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Anyone here build their own CNC?
- Thread starter UVRay
- Start date
SignProPlus-Alex
New Member
I build my own. Pm if you have any questions.
Gene@mpls
New Member
You mean Artbot- but he has a ancient ShopBot. You can get a good deal on the older SBs BTW-
and probably better than you will build (the first time).
Gino
Premium Subscriber
Where'd you get that ??
Yeah, I wrote it wrong and corrected it so he doesn't see his name spelled wrong. 
Get Lucky
New Member
In my other Job I am a Machinist. If you want build a CNC look at www.CNCzone.com there are a ton people that build them there to do a number of different things.
neato
New Member
DIY built CNC Router
I am in the process of preparing my shop for a CNC router. When it is ready I be using kits from two different companies. www.cncrouterparts.com for the table and www.flashcutcnc.com for the electronics.
Ray
I am in the process of preparing my shop for a CNC router. When it is ready I be using kits from two different companies. www.cncrouterparts.com for the table and www.flashcutcnc.com for the electronics.
Ray
UVRay
New Member
Thanks for the replies guys. I just wanted to know if I had lost my mind and was the only cat on the block who wants to build my own.
I work for a large manufacturing company, we have several BIG CNC machines, even a CNC panel saw. Depending on how busy the mill is I don't always get my media cut in a timely manner, i.e. (the day the media arrives).
So I started looking around, I need a 5x10' bed. And yes, I've been trolling through several CNC sites to get info. I'm leaning towards dual ball drives on the bed, single ball drives on the gantry and Z-Axis. Supported Rails throughout the system. Framing it with 3" extruded aluminum.
Going with the Gecko540 electronics package and NEMA 23 motors. Do you guys think I'm OK using twin NEMA23 600oz motors on the bed and a single 600oz 23 on the gantry? I'm probably going to draw up the gantry side frames and have them cut out on our big CNC machines out of Baltic Birch plywood.
I'm leaning towards a water cooled spindle setup and making my own vacuum system for the cutter debris. I do a lot of large prints on Sintra. Often it's cheaper for me to buy 5x10 media rather than 4x8 and get more than one piece per board.
I'm not doing ones and twos, I'm usually doing dozens of a print. 3mm and 6mm EPVC primarily.
I'm still unsure about the best method of securing my media. If I go with a vacuum bed I'm not going to be able to cut but a sheet at a time right? I can't pull vacuum through my flatbed printers through a single sheet of 3mm EPVC.
How do you guys secure multiple sheets for cutting a stack or can you?
Also, anyone using zero kerf cutting or perhaps minimal kerf? I have one particular job that I order 5x10' 3mm EPVC for that needs pretty much zero kerf as the trim is 29.917" and of course I want to get two pieces out of the large sheet so I don't want to plow through it with a 1/4" bit giving me two useless pieces of 29.875".
Thanks!
Ray
I work for a large manufacturing company, we have several BIG CNC machines, even a CNC panel saw. Depending on how busy the mill is I don't always get my media cut in a timely manner, i.e. (the day the media arrives).
So I started looking around, I need a 5x10' bed. And yes, I've been trolling through several CNC sites to get info. I'm leaning towards dual ball drives on the bed, single ball drives on the gantry and Z-Axis. Supported Rails throughout the system. Framing it with 3" extruded aluminum.
Going with the Gecko540 electronics package and NEMA 23 motors. Do you guys think I'm OK using twin NEMA23 600oz motors on the bed and a single 600oz 23 on the gantry? I'm probably going to draw up the gantry side frames and have them cut out on our big CNC machines out of Baltic Birch plywood.
I'm leaning towards a water cooled spindle setup and making my own vacuum system for the cutter debris. I do a lot of large prints on Sintra. Often it's cheaper for me to buy 5x10 media rather than 4x8 and get more than one piece per board.
I'm not doing ones and twos, I'm usually doing dozens of a print. 3mm and 6mm EPVC primarily.
I'm still unsure about the best method of securing my media. If I go with a vacuum bed I'm not going to be able to cut but a sheet at a time right? I can't pull vacuum through my flatbed printers through a single sheet of 3mm EPVC.
