C.N.C.

[manuel]

So I'm thinking of building a simple 3 axis cnc machine for a few projects I've got on the go (a project in itself too!). I'm pretty confident on the design and building something that will work. What I'm not too sure about is software and programming. It's mostly going to be for cutting flat sheets of ply/other wood into custom shapes 

For those that do some of their own or have their own - is there any good free software I should be looking at? And on a scale of 1 (taking a picture and sending it with an iPhone) to 10 (pointers to pointers in C) how hard and time consuming is it to learn to design and program something in?

[David]

I've built my own CNC router. You definitely want to head over to the www.mycncuk.com forums. Nearly everyone is using Mach3 for the control (along with something like a Smoothstepper motion control card) - that's the setup I use anyway. It's certainly a fun project but can get expensive and very time consuming! Make sure you are realistic about your requirements right from the start. I wanted something to do a bit of everything but what I've really realised is I want something for almost exclusively cutting aluminium. I would of designed things differently from the start if I'd of known!

 

 

[David]

1 hour ago, manuel said:

For those that do some of their own or have their own - is there any good free software I should be looking at? And on a scale of 1 (taking a picture and sending it with an iPhone) to 10 (pointers to pointers in C) how hard and time consuming is it to learn to design and program something in?

In terms of taking designs from CAD to CAM it's quite easy. I'd definitely recommend Fusion360 (it's free!) as it's a completely integrated environment and very easy to learn. A lot of the skill is involved in selecting appropriate "speeds and feeds" as well as all the setup involved in work holding the material you are going to cut. If you are doing simple "2D" parts from sheet then this removes quite a bit of complexity but still requires some thought.

[JD™]

On 29/08/2017 at 9:28 PM, David said:

 

Did you cut the keyboard and the can in the same project, or were they done separately?

[Synergy]

Id say use draft sight, its also free and essentially the same as autocad 2d, we use it for simple design work at work when solidworks 3d isnt needed. give me a shout if you need a hand, im often having to do profiles for barges etc to be cut out.

[Danny]

Have you see the one thisoldtony made on youtube? Some good information in his videos, from the build to the software to upgrades

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NO8MgTQKHAWXp6z8Xl7yQ

[manuel]

That guy's videos are pretty cool. Watched his full cnc machine build yesterday. A lot of things came up that I hadn't really considered, and the accuracy of his build seemed pretty spectacular. 

I'm a bit worried that I'm totally mental, but I'm wanting to build something moderately massive and cut full sheets of ply, and as such the accuracy doesn't need to be as good, but it seems like the hardest part of my build is going to be building a flat enough stiff enough table for the full sheet.

[CC12345678910]

Channel on youtube called homofaciens - a german guy who built a budget cnc router and also a plotter from things like m10 stud bar, a dremel, stepper motors from scrap printers and his own linux code. 

Might be of some use to you @manuel.

Also as a subnote all of his videos in english have the comedy value of making him sound like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Edited September 5, 2017 by CC12345678910

[David]

On 9/1/2017 at 1:06 PM, JD™ said:

Did you cut the keyboard and the can in the same project, or were they done separately?

Cut out of a single billet of unobtanium!

 

Manuel, if you want to get an idea of what's involved in Fusion 360 and machining parts in general (although mainly aluminium) then definitely subscribe to NYC CNC: https://www.youtube.com/user/saunixcomp

Edited September 8, 2017 by David