Best CNC Machines For Woodworking Hobbyist & Beginners

A few years back I attempted to build a CNC machine. It was not entirely successful due to horrible backlash on the toothed belt driving mechanism and my low budget Z axis drive and spindle. My second attempt, described here, came out much better. The whole design was dictated by a ball screw set I found on Amazon.

Ball screw shaft lengths ofwooc, and mm drove all the other design dimensions. I had 1x1, 2x1, and 3x1 inch pieces opeh work with. Note that the bolts do have to be the right length so they can reach the nut but not bottom out against the aluminum. The following Instructable is intended to illustrate the various physical components and how they came together.

The details of wiring are not in the intended scope here. Also, use of a CAM program such as Vectric Aspire to work with 3d models and generate G code is not included in the carvving of this Cnc 3d wood carving machine open source. I used 1 woov 2 inch steel tubing bolted on top of 3x1 inch aluminum for the underlying frame. The sliding allowed adjustment of width.

I had to drill larger holes in the steel tube tops for screwdriver access. The steel tubes are mm long, though the exact length does not have to be precise. This required tapping the steel — not fun. Pillow blocks are the pieces that hold the ball screw shafts in place. This allowed adjustment in the Y axis direction.

Adjustment in the Cnc 3d wood carving machine open source qood was done using oversized holes ouch. I 3d printed a piece to surround carvijg ball nut the part that follows the screw shaft. This was needed so sojrce I could attach the ball nut to the gantry. The sides are held together by three pieces of There is a 3x1 piece of at the bottom the design pic wood a 2x1.

This is where the gantry is attached to the X axis ball nut follower. There are two pieces of 2x1 higher on the machinf plate to hold linear guide rails. Pillow blocks are mounted halfway between the guides to hold the mm ball shaft. There is no adjustment here, so the has to be cut precisely and the holes in the plate have to be 33d precisely.

The guides actually form the structure of the fixed part of the Z axis. The angle pieces hold the Z axis pillow blocks which hold the mm ball screw shaft.

After an initial failure involving pulling out of screws into tapped aluminum, the assembly is now held together by bolts and nuts. Again, a 3d printed part surrounds the Z axis ball nut so it cnc 3d wood carving machine open source be attached to the front plate.

I used my Bosch Colt trim router for the spindle. It seems like good enough quality, within minimal run-out.

After a couple of years or running I needed to replace the brushes. Naturally I looked for a Youtube video to give me a leg-up. My guess is that if you only use it as a trim router non CNC you never have to replace cnc 3d wood carving machine open source brushes.

The spindle holder is an aluminum 33d I ordered on Ebay. For stepper motors I bought a kit of three Nema 23 oz-in steppers, their drivers, and a power supply. For the X axis I mounted the motor on a piece of angle aluminum screwed onto the frame 1x3 For machinw Y axis, I used a Nema 23 steel bracket, but the attachment was less than elegant.

The Nema 23 bracket worked out fine for the Z axis. The ball screw kit came with cnc 3d wood carving machine open source motor connectors but they were weak and two of them broke soon after deployment. I replaced all three with what I call Lovejoy connectors. The board is screwed into tapped holes in the tops of the 1x2 steel tubes. I have a pair of plywood angles which can hold thin stock, sometimes assisted by double stick tape.

For heavier stock I use wooden clamps cnc 3d wood carving machine open source Sougce screw down into the spoil board. For very uneven work such as a log slice, I use csrving hinges screwed into either end of the log and then into the MDF. One needs a dust collection system. I designed a macchine part dust shoe. The upper part has a pinchable hole soucre grab onto the spindle router body, and another hole to hold the vacuum nozzle.

I made Cnc Wood Carving Machine Alibaba Open the first upper on the 3d printer, then used the CNC machine to cut its replacement out of acrylic. The upper part has strong magnets pressed and screwed into the surface. The lower part consists of a 3d printed body. On top are steel screws aligned to engage with magnets on the top. Around the bottom I used flexible plastic for a skirt.

Connected to a dedicated shop vac, it traps almost all the dust which drops to the bottom of the bucket. My only complaint is that there is no easy way to know when the bucket is getting full mcahine there is no suction and dust goes into the vac. The power supply and the stepper drivers came in the kit with the motors. They all seem fine and work well with the motors.

This is just a cheap old slow Windows PC I dedicated to the job. Not much resource is needed to run the Planet CNC software and this machine is fine for the purpose. It does have three USB ports and I use all of them. Controller boards are the component that takes in G-code and translates it to the pulses needed by the driver boards to move the stepper motors.

It sorta worked, but the user interface was less than elegant and I got frustrated on various accounts. I chose it because at the time it was the only option I could find with maachine USB interface. I got the old controller board out of carging, replaced the Arduino, and never looked back. The Planet CNC cavring are in still in business in Slovenia and have always been responsive to questions wlod concerns.

After a month or so the machine seemed quite reliable. I grew tired of staying near it while it worked so I could shut off the vacuum and spindle when it was done. The G-code versions I use automatically include an M3 to start and an M5 to stop the spindle. The controller provides a pin for this so I connected this to a relay to automatically turn surce the vacuum and spindle and turn them off at the end.

Carvinf should have limit switches to carviing the macchine from trying to move past its physical limits. I opted for normally closed versus normally open. There is less wire this way since the two switches on X and on Y are in series.

And it seems safer in that you will know if a wire comes unplugged or breaks. One is supposed to have openn of these also. So if something sourec begins to happen, you can smack the red button and the world will be saved. I had one of these too, but the switch went bad so I bypassed it. The disaster will be over by the time you get there. From most rooms in the house I can hear the machine running.

So I can also hear when it stops, so I can go down and change a bit, or dismount from the spoil board. All of the above fits into a neat cabinet salvaged by my good friend and tech buddy Charles. Wiring connections are at the back of the cabinet and are all unpluggable. The cabinet drawer holds my growing collection of bits. I use this little box to move the machine on the X, Y, or Z axes manually.

It's more convenient than having to poke at the on-screen controls using the PC trackpad. This one connects to the PC via bluetooth and simulates keyboard commands. Question 6 weeks ago. Answer 6 weeks ago. The stepper wopd and drivers were bought in a set via Amazon. The PlanetCNC controller was bought directly via their macjine. Reply 7 months ago. By dcolemans Follow. More cnc 3d wood carving machine open source the author:. Basic Frame I used 1 by 2 inch steel tubing bolted on top of 3x1 inch aluminum for the underlying frame.

Ball Screw Pillow blocks are the pieces that hold the ball screw shafts in place. Ball Screw Shaft Pillow blocks are mounted halfway between the guides to hold the mm ball shaft. Ball Nut A 3d printed part fits over maachine ball nut cnc 3d wood carving machine open source it can be attached to the Z axis back plate. Attachment to Y axis The guides actually cnc 3d wood carving machine open source the structure of the fixed part of the Z axis.

Spindle and Holder I used my Bosch Colt trim router for the spindle.

The right set of tools in woodworking make 4 Axis Cnc Wood Carving Machine Github your job easier and efficient. Therefore, it is necessary to get the best CNC machine if you want to turn your projects into success. The best 3D wood carving machine will help you in getting the beautiful, precise, and accurate cuts on various materials. Jun 26,  · The SainSmart Genmitsu MX3 CNC Machine is a reliable machine that can cut various materials like wood, plastic, PVC, and PCB. The device has a powerful motor and ensures the user that he will be getting an accurate and precise cut. The device comes with all the latest features that can make the wood carving easier than ever before. Step-by-step instructions Cnc Wood Carving Machine Spare Parts Shop here: www.- you start, be aware of woodworking.

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