Great CNC Related Articles: Article

CNC Gold Being Delivered

Posted October 22, 2012 By admin

As we have mentioned in a previous post one of the absolute best ways of getting the most bang for your buck is to purchase a decommissioned machine from a manufacturing facility and cannibalize it for its parts.  Tearing it down is a learning process all its own. Unneeded parted can be sold on eBay…continue reading

Granite Devices VSD-XE Servo/Stepper Driver Review

Posted October 20, 2012 By admin

The kind folks over at Granite Devices allowed us to review one of their “swiss-army knife” VSD drives and we were happy to do so.  We had heard lots about these drives and couldn’t wait to get  our hands on one.  The Finish based company is known for their quality products with top notch software and…continue reading

Smooth Stepper Review

Posted September 5, 2012 By admin

This article is our review of the Warp9 Ethernet SmoothStepper .  Warp9 Tech Design is a USA-based family company, dedicated to the design and development of motion control products for the small to medium CNC Machine industry and they were kind enough to give us one of their units for the purpose of reviewing! If you…continue reading

Moving Offices

Posted July 1, 2012 By admin

We are moving our offices and our CAD Library conversion servers will be down from 06/29-07/02.  You may continue to upload if you like but if you do attempt to add to CAD Library during that period they will be held in a queue until our servers are back online.  Thanks for your patience.

Amazing Shrimp Boat! (CAD Library Design Winner)

Posted June 4, 2012 By admin

Our latest contest winner for the CAD Library Design contest was J. Stacey!  His shrimp boat was worthy of an entire post in and of itself.  We asked if we could share additional photos and the complete *.dxf set he used in creating the boat and he graced us with dozens of photos and the…continue reading

MeshCAM Software Review

Posted May 3, 2012 By admin

To help users in their purchasing decisions, I want to review various CAD/CAM  software packages to help the end user make educated decisions.  As a full disclosure, for each piece of software reviewed,  I ask each software company for a license for their product in exchange for one month of free advertising and a product…continue reading

CNC Router Plans

Posted April 11, 2012 By admin

The trial and error method of designing, developing and refining your own CNC machine design has many merits of its own; however, there are some significant drawbacks.  Topping that list is the loss of time and money!  If you are tight on one or the other or both, then it may make sense for you to…continue reading

Drive Options for CNC

Posted February 29, 2012 By admin

Selecting Drive Components for CNC machines When designing a CNC machine from the ground up one of the very first decisions is drive methodology.  It is worth taking a moment to think through the pros and cons of each option.  For the DIY hobbiest and the industrial machinist alike, there are four basic options for…continue reading

CamBam Software Review

Posted February 7, 2012 By admin

To help users in their purchasing decisions, I want to review various CAD/CAM  software packages to help the end user make educated decisions.  As a full disclosure, for each piece of software reviewed,  I ask each software company for a license for their product in exchange for one month of free advertising and a product…continue reading

Principles of DIY Dust Shoes

Posted January 1, 2012 By admin

Introduction I’m now on my fourth evolution of my dust shoe for my CNC machine.  My goal for this article is to encourage you to do it right the first time!  Designing good dust collection from the beginning is a very important, often overlooked feature of DIY CNC design.  Most CNC shop hobbiests are disinclined…continue reading

Design Contest Winner

Posted December 1, 2011 By admin

Congratulations to Metalworks for winning the Oct-Nov design competition!  Check out his cable DIY cable management solution and the provide source files! Scoring was based on published criteria.  The next design competition will begin December 15th and run till February 15th so keep posted.  The prize this time will be a 6 axis pendant and corresponding controller…continue reading

TinkerCAD (online CAD)

Posted November 28, 2011 By admin

TinkerCAD.com is a pretty amazing online CAD package and fortunate for us, outputs in *.stl format so the models can be uploaded to our CAD library.  I took the liberty of sketching out a simple model and uploading to see if the format was indeed compatible.  In order to use TinkerCAD you must first go…continue reading

Linear Motor Demonstration

Posted November 17, 2011 By admin

Linear motors have been in use for some time but are starting to approach practical implementation in the DIY machines.  A linear motor is an electric motor that has had its stator and rotor “unrolled” so that instead of producing a torque (rotation) it produces a linear force along its length.  Some of the key advantages are…continue reading

Tips on Buying a Laser from China

Posted October 27, 2011 By admin

This is a guest post from Ben Poulin (ben-us@xyz-tech.com).  Here is some great wisdom in purchasing a laser from China. China has the rock bottom prices, but how do you go about purchasing without getting burned (pun intended). Ben has some great thoughts here.  This post originally appeared as a blog post on cnczone.com.   Posted…continue reading

Steppers, Servos, and Backlash Simulator

Posted October 20, 2011 By admin

This is a guest post by Bob Warfield, founder of cnccookbook.com and creator of the excellent Gwizard software. This post originally appeared on the cnccookbook blog. Any CNC addict is a total sucker for simulators and he has designed one to help us understand and calculate backlash. Very useful knowledge to have! Note: posted with…continue reading

What is Microstepping and how is it beneficial?

