Protips before you build your own MPCNC (Mostly Printed CNC machine)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 พ.ค. 2024
- Update 1/29 - Everyone - I love the feedback and passion behind this video and the project! And I know you want more. I'm planning on it, but need some time. Since this video I sold my house, moved into a new house, and then had a daughter. In the new house I don't have a workshop, and I'm working on getting one built...once I do, I'll get back into these videos, I promise! Thankyou for the support and patience. I never thought this video would get 100 views, let alone what it has. I'm glad people find it useful, and I'm excited to help the community more..after all, without the community, I'd not have a CNC! Thanks - Joe
I built an MPCNC recently, and learned a ton! I want to share what I learned with the community to help others. This video will show you what it is, how it works, and some tips of what to print in addition to the parts list to get started quickly.
Useful links:
www.v1engineering.com - The main site for this project
www.v1engineering.com/assembl... -Cut calculators (this is where you get the Z screw length)
/ @someoldguycoding - Some old guy coding's TH-cam channel...he has a great series of videos for the MPCNC, including adding a laser module, an enclosure setup, etc. - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
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Finished mine a few weeks ago. Wish I'd found your video first!
Hi ! I'm going to build mine. Nice video, thank you for sharing. Greatings from Italy
Junk Workshop Excellent! I should have more CNC videos in March. Going to cover workflows and some tips on toolpaths. Glad this was helpful, if you have any questions feel free to ask here and I’ll do what I can. Warning: CNC machines are incredibly fun and addictive :)
Great video, keep up the good work.
Cool im going to try and build one of these . This video has me inspired
Great video, lots of good information!
first thing i noticed about your cnc set up is the acoustic tiles. GOOD THINKING! SUBSCRIBED!
Thankyou! They added some style to it. I want to recreate this again with a new larger MPCNC at some point now that I've learned a ton
Thanks for the tips! Building my outfit now, I used the T Nuts on a piece of covered particle board table. It's very square and flat. My work area will be 20" x 24" when done, plan on using laser, vinyl cutter and router.
That's going to be a super fun work area! Mines only 12x12 and I'm still having a blast, but I do wish I'd gone bigger...20x24 sounds about perfect. A lot of sign work I want to do actually would need about 24" wide. I'll try to do more videos in about a week when I get free again...stuff like software stacks and such. I currently use Inkscape / Estlcam / Repetier host...though I've also used cnc.js.org, and others use fusion 360. Some Old Guy coding's channel may be a great one for you to look at, esp. for the laser work...he's got his dialed in nicely :) Thanks for watching and the encouragement, I'll work to get more videos out soon :) Happy carving
Likewise! Thanks!
Nice clean setup
Dude Makes Stuff Thankyou!! I’ll make a video soon showing the enclosure and it should show how I organized a bunch of stuff
Nice video. Very informative. You answered most of my questions very clearly. Thank you.
Thank you for the Overview...
This videos a bit old the Primo has come a LONG way since this (this was pre burly). I highly recommend the Facebook group and the forums for the latest info. That all being said glad this helped!
@@geektoolkit You still running your MPCNC?
Thanks for the info
Glad it helped! Keep in mind this is two versions ago so some of it may be dated
Greetings from Canada! BTW, we use the same conduit(emt) as the US, Home Depot sells ½",¾" & 1" in ten foot lengths.
Thankyou and good to hear from our northern neighbor! I'm in Washington state so I get to work and know a lot of Canadians, and they're all amazing. Good to know the conduits consistent!
Nice build. One note:the t-nuts are designed to go in through the opposite side from the hardware. That way the teeth dig in when you tighten the screw.
GRZMNKY yes exactly! I did that wrong the first time and it was awful. Also the way I mounted the spoilboard I would’ve had to do all of them first
your mount hardware ya should do the inserts from the back leaving a lip in the front so you dont accidently unscrew one and hit your mill bit with it.
Unless it's an optical illusion that roller mount on the left has a serious issue. The bearing on the lower right isn't even touching the conduit. You can see the gap to the conduit is very asymmetric. I'm in the build process, and two of mine cracked, so I had to re-print them. The designer says that is the absolute worst place you can hang a vacuum hose. Any force there is greatly amplified.
