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 previous post on the GNSS Base Station ended with a list of tests to run on the prototype. Multiple modifications were made (and plenty still need to be made) as a result of the testing, but the overall design...
A fixed GNSS RTK base station is used to increase the accuracy of other nearby mobile GNSS receivers to within an inch of their true position (over 100 times better than typical GNSS!). This design expands on the ESP32 +...
We just moved in to a new place that has a sunny back porch near the kitchen that is perfect for growing herbs. I was excited to try a woodworking project so I made a pair of cedar planter boxes...