[CptRyg]

Hi this is my first post. Like it says, I just learned what cnc was all about and now all I can think about for the last 3 days is building one!!

Would it be inappropriate to ask if someone could share their plans with me? It's either that or pay $10-$30 for someone on ebay to email them to me.

.pdf preferrably. I'd like a 2'x4' working area with at least 10" in Z. I want to build it out of mdf.

Thanks
Chad

[Switcher]

Have a look at the Joe's CNC Model 2006, I think that build includes free plans.

He also has a newer build/plans/kit that cost $.

You should be able to find lot's of info here on cnczone about "Joe's CNC Model 2006"

[ger21]

The plans for the 2006 are here.
http://rs134.rapidshare.com/files/13...l_2006_R-2.zip

[CptRyg]

Perfect! Thanks

[TOTALLYRC]

And next week you tag line will say that your are addicted.

Welcome to the zone.

Mike

[CarveOne]

In the past 2+ years I have been incrementally building two CNC machines, One is finished, one is getting close to running. I'm not addicted. I just don't know when to stop building and make something with them. My next large one will be purchased, but I'm not addicted. At least that's what the voices tell me.....

CarveOne

[TOTALLYRC]

In the past 2+ years I have been incrementally building two CNC machines, One is finished, one is getting close to running. I'm not addicted. I just don't know when to stop building and make something with them. My next large one will be purchased, but I'm not addicted. At least that's what the voices tell me.....

CarveOne

I am not addicted, truly I am not.
The fact that I have to expand the building to accommodate all the machines I own is normal, isn't it?
The fact that I dream about them is normall isn't it?

I am truly not addicted, I can stop any time I want to, I just don't want to.

LOL

Mike

[Crevice Reamer]

Hi Chad. Welcome to the Zone!

Beware all ye who enter here:

Prepare to surrender all of your money and all of your time.

I've got the machines right where they want me. I could quit any time I want though.

Here's some basic info for you:

http://crevicereamer.com/Page_2.html

CR.

[CptRyg]

Well I wouldn't be a true Newb without frustrations! I got the files and had to download the free viewer from Autodesk. I can't do a batch convert to pdf without making the image fit to page. Of course I want to mount the schematics to the material so that's not working.

Then I downloaded the 15 day trial of AutoDWG DWG to PDF converter which doesn't give me full size images either. At least ones that are consistant with the measure function in the dwg viewer.

So any suggestions on this issue? Also included in the download are STL, Pro-e, Sketchup, and Solidworks files.

Or has someone already got the pdf files on hand?

Thanks Chad

[ger21]

Try downloading a free CAD program , maybe A9CAD, and print them full scale. Try PrimoPDF which will let you print to PDF from any program.

[morphious69]

how about this suggestion. list what tools you have at your disposale and what tools you would be willing to buy to make this a reality. it will definitely help some of us understand what skills you will be able to put in to working and what ones would not.

[CptRyg]

Sure,
First of all baby steps for me.
At this point I don't own any of the required software much less know how to use it. That will come with perhaps a tax return.
I want to collect the templates that I can print out 1:1 on my home printer A4 paper. So far that's where Im running into trouble.
I'm testing out the a9cad program suggested previously. I can't seem to get it to print consecutive pages. Only one at a time.
It seems like a good program for getting my feet wet though.
Thanks

[morphious69]

well the issue I see is that if you are trying to make something as complex as say joes machine with only a jigsaw and a drill press you might not accomplish it. there are a lot of ways though to design a machine to be adjustable so it can be taken into account what accuracy in making the parts you lack. also don't worry about things like rigidity for the first machine for speed that is. you can run the machine slow to get accuracy and make parts to make a sturdier machine once you have something that will cut plotted courses. as long as it is ridgid enough to maintain tolerances at slower speeds you should do fine. I bought a controller from stepper world and to be honest for the price it is the best bang for the buck I have seen. but if you are going to run a rotary table later I would recommend something that is microstep capable. also get used to using radians instead of degrees HEH HEH, I have had a lot of trouble finding any sort of stepper for sale that is 2 degree per step, all this 1.8 stuff. it makes for good steppers for breaking things down into 10ths and 100ths and 1000ths but when you want to break something up into a degree fashion it is a nightmare. radians though are perfect for it ( basically the typical 1.8 degree stepper is exactly 2 radians since the circle is divided into 400 segments for radians as opposed to 360 segments in degrees.)

