Make Your Own CNC Pen Holder for $5

Buy a ready-made device to add to your CNC machine to adapta a pen or pencil or Sharpie... or make your own. This video shows you how I made a pen holder for my CNC machine from parts readily available at any hardware store.

[@KJ7JHN]

Awesome!

[@thevictorychannel9443]

So it looks like the only thing that I would need to figure out is if the pen needs to be secured somehow for "lifts" of the Z axis, but it looks like friction is enough. One thing I will need to measure is the minimum lift distance between "Pen up" and "Pen Down", (difference between spring compressed and spring relaxed) so I know where to set my lift distance in Vectric. Once I do that, this looks like a solid and inexpensive design. Better than $69! The only other thing I would do, is try to use a post that has threads on the cap end and is smooth on the collet end so as not to mar the inside of my collet. I am sure by selecting a longer bolt with an un-threaded area near the head would work. Thanks for the post! Giving you a thumbs up!

[@TomGlander]

Yes, using a 1/4-20 bolt that's not threaded to the head would leave a smooth shaft to insert into the collet. There is some refinement that can be made to this, certainly. But yes, it's quite inexpensive by comparison to the Nextwave device they sell. By the way, I've purchased the Nextwave pen holder, and it was manufactured upside down, which makes me wonder about quality control at the factory... anyhow, thanks for the comment.

[@ReggaeBassCovers]

What a clever idea,thanks!

[@martincheron1417]

Just put a small O ring and your pencil will not drop.

[@FonsecaLA]

Great idea, friend. Thank you for the video. 👍

[@TomGlander]

Appreciated. Just watch others make things, then either copy their stuff, modify it, or synergize something totally new. Gotta love You Tube for this reason alone.

[@rusticagenerica]

Is it Linux CNC?

[@TomGlander]

Nextwave Shark CNC