I have been looking into building my own CNC mill for some time now. While doing research for that, I was lead to this forum!
I have read through several of the build post on this form and have finally started the design process for my own!
Currently I am still very early in the design phase, however I would like to share my progress and get some insight and design tips from the community here!
Here are some of my goals for this design.
- Ability to mill hard materials such as 303/304 Stainless.
- .001 Accuracy or better.
- Working area grater then 500mmx500mm
If I can create a design that is seems feasible then construction and testing of the machine will commence as my budget allows.
The base and frame of the machine has been designed as follows:
The external dimensions of the base are 1500mm wide x 1250mm deep x 300mm thick.
The external dimensions of the bridge are 1500mm wide x 400mm thick x 1400mm tall. The columns that support that bridge are 250mm wide.
The distance between the bridge and the base is 700mm.
Steel will be used to create a base for the linear rails on the X and Y axis. 2 base plates will be drilled and tapped, milled to a uniform size, and set true to each other for each axis, thus providing a base for each linear rail on the X and Y axis.
Here is a snapshot of my design so far:
My Linear motion design is currently made of:
- 20mm Linear rails and pillow blocks on all 3 axis.
- 20mm ball screws with a 5mm pitch on all 3 axis.
- NEMA 34 stepper motors on all 3 axis.
I am looking for feedback on the design. If you notice any major flaw or errors please comment and I would love to discuss!
I have created this page that I will try and keep up to date will all the details, design changes, images, and eventually CAD files:
CNC Design - wiki.caseybarsness.com