I would suggest reading john klienbaurs site for ideas on how to over come lack of high end tools. he seems to have wrote the book on it. His plans are a pretty good bargain I would say too. at least for your first machine. But this does not mean that with a bit of inginuity and looking around you can not design something your self. Just look at all the awesome designs people have made here.
Do you have a table saw, band saw, drill press? hand drills?

[morphious69]

oh I forgot for a control program you can just use turbocad and ACE to convert DXF to gcode. not really a good set up for 3d work but 2d work it is fine for. you will be able to use those to create parts for a better mill in no time. and all of it is free unless you want the source code from turbocad. I know not enough about writing code to be able to use it right now but some day I will take a better look at it. would be nice to have a bunch of machines all running at a shop and them be able to text me or call me when a problem happens HA HA

[CptRyg]

Ah I see what you're saying. I've got the full gamet of shop tools (and a shop!)required. I'm not averse to buying anything I need.
Table saw, jointer, planer, drill press, jig saw, routers, chainsaw, sawsall, belt sander, skill saw, miter saw, scroll saw, files, and a rusty bent nail.
That's probably a pretty valuable comment about radians. I'll have to read up on that.
Thanks

[morphious69]

HA HA I was worried you would not have the nail, going to be the most useful tool in the shop

on a serious note if you can get an actual solid 90 degree cut on wood or aluminum you are almost 90 percent of the way to success for your first machine. I was lucky I had a bench top mill as my band saw stunk at that and a table saw can be a rough cut in a novices hands. (ie I could not make my table saw make a smooth cut) I guess I did the weird way around and bought all cheap tools like royobi table saw and band saw 9the smallest cheapest ones they sold) and sprung for a bench top mill that even though it was chinese is incredible for doing the work I did. 800 bucks well worth spending. I wish I could have had the room to keep it.

I ran it for a while to finish up my CNC mill in a walk in closet in my bedroom at my apartment. covered the walls of the closet with visqueen (I think that is what it is called. black plastic tarp for painters) then layers of carpet foam and such to kill sound. I was on the ground floor so no worries about the floor being strong enough. solid concrete. water beds are heavier I think honestly. if I could do it again I would buy a mini mill some where. I have my unit now though so I really don't need it currently. maybe some day.

[FandZ]

Welcome aboard and all I can tell you is the I can relate to your cnc obsession. It's all I can think about all day at work. I'm currently building my second machine and I'm sure there will be a 3rd and possibly a 4th.

If I was starting from scratch again, I'd buy a kit or a full machine. I'm sure I've spent well over a 1000 acquiring tools and parts. Really I've spent more in tools then actual building materials.

If I were you, I'd take a hard looks at the kits offered by fine line automation and the ones offered by modular cnc. Modular cnc's are cheaper but smaller and I think the drive screws are slow. For the price, modular cnc's can't be beat though, and you could easily add faster screws. The HDPE one for $345 is a steel. You could use it to build a bigger one and learn on it at the same time.

With finelineautmation, you could talk to them about doing a customized kit if the 2x3 is too small for you. This would be a keeper machine for sure and wouldn't need to realy upgrade.

http://www.finelineautomation.com/st...NC+Router+Kits
http://modularcnc.flyingcart.com/ind...&req=dept&id=4

Doing it yourself is a lot of fun but it takes time and can be frustrateing . To me the goal is to use a cnc machine and not spend 6 months to a year building one if you can ovoid it.

Whatever you do, you'll find all the help you need right here.

[CarveOne]

Try downloading a free CAD program , maybe A9CAD, and print them full scale. Try PrimoPDF which will let you print to PDF from any program.

ger21, don't know if you have seen this free CAD program or not. I downloaded HyCAD (and A9CAD) recently while looking for something to use on my new workshop CNC computer. Haven't explored either of them very much so far but HyCAD seems easy enough to use for 2D drawings. It can export to .pdf format in most common paper sizes.

CarveOne

[CptRyg]

At this point everything I look at is a learning experience. Your page should be a wealth of info. I've got it in my favorites now!
Thanks

[CptRyg]

Hycad isn't supporting .dwg It wants .gr