Mark M I’ve run mine for a few months before I moved and had to take it apart, and never had issues. So not sure if it was an illusion or just didn’t seem to matter. To be clear before running it I “squared” it each time manually against the end to try to calibrate (but dual end stops are the correct solution and I plan to add them). You’re right Ryan is not a fan of vacuum hoses in general or anything off the head unit, however myself and several forum members have had success and seen little issues. It, like many things with this project, is a trade off and a customization choice. When my sheds built though I’ll be dropping back to stock as I won’t need the dust collection as much and also plan on tightening tolerances to attempt Aluminum. I’m hoping the rest of your build goes smooth, it’s an amazing tool when it’s up and running!
A few notes about your video you may have already learned since this was posted. Those clamps that you scaled up are meant to have another bolt threaded through that back hole. This bolt would be used for height adjustments like the roller piece on the white clamps. As for the T shaped threaded inserts if you were to use those they would be instead from the bottom of the board instead of the top. That way they wont pull out when you tighten them!
Thankyou that’s good info for others that read this. I did learn both of those after this!!
@@geektoolkit Of course! We're all in this together. I'm currently doing a lot of research to decide how I build my MPCNC
Great video! I've been researching the mpcnc myself for plywood parts. Haven't taken the plunge yet though. How accurate are your cuts?
Tony Crombie I haven’t measured them yet, but I can tell they’re accurate due to things like the sharpness of text and quality of lines. Others are within .4mm, and I think some are even better. The size of the build and how much time you put into CAM (software to create toolpaths) matters. Two months ago I didn’t know what a toolpath was, and now I feel like I can cut anything :)
GeekToolkit oh wow! That's awesome. Less than .4mm is just fine for my applications. Thanks for the input! Also thanks for the video. It helps folks like me a lot.
Thank for your great intro and things to know about the MPCNC. I have a work in progress of similar sized version 24 x 24 inches but with 1inch conduits. I am trying to figure out what is the right method to measure and screw the 4 legs onto the wood. Secondly, I see you have the spoil board tightly fitting between the stands, so am I right to think your spoil board is 20 inches wide ? I was actually thinking of getting a spoil board which is 20 x 20 inches square but wasn't quite sure. How far apart are your threaded inserts and can you tell me what is the name and thread size of the zinc threaded mounts which you talked about being neatly mounted underneath the spoil board.
I don't have my MPCNC assembled currently (waiting on a new shed...which is waiting on a permit, etc. etc). So I can't get the measurements, but I can tell you that my approach was really simple. I built the MPCNC, and then measured between the front feet and ripped a board that wide. If I recall it actually went further front to back. Keep in mind that if you mill a portion of a longer board, you may want it to go past the feet. Also the area past the feet allows you to lock down the workpiece (assuming it's longer) and stay clear of the head, so its valuable to pick an axis and have a longer spoilboard. Though plan that base don if you're going to enclose it..you don't want the spoil board getting in the way of the enclsoure doors and such. The threaded inserts I eyeballed...if I were to do it again I'd use the CNC itself to cut into the spoilboard and make the grid. I just wan't confident at the time on having it cut squarely. So the steps would be 1) Spoilboard, 2)Test cuts to ensure squareness (cut squares/measure diagonals in a scrap piece) then cut spoilboard grid and insert threaded inserts. Hope that helps...I wish I had my MPCNC assembled I'd love to go measure it.
Hopefully you can 3d print your own workshop in your new place?!?! 😂 Good luck and thanks for the upload.
LOL! My biggest problem in the new place is that I can't build a shed due to impervious ground rules, and with COVID I don't think I'm going to get alot of support trying to push my case right now. It's very frustrating to have such an awesome tool and not be able to use it. I'm starting to brainstorm if I can run it outside, but I think my neighbors would have kittens
Nice build, I am researching this now for my next build. Looking back at your build would it help with stability if I were to use 3/4" scheduled 40 steel tube? Oh and SUBSCRIBED!
ThatDamnGuy Thankyou! Yes steel tubing is a recommended upgrade for rigidity. I can’t speak much on it as I’ve not done it myself, but the creator Ryan mentions it right off. The other thing you would want to look into are foot mods on thingiverse...there are some solid ones there. If you make it smaller you’ll also gain rigidity at the expense of working area. And one of the biggest factors is keeping z height reasonably low. Hope that helps!
