The Widgitmaster's Travelling CNC Medicine Show

[BobWarfield]

I recently purchased one of Widgitmaster's CNC mini-routers off eBay, and found it to be a delightfully constructed little machine. I decided to order a Xylotex 3-axis complete kit (very happy with that!) to run it, and to install the electronics in a toolbox so the whole thing would be portable if I wanted to take it and demo CNC somewhere. Hence the term "travelling medicine show".

I've written up what I've got on my web page:

http://www.cnccookbook.com/CCCNCMiniRouter.html

The whole story is on the page, but here are some "teaser" photos:







I still need to mount the steppers, but I'm waiting on couplers to arrive to do that. The motors run great on Mach 3, so I'll spend the time thinking of what I want to g-code for a first project. Probably an engraving of some kind.

I want to thank the Widgitmaster for making these great little machines available. They're fantastic toys!

Cheers,

BW

[wcarrothers1]

Seeing that mini next to that Craftsman tool box makes me think Widgit could go big and compete with that carvewrite thing they are selling now..

Ya.. Mass production and selling Mini routers through craftsman...

Just an idea..hehe


b.

[bp092]

that's wild, looks really slick, nice machine wish joe's 06' machine could fit in a craftsman box , I'de show everyone!

[randyf1965]

that's wild, looks really slick, nice machine wish joe's 06' machine could fit in a craftsman box , I'de show everyone!

Just need a REALLY big toolbox!

[unterhaus]

cutting board electronics mounting assembly -- so useful that Digikey should stock it. That is a very nice looking little machine.

[BobWarfield]

FWIW, I love polyboard now that I've tried it in this application. Poly cutting boards are available cheap everywhere. I can't go pick up 6061 aluminum anywhere near where I live, but I can roll over to Target or any number of other places and get poly cutting boards dirt cheap.

I first read about using them as sacrificial spoil boards on the Industrial Hobbies web site, but this is the first time I actually used some in a project. It machines really nicely, and it is reasonably rigid in cutting board thicknesses.

At this stage I now have the steppers mounted and I've been generating some g-codes with my CAM program. I'm hoping to make first chips this week.

Cheers!

BW

[BobWarfield]

Finished my first cuts with the Widgitmaster mini-router:





These Hawaiian turtle glyphs were done using just the ball nose burr that came with the Dremel. I am waiting for some better quality cutters, but the result was pretty nice. If you want to read about how the g-code was generated and the rest of the project, or download the g-code, it's on the mini-router page:

http://www.thewarfields.com/cnccookb...iniRouter.html

Cheers,

BW

[BobWarfield]

For those who may have wondered whether you can cut aluminum with a machine like the mini-router, I cut some this evening. I've wanted to make some clamps I've christened the "EZClamps", and they're perfect for CNC'ing from aluminum:



I had been waiting for some 1/8" endmills to arrive, but I got bored this evening, so I fired it up with 1/16" endmills:



To hold it in place, I simply superglued it to a piece of poly cutting board. When I finished, it came off the cutting board with a light tap. Here is the final result:



It's hard to tell from the photo, but the surface finish was actually quite nice. I didn't finish the cut because it would've been about 3 hours. I need to wait for my 1/8th inch endmills to arrive first.

Once again, I am amazed at the power of a little CNC. Thanks again to the Widgitmaster for creating this little beastie!

Cheers,

BW