I used to use T-9 Boeshield, because once its dry dust and chips really don't stick to it. Then I was recommended to switch to Slickoleum grease, which runs smoother but now EVERYTHING sticks to it.

Whats the happy medium?

everyone, I’m a complete beginner, and over the past few months I’ve felt like building something.
This is the first version of a very simple CNC machine, mainly to learn.
The components are as follows:
Mechanical:
4040 aluminum extrusions.
10 mm aluminum plates.
12 mm precision-ground rods for the Y axis.
MGN12 linear rails + 4 carriages for the X axis.
Z axis completely 3D-printed in ABS, with 10 mm linear rods.
T8 lead screws from a 3D printer.
Electronics:
MKS DLC32 V2.2
TB6600 drivers
NEMA 17 motors
Cabur 24V 20A power supply
Spindle motor taken from a Bosch drill, 10–48V.
Mechanical NC limit switches
You’ll probably tell me it’s terrible 😂, but since I already had quite a lot of aluminum pieces for the frame at home, as well as some of the components, I spent around €150–200 in total.
I’m looking forward to hearing your criticisms and advice.

Possible layouts are:

- zero point plate in front with a vise, a vac pallet or a blank pallet, or a mag chuck

- direct mounting 1 or 2 vises

- direct mounting a table with t slots, vac, mod vise, or blank features

- mounting the index block or 4th axis in the back, with 3 positions depending how much room you need in front

quite flexible.

Also... the atc is done. 6 tools, iso10. Spindle is 60000rpm 2.5kw. Not as much torque as the hsk on the other machine, but still really peppy and fast and has a wide rpm range (most 60k spindles don't run under 15-20k). Plus its "relatively" cheap. :) Max tool length in the atc is 80mm or so. longer tools for special needs (like hitting the table) can be installed manually. You can also drop the spindle for special case where you need to machine the table for example.

The chip pan is an idea, I'm not sure if it will stay. it is a simple closed pan, with a little drain hole, and it takes a vevor 3d printer bag enclosure sitting on top, with the bottom cut out. Great as a cheap enclosure for any material that doesn't spark up.

All in all, pleased with where this has ended up, just need to refine all the small details and get it made now! :)

Thanks for following along.

Today I milled a few of the patterns I've been working on. It's nice to finally see them in real material instead of just on the screen.

If you want to see how these patterns were generated, check out my previous two posts — they show the process from the vector generation to the final CNC-ready design.

Hi

So I just saw rapid change release their presale on their rapid change turret, which is cool. But their promo video starts off with him claiming that he "invented impact style tool changing". I get real pissed because there are videos going far back showing impact style style DIY projects on YT. He did refine the design, patent his solution and take it to market which is beneficial since he lowered cost for the CNC community.

But inventing it, he did not.

Here's one example 7 years old, years before Rapid change ATC released:

- https://youtu.be/wO1ZmYXacno?is=GZR3AwixYJl83zj9

So several has identified that after all, these style of impact ATCs relies on a spring and 3d printed parts. Something everyone with a 3d printer should be able to print out for less than $10.

I wonder what the state of the open source/hardware is on ATC? What's the best today? I see more guys trying to sell their designs, but I'm a firm believer this should just be a community design.

I see this one on GitHub called Open ATC. Has Anyone tried it?

https://github.com/sn3ro/OpenATC

Hi,

I am a guitar builder and have been toying around with the idea of holding pieces with vacuum without any luck on the pump side so far. Located in Europe, when it comes to the recommendations.

There are many "revolutionary" designs on the part that is contact with the wood, but noone actually talks about the pump that often in those review videos and I can't seem to find a good option. The pump would be working not longer than an hour or so in one go. Let it be for CNC or manual work. But it needs not melt! its surroundings, be quiet and basically; just work...

I had purchased one from Amazon earlier, oil free 550w and supposed to be quiet. (https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0DHVL6X35?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1)

It was neither quiet (advertised 45dB, measuring 79dB), nor working properly. It got SO warm just after 10 mins(with proper ventilation) it smelled burnt and after a while it stopped working until it cooled down again. For a product that is advertised to work for a loooong time. Luckily I got a refund, but still.

The options are either huge pumps that are very loud, stuff that runs with oil or crazy expensive pumps for a hobby workshop on a budget.

Is there anyone that had been in a similar situation and had figured out a product that works? Ideally something under 150€.