GeekToolkit I was thinking 18 x18x4 machinable area
ThatDamnGuy more importantly is what you’re looking to cut/mill...if it’s pine and softer woods you’ll be in great shape. Honestly at that size I think you’d be able to try aluminum and hardwoods. May just have to go slow and use troichodal milling techniques. I’m stuck unable to do videos for two months but when I return I’ll tackle that stuff. Remember you’re going to lose about ten-12 inches on each axis in usable space due to the head size, so a 18x18 will net you about an 8x8 usable area. There’s a size calculator linked off v1 engineering that helps calculate that
GeekToolkit thanks, looking forward to see your new videos. I’m thinking of making some videos my self. I’m getting ready to upgrade my Anet A8 3d printer to an all metal frame. Then I’m going to start on this cnc. I have built 2 other cncs in the past. So hopefully that will help with this build
Great video :)
Your enclosure is missing a smoke detector.
Sorry Just saw this...I'm going to give it a try by installing one, though another comment mentioned the dust from the CNC may cause false positives and set it off. I expect to have it back up and running in the next few months, and will make sure to report back
@@geektoolkit There are 2 different types. I don't know if one is better in that aspect but worth noting.
Great info, thanks! What height is your mpcnc?
BasedLegnd It's 5 'actual' inches. The metal is 6 inches, but with the Z axis height and the spoilboard cuts into the actual height a bit. I wanted to keep it as sturdy as possible so I could look at using it on aluminum eventually. If you're looking to convert it to a 3d printer you'll want it to be taller, but you'll lose rigidity
Is there much info out there using the Arduino Uno as a controller on this? It seems that most CNC's now use this. Thanks for your work on this!
John Cole if you’re looking to use an Uno you’ll want to search for info on the Ramps setup which adds a shield to the uno to handle the motors. The motor controllers have to be individually tuned and you have to be careful moving it manually to not have power flow back (Rambo boards have protection there). There’s definitely info out there for it, I’d recommend the forums
Trying to decide how large to make my MPCNC. Will mostly be cutting wood with it. Would be nice to cut some stock that is at least 1 by 2 feet. Been considering a 2x3 foot build with a 4 inch height. Thoughts? Thx for the great video!
I'd probably add 6 inches to the dimensions to give you a bit of room...there's about a 12-13 inch square of work area you lose from the 'head' of the MPCNC, and cutting on your outer limits really can be a bit tough. However keep in mind that you could potentially do some things like an engrave..then move the wood and continue the engrave. That won't work for complex cuts for 3d carving. 4 inch height sounds great. The nice thing is resizing an MPCNC is really not too tough....so if you decide you need to resize it it's probably a day (4 hours max) of work if you have the belt. That would include dissassembly, redoing the spoil board, unmounting and remounting the feet, and recutting the conduit. It's really fun how fast it can come together!
I actually have a 5x3 with a 2’x4’ work area and I mill MDF and Plywood with no issue.
The thing with the MPCNC is you don’t want to use Marlin unless you plan to use it an a cnc and a 3D printer. While Marlin has an advantage of headless operation, I choose to go down the GBRL route and as such I am considering upgrading to Nema 23 closed loop motors.
Even in Europe (Belgium) it is not easy to find conduits that maches with the 3 differents version proposed. I have finaly found ' 'bichromated' steel pipe' with 25 mm external diameter but is is a bit expensive (about 8 € /m)
8 euro per meter isn't expensive, you'll not find it anywhere at that price.
It has been awhile since you got your MPCNC going. What are its good and bad points for you?
Good pints are it’s inexpensive to get a decent cutting size. I also learned a ton about software, bits, techniques. And it cut wood great!
The downsides are that my stability wasn’t the best…I wasn’t able to do aluminum for instance and was constantly tweaking my z axis trying to get deflection down. Eventually my feet cracked. The other thing is it was 120 hours or more of printing non stop. There’s a new build but I’d have to print all of the parts again.
Overall I think it’s a great starting setup and if you’re just needing wood and not going to high scale production it’s really amazing and hard to beat. For me due to having a daughter now that takes a lot of my time, I’ll likely try to buy a shapeoko or xcarve for my next one
The foam you have on the walls is not actually useful for sound proofing, foam is for reducing reverb and reflections but it doesn't reduce the amount of sound that passes through the wall. Adding drywall to the enclosure and caulking the air gaps with green glue would be more effective. John Sayers forum has a lot of similar info on using common building materials to isolate sound.
