentation isn't.

6. Drivers -- These are usually combined with your controller, but may be separate if you're driving a big honking motor. Also called an amplifier, this is the big mosfet stage that controls the actual current to the motor

Almost there.

7. Power supplies -- A big sucker to drive your motors. If you aren't VERY familiar with electronics buy it already made up. Most things if you screw up you fry the board. THIS one if you screw up, it may fry YOU. Usually 48 to 90 volts to run big motors. You also have to have a separate supply at 5 or 12 volts to run your electonics. This you can often get from your computers power supply. The breakout board may have the power supply you need, too.

8. And then the motors. Step motors are the easiest, cheapest, and in my book the most reliable. There is no encoder feedback (that's "closed-loop") and with well sized motors (not too small) they are very reliable. Bipolar, "2-phase". Don't use Wave-drive, Unipolar, 5-phase or any other wierdo. They require other types of drivers, aren't as efficient, etc.

You can set all this out on the table, hook up everything, put a piece of tape on the shaft of each motor, and watch all the motors go roundy-round. Fun.

The rest is just mechanics. Hook 'em up and go.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Step 2 is a little too simple. You actually need several pieces of software.
a.) Drawing program (usually CAD but sometimes CorelDraw will work). This is used to create whatever it is you plan to cut/laser/mill/route.

b.) Cam program to convert your drawing into G-code suitable to your stepper driver/controller board.

c.) Motor controller software like Mach3, or TurboCAM. This program reads the G-code and translates it into step and direction signals and then sends the signal to the driver/controller board as electrical pulses.

Having said all that...... Mach3 contains a rudimentary (actually quite nice) CAM package called LazyCAM which will create toolpaths. In addition there are the "New Fangled" Plugins which automate several complex but commonly used functions. With these, Mach3 can create tool paths and drive motors.

Step 5.) should also include HobbyCNC Pro board. Good product for the price.

I am glad someone took the time to write this up.

Bill