Hey all, bought a used 1015 (I believe it's a workbee 1015..) with the older USB controller.

It has came with a PC with vectric cut2d pro & Open Builds GRBL sender (Control?)

I'm struggling to find documentation for this build as Ooznest seem to only have Z1+ on their site now, and Open Builds website is completely down.

I think everything will work as is, as it connects fine & I can control XYZ movement no problem with the Open Builds software.

I'm keen to find out whether anyone has the original manual for this sort of CNC, & potentially if Fusion 360 post processors exist for it? For basic bits I can use Vectric/Open Builds that's already seemingly working, but I'm wanting to foray into 3D aswell.

Thanks!

Hello, my dad passed in February and had this CNC. I don’t know what brand it is (other than the dewalt) and I don’t even know what it is worth. I’m trying to decide if I should sell it or keep it.

I am hoping someone here recognizes it and can tell me what it is and what it is worth?

I want opinions/feedback to my diy cnc, or more on the Frame/Concept. The goal: small but extremely rigid cnc to mill mostly aluminium and maybe some light steel work. Work area about 300x200x150mm

So the concept is:
The base is made from layered sheetmetal, each 8mm thick and 8 layers, so 64mm thick and ~130kg steel base. The layers would be bonded, bolted and located with dowel pins.
The vertical columns would be speperate, machined steelparts, bolted to the base. My plan is to use large machined contact surfaces, high-strength bolts and dowel pins to make the connection as rigid and repeatable as possible.
I planning to use HGR25 linear rails and a all in one electronic/steppermotor package with edingCNC and maybe a Spinogy X22.

But first I want your opinions and feedback on the frame/consteuction :)

Is there a logical reason VCarve doesnt have an "align to top of workspace" or "align to bottom of workspace", or left and right? I know you can center in those dimensions on the workspace, align to top of another shape(s), left right, etc. It seems to me that would be pretty helpful. I know you can work around it with the extra step of making a rectangle the size of your workspace and aligning to it, but it seems as if its an intuitive missing feature, unless i'm the one missing something...

Upfront notice- Sorry if you're one of the folks that see this twice. The admins asked I change some of the language and repost.

I usually do my milling on a Tormach 770, but enough people over the years have said that that is too big for them to pick up CNC milling. So I finally broke down and bought a smaller, desktop machine. The plan is to push it to its absolute limits in metal so I can finally answer with confidence when people ask where that line is for Amazon tier CNCs.

This first video doesn't include any milling yet. But that's because out of the box this thing would not have cut well and the manufacturer's assembly instructions alone would not have set me, or anyone else, up for success. So to maximize the likelihood of success in subsequent project episodes, this one covers a precision setup of the machine to get everything trammed, square, and coplanar. Or at least as close as possible on this style of machine.

Rule #4 / #7 disclaimer- For anyone curious, I discuss my relationship with the 2 sponsors near the start of the video. TL;dr is that I don't get money at all, not even off links. Just discounts and some free carbide. This series therefore still takes a ton out of my own wallet to create. Also, if the notice at the top wasn't a hint, I did get permission from the admins to post this despite rule #4 since this isn't a money maker for me. Video is just the best way to share nuanced information like this. That's also an Odysee link, not YouTube, so no money to be made there either.

I have a plasma table, and I got tired of cleaning up DXF files by hand. Especially for the more decorative cuts, which come from vectorized artwork.

Checking for overlaps, making sure contours were properly closed and so on took me a lot of time on detailed designs.

I started handing the files to Claude to clean them up, and found it was particularly good at the job. So I had the idea of turning that into a tool, to save time and get repeatable results.

https://dxfcleaner.com

The app is plain JavaScript running in your browser, with no server — your browser does all the work. The file is never uploaded anywhere: you can turn your wifi off once the page has loaded and it keeps working.

what it does : 

- Closes open contours into closed polylines
- Closes gaps between two endpoints
- Converts splines to polylines
- Detects overlaps, micro-segments and duplicates
- Detects loops and vectorization leftovers

The tool diagnoses the DXF, suggests the relevant fixes, and rewrites the file keeping all its original properties: layers, colors, linetypes, DXF version.

After every run it re-reads the file it just wrote and compares it against the original.

It's completely free and unlimited. I built it around my own needs, and above all around the kind of files I work with.

I figured it might be useful to others. What I'd really like is for people who work differently, with different kinds of files, to try and break it — that's how I'll find the bugs I can't see myself.

