I came across a Kickstarter a couple of years ago that offered a CNC machine (Maslow CNC) that could cut 4’x8′ sheets of plywood for under $500. (For those who don’t know: A CNC machine allows the user to draw what they want to cut or carve, convert that drawing into x and y coordinates, and then have a router cut or carve that drawing into a flat material, usually wood, foam or plexiglass. A large CNC machine for home users can usually cut a surface area around 30″ x 30″ and costs somewhere between $1500 to $2500. A cabinet shop might buy a 4′ x 8′ CNC machine for $15,000) This seemed like a steal, so I backed it and received my kit in the mail. Obviously, that price point meant that this wasn’t a plug and play purchase, so it sat on a shelf for years waiting for me to get to it. But I finally built it .
I got some help from Mike and we designed a frame that can be hung on the wall to save space when it’s not in use. The top beam went through several different iterations, but I finally decided on the LVL beam. and mounted the motors that drive the router around the surface.
We decided the easiest way to mount it to the wall was with chain link fence poles and some scrap wood.
The learning curve was steep after it was built and I started calling it the bungy machine because everything was installed temporarily to see if it worked. Notice that the chain tension is created with 2 litre bottles we had hanging around.
Once I figured out the basics, I created a test pattern to check the calibration. There was a full day of me yelling at the computer “This shouldn’t be so hard!” as I tried to convert my CAD drawing into the machine code necessary to cut the pattern. I think I tried 10 different programs or workflow before I finally found an online program called Easel that was relatively straightforward:
I managed to get the cuts across the whole pattern accurate to 3mm, but I thought I could do better. Nobody ever tried a gap between motors and work surface as large as mine before, so I moved the work surface up to match most installations and was able to get it accurate to 2mm across the whole 4′ x 8′ sheet.
I started my first real project, and luckily didn’t trust the system to do the full cuts because I told the machine the wrong bit size, which meant it was cutting more that it was supposed to.
The Z-axis (moves bit up and down) suddenly dropped through the wood a couple of times, so I upgraded the sled using some patterns other users posted in the incredible user group for the cnc machine. It’s not the best looking thing, but it get’s the job done.
The new sled is a little top heavy,so I ordered a laser cut one that should be better.
I also played around with some carving, as you can see in this picture.
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