Hello and wish you all a Happy, Healthy and Safe New Year! This is my first post here and I apologise for the long post. I'm based in India. While researching hand held routers I came across DIY CNC router and feel it could really help. I have an engineering background but am not a mechanical engineer. I have made some basic 2D drawings in LibreCAD. I've just spent a day with Fusion 360 and am going through some tutorials. Was able to follow along and make a 18mm ply with a hole at a certain position and diameter. I also set up two tool paths for contour cuts and it looks fun. The simulate feature is awesome and let me know that I had chosen a shorter tool that caused the tool head to hit the surface. To start I'll mostly use it on 18/24mm plywood (or birch)/MDF or wood. It will be placed in my apartment so hoping to store it vertically when not in use (without disassembling except the spindle). Speed is not critical. Precision required would be about 0.1 - 0.2mm. My most important question is are these stable enough to mill through 18/24mm ply without mounting/bolting them on to a table? I've read that lead screw is better than belt but I saw somewhere that the RPM should be limited to 400. I assume this is of the Stepper motor for the X-Y. Does it mean lead screw could be slower than belt? ACRO or LEAD? To reduce the cost of shipping to India I'm hoping I can pick the spindle and stepper motors locally. I can only find the Makita rt0700c here which I'm hoping will work. Is it difficult to work on a larger work piece and realign it to work on a different part? I know I can reset the start position and that should work but just wondering if the software has the ability to do this by pausing the job and allowing me to reposition the stock? Feed Rates, Bits etc. I've seen the formulae and calculators to decide the feed rate but wanted to know what is a safe starting point for RPM, Feed Rate, Depth per pass etc. I did read that a lot of you have settled on numbers after trial and error. While milling a 15" contour hole with 2mm as the depth per pass (9 passes to go through 18mm) should I be worried that the Makita router will heat up? I understand it is difficult to say how long of continous use is fine but how do you when to give it a break? Which bits would you suggest as the first buy? I've read that straight cut bits are best for clean jobs on plywood. The 1/4 inch two flute carbide seems to be popular. Thanks for reading!
The makita is a very stable machine and can handle that 18 / 24mm plywood very well. I've had mine running for over two years now with over 200 hours on the clock and it's still working fine. At position 2/3 it also runs fairly quietly. Bert
I would bolt it to a sheet of plywood to keep everything square while it is stored. This will keep you from having to square everything up each time. I am not sure where the "400 rpm" information came from. Mine run much faster than that when I am cutting 3D reliefs because I am cutting at 4000mm/min and each rotation of the screw moves the gantry 4mm. Lead screws are slower than belts, but the lead screw will run your machine at faster speeds then you can actually cut wood at. Lead screws are more precise and belts stretch over time so a Lead screw is a better choice. LEAD. The ACRO is for lasers. It would not support the weigh and cutting forces of the Makita, or any router. The Makita works great. It is what I use. Research "tool path tiling" for more information. Each time you move the stock, you would start a new tool path. So no need to pause. You just move the material for each tool path. I use this resource to get close, then adjust until I like the results. Speeds and feeds I have run jobs that have lasted multiple hours on my Makita with no problems. They usually come with a set of spare brushes to keep on hand. Eventually they will need to be replaced. . I like straight flute bits for wood. Some people like the compression cut spiral flutes. I do not like regular up-cut spiral flutes because they can cause tear-out on the wood surface. If possible use at least a 6mm or greater for cutting because they cut so much better than a 1/8". You can also cut deeper so the job goes faster. In wood, I cut at a depth that is 1/2 the diameter of the end mill at 2500 mm/min. It seems to work well. On 3D carves, I will be more aggressive in depth because I am only stepping over 40% for each pass.