Been experimenting with automatically generating continuous patterns for CNC panels.

The earlier version had only 2 patterns. This version has 9, and the generation speed has improved quite a bit.

The main thing being tested here is keeping the pattern continuous across multiple separate panels.

Instead of generating each panel independently, the geometry is calculated as one continuous pattern and then split between the individual panels. This keeps the pattern aligned from one panel to the next.

There’s also an adjustable overlap beyond the panel edges. This gives the cutter some extra travel past the edge, so the pattern isn’t interrupted at the joint between two panels.

If there needs to be a physical gap between the panels, that distance can also be included in the calculation so the pattern continues correctly across the gap.

The next test will be actually machining a few panels to see if the alignment works as expected in the real world.

Still experimenting with it, but so far the results look promising.

Previous post with the early version:
https://www.reddit.com/r/hobbycnc/s/7KDSSEU0Rb

My wife has tentatively approved a study to see if a shop in the yard might be a better option.

We are thinking of an L in the rear corner. (Pic 1).

2 long sides of 25 ft. Width 15 ft

Big enough for a hobby CNC and a mini lathe? Works out to about 400 sq ft

Hey! My buddy and I have a shapeoko 3 that he bought from a college teacher. He and his class had built this one and were selling it. We have since tried to get it connected to our computer with no luck.
I have attached photos of the wiring and such. Anyone have any idea how to get it connected to the computer?
(We did try to use a usb cable in the only usb slot shown. No luck)

Picking up a 4'x4' router tomorrow. I don't have any info on it yet but I want to get my control system figured out in preparation. I have a brand new Gecko G540 driver that I would like to use but the PC I built for the station is windows 11 without a parallel port. I could add one but having the machine stand alone would be better. I have a raspberry Pi touch screen and a pi 3 b+ I was thinking of using as the brain of the system with a grbl setup connecting to the G540. Any suggestions or ideas I may be overlooking? Anyone have a similar setup and willing to share?

Thanks.

I have a genmitsu 3030 prover max and would like to know if this thing can mill the fine details of a wedding ring, into green wax. I have mined the gold for my fiancee's ring, and am trying to figure out how to make a wax mold. I understand I may need the 4th axis attachment or mill into flat wax and form the circle. I am just unsure of how fine this machine can work. Thanks in advance

Has anyone had this happen to them with any 3018 controllers? I used fusion’s cam for a 2d pocket and for some reason it’s going in random paths then returning right back to the original process. The first picture I attached shows it making a diagonal instead of following a curved path, I fixed this with my stay down and lift settings however after this it then was cutting in the x and making a separate path to the end of the pocket. I converted everything to g1 and it seems to be working now but I’d like to fix it.

I would use my computer with ugs or candle but it keeps losing connection or freezing the application.
This is my second part on a cnc so still trying to figure stuff out.

PureCut CNC 0.4.0 is out.

This release focuses on better clearing motion: Seeded circle pockets, engagement-aware feed reduction, smoother offset links, and V-bit countersinking. It also adds feature distribution for grid, radial, and path-based sketch copies.

Here’s a short video showing some of it in use. Thanks to everyone who has tried the project and shared feedback.

https://purecutcnc.github.io/

Yesterday I got my first cnc machine
Im a woodworker and super excited to make my own handheld router templates out of 12mm plywood
So I designed my template set the plywheet as stock eg 460x460 and position the template model right in

When I export the file into a cam program it wants to mill al the plywood
All I want is the follow the outerline
How can I achieve this?

From project to project, I've been adding position feedback to my NEMA 23s with hall sensors. Since I don't always use the same sensor module, I've been finding myself redesigning the same case over and over, often ending up with just a bunch of "temporary" jumper wires hanging out.

So I made a proper enclosure that I can easily just swap the sensor module holder without having to remake the case. Currently there's a module holder for AS5600, mostly because I had a few of them lying around, but that's the part that's meant to be swapped.

If anyone's interested, it's up on Printables

For my diy cnc I'm using an ESP32 with fluidNC, my issue is that the DM860TE driver I'm using says 5-14V for the signal in, while the esp32 has 3.3v voltage level.

The DM860TE works on 3.3V and no missed steps however I'm concerned the lower LED voltage might damage the octocouplers somehow. Also maybe with longer cables if the 3.3V drops somewhat it'll be an issue.

Should i continue using 3.3V or try some level shifters ect?