DIY Coupling  This creative coupling solution comes from another generous user of the site (Marc K.). He has devised a way to couple the motor to the leadscrew with standard aluminum tubing. Marc has graciously allowed me to show you this creative idea. Read on... Have you noticed the new graphic? I am extending the rights associated to the work I'm doing here. I have licensed my work and kits under the Creative Commons Attribution License. Since this is a machine that can replicate itself, I'm giving the users the right to be able to reproduce the machine and elements of the machine for non-commercial distribution. So, if you purchase or build the machine, you can improve upon the design and/or make reproductions of it and give it to others, but you must attribute the credit to this work and site. Click on the license to get more information. CNC Machine Workpiece Clamping  This technique comes from one of the users of this site (Robert L). He has come up with a brilliant clamping idea. I get many emails asking, "how do you clamp your workpiece." I would often reply with the screw and wood scrap idea, but when I saw the method below, I knew this was the one to seriously consider. The historic reference is icing on the cake. When he talks about the moving to various positions, he is making reference to g-code. He specifies, assuming that you have zeroed out the correct position of the origin, that you move to x0 y0... and so on. You would read on... CNC Machine v1.2 Kit Assembly Videos Released If you enjoy the antics of the family chaotically trying to assembly the CNC Machine, or you just want to know how to do the assembly, watch the videos. My wife tries to do it, but I think she better at filming the process. :) Demonstration of the CNC Ver. 1.2 Kit There have been a few requests for a demonstration of the new CNC Router Kit Ver. 1.2. Since I have been hard at work cutting out a bunch of CNC parts for shipping, I dusted off the camera and shot a bit of the CNC in action. The beginning of the video shows actual speed. The video is sped up so a majority of the cutting can be shown. Enjoy the video and as always, give me some feedback. Stepper Drivers, Motors, and Power  Here are the electronics that you will need to make the CNC Router move! I am offering a bundle of components including three stepper motors, three stepper motor drivers, a power supply, breakout board and a fan to keep everything in normal operating temperatures. This equipment will have the power for the CNC router kit that I offer on the main sales page. This system will also enable many other CNC retrofits. Later, I will also include a video tutorial on how to wire the whole thing together, but in the meantime, there is a wiring diagram. All of these components are sold as a package for $450 USD. Read more... CNC Kit Ver 1.2 Update Update: I've added a video to give a first look at the version 1.2 kit. I would like to thank all those that purchased the CNC kit during the development phase of the new expandable CNC router kit. Your patience is greatly appreciated and you will find that as I state below, the price you are paying is well worth the wait. Below, you will see a video of the progress of the machine. It is nearly completed and I can start on the next phase: production. Errata to the video: I state that the smaller kit has a routing area of 24" x 48" and the correction is that the x-axis actually has a longer routing area than 48" (approximately 51") due to the modular pieces being used. After understanding the amount of work that goes into creating this CNC machine, the price points will be higher than previously stated. Read on... CNC Machine Pecking February 12, 2008 So, what does a woodpecker do? It pecks, and the pecking is to bore a hole. It would be very difficult for a woodpecker to bore a hole in a tree with just one thrust into the tree. The same goes with machining various materials. I previously mentioned pecking in a previous page, but I think it's important to mention it with an example. Read on with video... CNC Kit Ver 1.2 Almost Ready  The new expandable CNC Router Machine is in the final phase of development and everything is fitting perfectly and sliding smoothly. In the image above, you will notice a few pieces to the CNC machine. I'm only showing about half of the pieces necessary to assemble the complete CNC. All of these parts are machined so the alignments will be to acceptable tolerances. You will also notice that the CNC machine's structure is beefed up. This machine is built like a house. Read on... PCB Schematic Available Update: I have added an explanation of the CNC Stepper Driver circuit and the functionality. This should help in the understanding of the major components and how they are related. Many of you have requested that I add the schematic and board layout files. These files were created with the Eagle CadSoft appliction. You can find the files here. Prototype PCB Finally Arrives  January 30, 2008The Printed Circuit Board (PCB) finally arrived in the mail today. I can't believe it took so long, but I'm excited regardless. I spent about 4 days non-stop... Driving my wife and kids crazy designing this thing. It was so bad that when I got up from the continual sitting position, my back had some serious hurtin'. I fit 3 axes in an extremely small footprint. Not that I really had to work in such a confined space... I mean, I could have just purchased the Eagle license to work with a larger board area, right? The board is about half the size of a slice of bread. Yep, that's why it took me four days, and the signal routing was especially fun?!? Read on... | Latest Products  The new CNC Router v1.2 Kit with a 2'x4' routing area expandable to 4'x8'.
Electronics components you will need to get your CNC router moving for a 3 axis system. 3 stepper motors, drivers, power supply, bearkout board and more. 
These are my hand picked components and hardware for the perfect leap into this CNC process. You will also get the cut sheets and plans for cutting the necessary MDF pieces (including my easier and improved design).
Here are the bearings with 5/8" inner diameter. Use these bearings with 5/8" diameter lead screws. You will typically need two per lead screw (2/axis). A three axis machine would need 6 of these bearings. 
These are bearings with 3/8" inner diameter. These bearings would be typically used with 3/8" lead screws and couplers that contain a 3/8" bore on at least one side (hub). Use two per axis (one on each end of each lead screw). |