Hi Giarc, Thank you very much for the detailed reply. A few more clarifications/questions - I see that the LEAD CNC doesn't have a 1000x1500 and the 1500x1500 is Pre-order. Is a 1000x1500 available? - Confirming that I use Fusion 360 to generate G-Code file which is fed to OpenBuilds software on MAC? That in turn controls the Blackbox controller (connected via USB to my MAC) and it will in turn control the motors? - Will I need anything (hardware/software/tools) besides the LEAD CNC kit? - I am a little worried about the spoiler since all I have is screwdriver, spanner set and a hammer. Will it be tough to make one and which clamps would you suggest? - What kind of clamps do I need to hold down the material and can you suggest cheap but decent options? - Is the bracket size for the Makita rt0700c 65mm? - How does the LEAD CNC compare with the WorkBee v2.2 machine? I'm not sure if LEAD CNC is a brand because I just came across a site called BulkMan3D.com who is also selling a LEAD CNC (looks identical). The 1500x1500 (incl NEMA high torque motors, High Z Mod, Z-Axis tool and Nano GRBL High Current controller) comes to about $1300 shipped (the OpenBuilds is almost $2k). Is it that the quality is not good or some parts are not included? One difference I noticed is that the Blackbox is assembled while the Nano GRBL will need assembly and software installation. I don't mean any disrespect to OpenBuilds just that I have to bear significant shipping costs + duties (45%) in India so trying to save. Thanks again. Ravindra
You could request to have the parts custom cut via the parts store Contact Us Yes. That is how it works End mills will be a necessity. You may have to find someone with a saw to help you cut the spoil board. I made my own clamps. I installed t-track into my spoil board for clamps. But you could use the CNC to drill a hole pattern for threaded inserts once you hade the machine built. Most of the time, the parts I am making have holes in them. The first tool pass I use drills the holes. Then, I screw down the part to the spoil board before cutting the part out. This way, I can remove the clamps and not have to use tabs. I use clamps similar to these. This person was nice enough to post the .dxf file. Cnc Clamp (dxf File Attached) I have also made 3D printed clamps from Thingiverse.com like these: FLZ CNC Clamp Kit by FluffyLittleZebra and these: Reversable Hold-Down for T-Slot Tables by WorksBySolo However, I do not use a large knob to tighten them. I use a bolt to a sliding t-slot nut so I do not have a huge knob that gets hit by my dust shoe when cutting. The yellow corner clamps were designed for 1/4" sheet goods by forum member Kyo here: C-Beam Machine Hold Down Clamps Yes. I believe you get more cutting area in the LEAD because the gantry plates are 125mm so the plates can travel further on the Y axis before hitting the end. SPAM is one of the many Chinese companies that infringes on copyrights and trademarks to make people believe they are getting the real thing. The Nano grbl uses TB6600 drivers that most likely do not actually contain TB6600 driver chips. There is much information discussing the quality (or lack thereof) of TB6600 drivers on the internet. Their GRBL UNO R3 Controller Bundle is also a knock-off of a Protoneer board. It is obsolete technology that was build for grbl 0.8 or lower. The fact that any company would sell a crappy obsolete controller speaks volumes to me about their quality. Especially when the newest Protoneer board that can be used with modern versions of grbl is only $14.95 for an original board. A large company could probably get a bulk discount. My question would be, where else did they cut quality to make things cheaper? Then, how good is their customer support? I was able to find all the components of the Nano grbl on Amazon.com in the United States with a two day delivery for a little over $100 and I would still have over 100' feet of shielded 4 wire cable left over. So, I personally think the SPAM Nano Grbl controller is a rip-off since you would have to assemble it yourself at $140 and you do not know the quality of the components. But, that is my opinion.
Hi Giarc, That does clarify things. Where can I get a list of all the parts required for the Nano grbl? Is the high current version required for the Nema 23 2.45Nm motors?
I just looked at what was included in that Nano Grbl package and priced them out on Amazon. They have a list of components for you to do the same. I do not know anything about the motors you are looking at. It is something you would have to research or reach out to SPAM's customer service for their information. I would get high current drivers.
