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  1. #1
    I have started work on something which I believe will be a big help to the many people out there who want to get into building their own CNC mill / router.

    I am putting together a 3D CAD design for a router which will be able to be manufactured out of MDF and cheap materials to give people a starting point into this hobby or should I say obsession which some of us have!

    Why am I doing this? Let me explain...

    I am a time served BREL (British Rail) machinist with plenty of manual and CNC machining experience and always wanted a milling machine at home (like quite a few of us) so that I could 'make things!'. When I initially thought about building something I started hunting around the internet and it all seemed quite daunting and very complicated but the more I read and the more questions that I asked (especially on this forum!) the more I started to realize that it should not be too difficult to put something together. I began designing my machine which took about 2 weeks based around the help and advice that I had been given then 3 months later I had a finished working router.

    But, i had a slight advantage which made life a lot easier....

    I could do the drawings, I am a machinist by trade, I had a friend that had a manual bridgeport milling machine which i used to make a lot of my parts and I bought myself a lathe to make the rest. Oh and JohnS helped me out a bit.....!

    So I now want to come up with a complete design and full set of drawings so that it will be possible for more or less anyone to put together a basic cnc router with as little difficulty as possible. I will be making the first machines myself to prove the designs and will tweak them along the way to fine tune them before any drawings or designs are released. I want to be happy with them first!

    Also I will be prepared to either manufacture myself or get components made that people are struggling to make, not all the components but just the parts which will be difficult to make at home. How much will these cost? Not as much as you think! I am not here to earn a living from this just give people a chance to get started.

    The design so far consists of a 18mm and 25mm MDF frame construction, M12 leadscrews all round with M12 plastic leadscrew nuts, homemade linear guide system. Steppers to be decided but probably 23's. I have a bit more to do on the design and still yet to build a working model so if anyone has any 'sensible' suggestions then my ears are open, just remember though that the key to this is to keep the price down, we are not looking for accuracy just a starting point for people to get going in CNC machining.
    Last edited by HiltonSteve; 21-05-2010 at 05:59 PM.

  2. #2
    sOUNDS GOOD STEVE,
    WHAT ABOUT THE ELECTRONICS ? You need something better than the CaPs LoCk button on this freeking keyboard.
    Drivers seem to be the stumbling block to cost.

    The all in 1 Chinese boards are not for beginners, in fact I don't know who they are aimed at unless it's belling electric fires ?
    Roy's System 4 is a nice system but can't be called cheap for a start up MDF unit
    John S -

  3. #3
    I hear what you are saying about the electronics and I do not know of a really cheap way of putting together a stepper controller system either. But if you do go with do go with one of Roy's system 4 boards then you would be looking at about £260 with a power supply which is not over expensive and this could be used with a bigger/better machine later on if needed.

    Add on to this the cost of 3 steppers at £25-£35 depending on where you get them from and what spec you want and you are up and running with the electronics for around £350.

    Would a newbie CNC builder think £350 is expensive for a stepper motor and controller solution? I don't know! Are there any newbie's out there to answer this one for us??

  4. #4
    Nice thread, From my own point of view, yes £350 is a huge amount of money. Maybe my own personal situation is clouding things. There must be other folks out there who are finding finances tight but they may think differently about finding a few hundred pounds.

    If I was to be totally honest with myself, I should walk away from CNC and take up stamp collecting. However I have never given up on a challenge yet and I do not intend to start now!! I have something like £50 a month to finance my build so its going to take a while!!

    I will say I was close to wrapping my hand in and calling it a day but there are a couple of guys here who have helped me make a start and unless they request anonymity I shall name them later.

    As to the electrics ... somewhere on this forum was a post by a guy who has a 3 axis machine running on a board he has built himself and sells it ready made or in kit form for around £60 ( http://www.planet-cnc.com ) I do not know enough about controllers etc to pass judgement here. So I do not know if it would be of use.

    There are plenty of plans on the web many of them using MDF and skate bearings etc but then they end up using threaded rod which seems to lead to more anguish than pleasure.

    If you can come up with something that is ' cheap ', can produce acceptable results and can enable guys to 'learn' then go for it.

    I for one will be watching developments.
    Tim G-C

    “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

    (attrib. Voltaire but written by Evelyn Beatrice Hall "The Friends of Voltaire" 1906)

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by HiltonSteve View Post
    I hear what you are saying about the electronics and I do not know of a really cheap way of putting together a stepper controller system either. But if you do go with do go with one of Roy's system 4 boards then you would be looking at about £260 with a power supply which is not over expensive and this could be used with a bigger/better machine later on if needed.

