Homebrew CNC's

[willyrocket]

Anyone seen these before? I have been lurking the sites for about 2 years now, gaining info on them. Hardest part looks to be running G-code for them. There are some pretty simple designs out there to get started. Just wondering if anyone else has seen em..........



http://www.crankorgan.com/index.html just to get ya started browsing......


Some of you guys who can cut out some pretty good chassis designs, and dont have the cash to buy a mill, may be interested in this....

I ve been scouring the bay for steppers and the like, its the acme screws and slides that get pretty pricey......

[willyrocket]

I like the design of this table, its big and beefy, but would like to do it in a much smaller size, like 3ft x 4 ft or a little smaller.

[to-fast-4-u]

nope never heard of them although it would be nice to have a cnc but o well

[willyrocket]

The one in the pic may look a little extreme, but after you study the design a little, its not....

Ive seen em for 300-500 for a table that would be a great learner, to 1200$ machines that cut some pretty thick metal. Most people make the first out of particle board to learn on them, then use it to make parts for a more rigid/better second table.

[JohnRobHolmes]

by the time you build it up, you have invested enough time to pay for the more accurate mills available plus some.. the accuracy on those is ok, but i have seen some killer homebrew foam cutters and hotwire cnc tables. im sure it would be a good project to learn with and experement though.

[syco133]

I would be afraid that the dremel couldnt take the side load and would burn the dremel up.Just a thought.

[willyrocket]

Many use dremels for engraving or cutting thin ply or balsa for rc aircraft or even boat hulls. Some of the better routers can be used for cutting some of the thicker metals. A good 200$ router will cut some pretty thick aluminum or even steel if the feed rates are dialed in. Slower feed rates will cut down on production if thats what the table is intended for. Some of the more elaborate setups use a homebrew spindle that is driven by belt or even direct drive from a motor.

For all intense purposes for what is used here, you could probably get away with a mid range router on say a 2x2 or 2x3 table, maybe even smaller.

Also alot of it will depend on your tooling that is used. This is where it can get a little pricey though. "High end" milling bits are expensive!!!! If any of you millers out there have some pics of your bit collection please post!!!