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welcome to the never ending obsession of DIY CNC.
Some good reading over in the Joes2006 if you're thinking of a MDF build.
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Hello Gents,
I've been thinking about CNC routing for years ever since I started building telescopes and eyepiece cases considering they both require fairly accurate tolerances, especially the telescopes.
Lately, it was my teenage son who's now interested in Airsoft guns that got me thinking about it again, considering there are some very kewl plans to build your own Airsoft guns, one in particular is the Minigun made almost entirely from ABS. The plans require the parts be CNC'd but it could be done on a scrollsaw if one had the time and patience.
Of course, after doing some research over the past couple days, I found this site and the various plans and kits to build my own cnc router. At this point, being a total newbie, I'm still learning a lot and trying to decide which plan to go for, they all seem like great diy projects. I'm a little concerned getting all the parts, software, motors, etc, living in Canada, but I do live quite near the US border and have a mailing address just on the other side for shipping.
I have a nice 4x8 sheet of mdf ready to go, but also noticed some plans don't recommend using it. This is a bit of show stopper for me at this point trying to decide which plan to use.
Anyways, just wanted to introduce myself here and say hello. Most likely, I'll probably have a million questions and hope to share if I can.
Cheers all and keep your stick on the ice.
Jim
welcome to the never ending obsession of DIY CNC.
Some good reading over in the Joes2006 if you're thinking of a MDF build.
Thanks for the welcome.Originally Posted by jckstrthmghty
I was reading a lot about Joes build and like it a lot. Have also just been reading about Hack's build and I do like the overall simplicity of his design. Each time I start looking at all the different designs, I find something interesting on each one and still wind up back a square one, which one do I make?
I really like the idea of using the 8020 materials instead of rolling stock as it seems easier to work with and provides better tolerances overall. I also like the size of work area in Hacks design; 2x3 feet... seems like a perfect size.
After going through both Joe's and Hacks plans, I had a somewhat difficult time trying to see how Joe's plans worked. Downloaded the dwg files but there were no measurements.
Hacks and Jgro's plans were easier to work with, printed out with all the measurements.
Of course, I could be doing something wrong with Joe's plans and might have missed a step somewhere?
No offense Joe.
I think Joes plans are vectored ready to cut on a cnc. You should be able to open them up with a edrawing or something like that and use the measuring tools in the reader.
You'll need to open the drawings in your CAD program of choice, and measure them.Of course, I could be doing something wrong with Joe's plans and might have missed a step somewhere?
If you don't know any CAD programs, it's a pretty good time to start learning.
Gerry
Mach3 2010 Screenset
http://home.comcast.net/~cncwoodworker/2010.html
(Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)
Okay, that makes a whole lot more sense. Thanks.
What's the best free CAD software? Google Sketchup seems to have some pretty good reviews.
Sketchup is pretty good to start leearning with, there is lots of support for it. Cambam is also compatible with it so you won't need to learn another cad program once your machine is built to make toolpaths. I don't think you can open Joes plans in sketchup though, you would have to use another software. If you are a student or your son you could also get a free copy of autodesk inventor, it would have a steeper learning curve but its more powerfull, for making things like airsoft guns. It's what I use and I think there is no better CAD program out there.
-George
For a lot of things, it's much simpler to work with 2D drawings. Draftsight is supposed to a very good 2D CAD program.
Gerry
Mach3 2010 Screenset
http://home.comcast.net/~cncwoodworker/2010.html
(Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)
What I do it export faces of my parts to dxf's, which is pretty much what your doing. Your method is usually easier unless you deal with more complex parts where you need full 3d.
Thanks for the recommendations, gents. I'll check those out.
I think I may have stepped in it now or it's just providence.
On a lark, I checked out CL last night and about 20 minutes prior, a guy who lives about 10 minutes away posted an ad for...
- 03 stepper motors 270oz torque ( they are big and strong )
- 01 power suply
- 01 toshiba driver board 3 axis
- 01 cd with software mach 3 and lazy cam
- 01 cable
everything new , never used.
After contacting him, we negotiated the entire lot for $325. Did I do good here?
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