    Would a newbie CNC builder think £350 is expensive for a stepper motor and controller solution? I don't know! Are there any newbie's out there to answer this one for us??
    Great thread, for me this is just what is needed, because a lot of people are enjoying this as their Hobby and are unlikely to have funds from a "bottomless pit" and wont be making "loads a money"

    I finally took the plunge and went for a system 4 and also got the spindle board (but thats for later). I justified the cost to myself with the good reports I read on here, and the help thats available from Roy. Also this will be ok when I move on to bigger and better things much later

    I've got mine up and running and cutting basic shapes out and drawing - But this is very time consuming because I'm still fascinated every time I see it running :)

    I'm running with 10t timing pulleys and direct driving these through a short piece of rubber hose, just temp to get the feel of things and start to get to grips with cad- cam- code process

    So my answer is yes its more expensive than the fleabay route, but the reputation for support and service that I will need when I reach the "brick wall" is by far is the best route for me :)

    Cheers Shaun

  6. #6
    Quick update.....

    Been hunting around for a cheap off the shelf option for linear slides and to be honest I am struggling, everything I have found comes at a cost which I think for what we are trying to achieve is too expensive. But I have another plan, ordered today some engineering plastic from a company I deal with and I am going to try and make a very simple but hopefully very cheap alternative. Will let you know how I get on when I have tried it, I know it will work but not sure how well yet...

    Some of you may find my next bit of news interesting...

    A stepper controller at the right price...! I have decided to go with 17 size steppers for this project now because it reduces the costs all round and takes a big chunk out of the total build cost, using 17 size steppers also means we do not need powerful drivers and I think that I have come up with just the thing. See details below...

    Oh, and they are made in the UK!

    Motor Outputs

    • 3 x Allegro A4983 Microstepping Stepper motor controller (fixed at 1.5 amps 8th stepping)

    Some features of the driver IC's

    • Intelligent chopping control that automatically selects the correct current decay mode (fast decay or slow decay)
    • Over-temperature thermal shutdown, under-voltage lockout, and crossover-current protection

    Outputs

    • 1 x 12vdc output for laser / external relay or contractor rated at max 500ma.
    • 2 x 6a relays rated for 230vac.


    Connections

    • It requires a PSU minimum 4 amp 2.5mm laptop type connector. (an old laptop power supply will be suitable)
    • 1 x male DB25 connector (for connection to parallel port, cable not supplied)
    • 1 x female DB9 connector (to breakout unused parallel port connections, for limits etc)
    • 1 x 6 way Phoenix screw clamp connector (for E-Stop input, and outputs)
    • 3 x 4 way Phoenix screw less connector ( for X, Y & Z axis motor connections)


    Enclosure

    The system is enclosed within an all Aluminium enclosure for maximum heat dissipation and RF shielding. In the top of the enclosure is a 12vdc fan to provide active cooling of the driver IC's
    Dimensions Height, Width, Depth = 55mm x 100mm x 120mm

    Cost will be around £120-£130 so hopefully this will be of more interest to the people on a tight budget.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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    Last edited by HiltonSteve; 24-05-2010 at 10:43 PM.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by HiltonSteve View Post
    Been hunting around for a cheap off the shelf option for linear slides and to be honest I am struggling
    Have you looked at the DryLin slides from RS? Only vaguely grot, low profile, easy to mount and cheap as chips.

  8. #8
    That Planet board is just the controller at 148 euros for the board and software, you still need drivers after that so basically the Planet board is virtually the same price as mach3.
    John S -

  9. #9
    Sorry John, I must have misunderstood the website, but he does state.

    "CNC motion controller is a link between personal computer and drivers for stepper motors. It uses USB port which is available on all modern computers and laptops. This is a complete (software/hardware) solution and it does NOT require any additional software (Mach3 is NOT needed)".

    I assumed it was a complete package.

    I will shut up in areas I have no experience.
    Last edited by Wobblybootie; 21-05-2010 at 12:16 PM. Reason: Misleading text.
    Tim G-C

    “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

    (attrib. Voltaire but written by Evelyn Beatrice Hall "The Friends of Voltaire" 1906)

  10. #10
    Don't apologise or you will never learn anything,
    it is confusing for a beginner to get all the building blocks of what is required into position.
    I'll post later tonight , busy at the moment the kettle is playing up and that Bastard Smoking Monkey has forgot all about the hobnobs.

    .
    John S -

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