Posted July 18, 2011 By admin

  Microstepping is technique used by stepper motor controllers to increase the resolution and/or reduce vibration and resonance of a stepper motor.   Most stepper motors have 200 steps per revolution or 1.8 degrees per step.  This resolution is in fact a function of the way the motor was wound.  The theory behind microstepping is to…continue reading

Laser Center Finder

Posted By admin

Cool Center Finder http://www.bg-cnc.com/wordpress/?p=410

Rollers and Strapping to Enclose Ways

Posted By admin

Of all the designs for covering and protecting ways, this is the best one we have run across yet.  It is relatively inexpensive, easy to design into the machine and absorbs the least amount precious travel.  Bellow designs are typically used on industrail machines but are expensive, propietary, and require significant space to install.  Brush…continue reading

DIY Cable Carrier

Posted By admin

There are a lot of ingenious DIY cable carriers out there.  Check out the design group here entitle DIY Cable Management for yet another example.  Here are too offsite examples that we thought were particularly well done. http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25257             http://www.8020cnc.com/cable%20carrier

Building Your Own Cyclone Dust Collection System

Posted By admin

CNC machines by nature create a lot of dust.  This dust needs to be extracted from the cutting area for the health of both the operator and machine.  Airborne dust (particularly MDF) is one of the most dangerous long term health hazards of associated with CNC routers.  Removing the dust at the point of origin…continue reading

Machine Unexpectedly Rounds Corners When Cutting

Posted By admin

This mysterious problem is usually described in these words, ” I can get my machine to move fast, but whenever it comes to a 90 degree turn it starts the turn early and rounds it off instead of slowing down and making a nice sharp, crisp turn.” This problem is a result of the controller…continue reading

Determining causes for machining chatter, tool chatter or part finish problems

Posted By admin

Which axis or axes? One tool or multiple? Is it at a quadrant? Are you having problems with size varying? Was the job just setup? Was the machine crashed recently? Is this a different batch of parts or different lot of castings? Harder material or improper hardening? Have you been changing inserts more often? Is…continue reading

How Stepper Motors Work

Posted By admin

1st Position: The top electromagnet (#1) is energized, attracting the nearest tooth of a gear-shaped iron rotor. With the teeth aligned to electromagnet (#1), they will be slightly offset from electromagnet #2. 2nd Position: The top electromagnet (#1) is turned off, and the right electromagnet (#2) is energized, pulling the nearest teeth slightly to the…continue reading

The Difference Between a Stepper Motor and a Servo Motor

Posted By admin

The main difference between stepper motors and a servo motors is that stepper motors do not have feedback loops whereas servo motors do. In making a choice between steppers and servos, a number of issues must be considered; which of these will matter depends on the application. For example, the repeatability of positioning done with…continue reading

Stepper Motor Wiring on 8,6,5 and 4 Lead Motors. (Which Lead Goes Where?)

Posted By admin

Stepper Motor Wiring In general, 2-phase stepper motors can have 4, 6 or 8-wire leads, not including any (optional) encoder lines.  Some stepper motors have a motor case ground that can be tied to the ground of the system. It is usually a black wire, and it will add one additional wire to the overall…continue reading

An Introduction to Motors. Part 1: How They Produce Torque

Posted By admin

The Basic Physics Principle That Motors Exploit There is a basic physical principles which all motors exploit in order to perform their magic.  And that physical principle is simply this: when a current carrying conductor (i.e. wire) is placed into a magnetic field a repelling force is created.  Motors are designed to convert that repelling…continue reading

One Ballscrew or Two

Posted July 5, 2011 By admin

Like all major design decisions, deciding between one or two ballscrews on the x-axis is a decision of trade-offs.  Designing a machine with a single ballscrew running down the middle of the machine is certainly the most simple and econimical setup.  This design utilizes one motor, one driver and one screw.  Here is a photo…continue reading

Frame Material Options

Posted July 2, 2011 By admin

  Deciding on a frame material is a key decision in the durability and precision of any CNC machine.  For most people this decision is determined in large part by skill in manufacturing, available tooling, and economics. Here are some of the available options and the associated benefits of each: Wood: Wood is the cheapest…continue reading

What is Your Budget

Posted By admin

CNC Budgets The picture chosen for this article is meant to illustrate that CNC machines come in all shapes, sizes and perhaps most germaine, ALL BUDGETS.  This guy built a machine out of drawer slides and R/C servo motors!  Great ingenuity and resourcefulness on a budget! That being said, here are some principles to incorporate…continue reading

Mechanical Gold

Posted June 27, 2011 By admin

One of the most cost effective ways to build a CNC machine from the ground up is to purchase an industrial machine that has been decommissioned and is being sold for scrap.  There are many different kinds of machines that contain the valuable parts we need to make our machines.  Pick and place machines, inspection…continue reading

The Importance of a Plan

Posted By admin

Plans are very important because they force us to build into our machines design features that otherwise would end up afterthoughts (i.e. dust collection, bellows, 4th Axis, wire housing, etc).  In addition, costly mistakes are minimized and speed of building is significantly increased.  When thinking through planning a machine, there are two routes you can…continue reading

Tips When Purchasing Used Components

Posted June 20, 2011 By admin

This is a somewhat basic tip that could save you hundreds of dollars and many, many hours.  When purchasing used components from surplus dealers or on eBay, it is tempting to start purchasing “sweet deals” as they are listed.  But the order in which those “sweet deals” are acquired needs to be strategic.  For example,…continue reading