How do you guys secure multiple sheets for cutting a stack or can you?
Also, anyone using zero kerf cutting or perhaps minimal kerf? I have one particular job that I order 5x10' 3mm EPVC for that needs pretty much zero kerf as the trim is 29.917" and of course I want to get two pieces out of the large sheet so I don't want to plow through it with a 1/4" bit giving me two useless pieces of 29.875".
Thanks!
Ray
I built my own. It is a KRMx02 design by Kronos Robotics. I built a 27x50.
Here is there website. http://www.kronosrobotics.com/krmx02
Here is there website. http://www.kronosrobotics.com/krmx02
SignProPlus-Alex
New Member
Here is picture of my cnc. Steel frame. Aluminum gantry. Nema 34 motors wit 4:1 reduction. Rack and pinion. 25mm NSK rails. 1.5 Kw water cooled spindle. 50x100 inches cutting pocket. 4 zones vacuum hold down. Mach3 with 210 gecko drives.
I can cut 1/2 PVC in one pass at 250 ipm. It is not that fast but it works for me. I spent total of $3000 and some time after 5 o'clock building it. Longest unattended run 10 hours.
I am working to add crop mark recognition system for contour cutting and knife head.
What I would do different.
1- heavier gauge metal for a table1/4 2x2 square tube and 6x8 for gantry
2- larger table to accommodate for a ATC spindle extra 12" travel
3- bottom mounted rails it (no screw caps)
4 -at list 4 hp spindle if you want to cut plywood faster than 150ipm
I can cut 1/2 PVC in one pass at 250 ipm. It is not that fast but it works for me. I spent total of $3000 and some time after 5 o'clock building it. Longest unattended run 10 hours.
I am working to add crop mark recognition system for contour cutting and knife head.
What I would do different.
1- heavier gauge metal for a table1/4 2x2 square tube and 6x8 for gantry
2- larger table to accommodate for a ATC spindle extra 12" travel
3- bottom mounted rails it (no screw caps)
4 -at list 4 hp spindle if you want to cut plywood faster than 150ipm
Attachments
You are very special.
Yes you are right. Very good. You are the most credible person I don't know. Very well done and congratulations.
Techman
New Member
The question was building a self built machine.
The answer is.. Yes it can be done. There are self built cnc machines that are just as capable with professional quality plug and play controllers using hardware easily available to anyone.
One person can build a cnc out of a hardware store. They are not all that complicated.
There are designs around that outperform a cheap Chinese built. Outperform means Fast, accurate and stable enough to cut with accuracy.
There are self built cnc forums all over the net where any body can get guidance to build a reasonable cnc machine that will operate on most materials (excluding ferous metals) used in sign making for about 7 grand.
The answer is.. Yes it can be done. There are self built cnc machines that are just as capable with professional quality plug and play controllers using hardware easily available to anyone.
One person can build a cnc out of a hardware store. They are not all that complicated.
There are designs around that outperform a cheap Chinese built. Outperform means Fast, accurate and stable enough to cut with accuracy.
There are self built cnc forums all over the net where any body can get guidance to build a reasonable cnc machine that will operate on most materials (excluding ferous metals) used in sign making for about 7 grand.
Yes I know... I built one, and if I could do it again I would buy one and get all those hundreds of hours back. It has been many years, but I am back at it today, replacing the Z axis. This will require tons of work to fit the new parts onto the old homemade framing, then I have to figure out how to set up the dust foot. I am also adding e-chain to carry the cables and that will require another pile of improvisation. All this sounds simple but I don't have a good metal fab shop to make parts with. Even when I did it still was a lot of trial and error. Put the whole thing together then run it to find the new brackets block the Z carriage etc... The advantage I have is mine will cut 5' 6" x 11' with about a 10" gantry. But for 10K you can get a pretty sweet 4' x 8' heavy iron CNC from China, and there are many users who have found them very dependable. They are very heavy (Which is good) with name brand bearings and rails. Add file and start cutting. Meanwhile I will be back at my shop for the next 3 days or more once again screwing around with mine.