I’ve gotten some great feedback and interest from online communities about this router build, but I’ve been surprised that most of the people who have reached out about potentially using or modifying this design have been more interested in the...
The base and stand of the machine are primarily made up of T slot extrusion and plates that connect to the extrusion. Building the base consisted of cutting a ton of extrusion and bar down to length, countless holes getting...
After completing the design and posting a summary on the blog I decided to solicit feedback from the folks at the r/hobbycnc subreddit. I created a post and asked for feedback, banking on the sweet renders to draw people in....
The final check before diving into fabrication is to verify that all of the assumptions I made earlier in the design process are still accurate, or at least conservative. If not, I may need to iterate something again (hopefully not...
The final mechanical system to design is the mounting structure that attaches the spindle to the 3-Axis motion system. The most important features are the provisions to allow the tramming (slight X/Y tilting) required to align the spindle perpendicularly to...
So far most of the engineering and analysis has been done on the moving subassemblies within the router (gantry beam, gantry carriage, spindle carriage). However, the structure that supports all of the moving subassemblies is just as important to the...
The control system for a CNC router encompasses not only the numeric controller that plans the motions, but also the motor drivers, power supplies, limit switches, circuit protection, and cabling that connect them all together. From voltages to protocols all...
Stiffness is possibly the most important characteristic of a machine tool. It not only impacts toolpath accuracy (because the tool and machine deflect under the cutting load and acceleration) but also the surface finish, cut quality, and motion control stability...
The range of motion of a CNC axis is limited by three progressively more restrictive methods: mechanical hard stops, electrical limit switches, and software limit positions. Each method eats away at the usable range of motion for an axis but...
After first doing an initial exploratory design on your own you can be more prepared to analyze other designs solving similar problems because you have a better understanding of the challenges involved. The Avid CNC Pro4824 is the most similar...