Matt Jones exactly! I’d thought I’d said that...it seemed like it dulled the tone so it was less shrill but didn’t seem to affect dB levels. It is more for looks in the end. The insulation definitely did more, though if I had to do this again I’d try rolled towels between two MDF boards. I’ll check that site out, and I need to make a follow up because the comment section in this video is a gold mine of info!
@@geektoolkit I will be watching for your updates. BTW a very cheap way to make a sound barrier is two sheets of drywall with green glue in between. The "Catalog of STC and IIC Ratings for Wall and Floor/Ceiling Assemblies" online has the STC ratings for various combos of drywall and fiberglass insulation but probably in a cramped space the green glue sandwich is probably the best.
Hey bro I'm thinking about building a 4ft X 4ft one do you think filling the pipes with cement might help?
I have no idea I’ve not built this design that large. Recommended size is much smaller but I’ve heard of people going that large. Your x axis deflection is where you’ll likely have the most challenge and I’m not sure how to solve that. Making the axis heavier and using nema17 may cause performance to degrade. There’s just too many unknowns until someone tries it and reports back
What to i need to learn in terms of sending jobs to the machine? And creating toolpaths?
Hazwan Jamain jobs and toolpaths are both handled by ESTLCAM. Importing dxf or svg files into ESTLCAM will get you on your way.
Hello, What kind of Decibels are you getting outside of enclosure with sound proofing.. I live in an apartment and am worried about how much sound this will kick out. Cheers
P Miller I don’t recall the fb, but this would not work in an apartment. That being said, some of the comments have much better techniques for soundproofing which I’ll try when I get to rebuild mine. If I were in an apartment I’d use towels rolled up tightly along with a spindle vs. the 660 (which I’ve heard are quieter to start). Also I’d double up on the walls of it and not use the foam panels . I could have a conversation outside of the box as built in this video and hear a loud hum through the door. I hope that helps!
@@geektoolkit ha ha I just looked at your other videos and noticed you have done one about DB and noise enclosure :) Thanks for reply and clips.
Oh wow I was trying to reply so fast I’d assumed this comment was on that video. I have a 5 month old daughter, she’s keeping me busy :) When my Shed gets through HOA approval and built I’ll be back to these videos, in the meantime I’ll help in comments where I can!
"The US, Myanmar, and Liberia."
"Huh, you never think of those other two as having their shit together..."
Sorry to revive a really old video, when you built the enclosure, is there a practical reason why it’s 3 times the height of the CNC machine? I’m planning to build a MPCNC sometime in the near future and my plan was to make the enclosure like 5 inches taller than the top of the Z axis at full height. Just wanted to check I wasn’t missing something silly!
No, I was the one that missed something LOL. I thoughtI needed it tall so I could see what was going on and work with it. It was a terrible idea! If you make sure your z height is clear then you should be fine with a much much shorter one. I think my next one I may even put under my workbench since I realized that once you place the stock and have a camera on it, it really doesn't have to even take up table space, and it may even work to stack CNCs. Please don't build it that tall like I did, it was heavy and a mess.
@@geektoolkit thanks for replying! Yeah my plan was to put it under an existing workbench, I’m in a similar situation as you with young kids so I’m trying to figure out if I’ll even have time to figure out all the workings of the CNC world haha
@@collinsstudios7098 I think so! I'm slowly letting my daughter (almost 4yo) near the laser etching machines and have a small CNC on the way...hoping that I can make projects with her choosing designs so that she grows up knowing these amazing tools we have access to!
@@geektoolkit that’s a great idea! Mine are 6 & 3 and they’ve fallen into the trap of anytime something breaks, they shrug it off and say ‘daddy can fix it’ 🤦🏻♂️
How loud is it with the sound proofing? I'm thinking of building something similar since I live in an apartment.
It was still pretty loud. I could get away without hearing protection but to watch tv I’d have to be in the next room over with an insulated wall. There’s a number of comments on this video with suggestions though. One idea is to add another piece of 3/4” MDF however it gets heavy after a bit. Also there’s a suggestion of rolled towels as filler. I’ve seen CNCs work in apartments but it takes a lot of work and trial and error. The approach I did isn’t enough
GeekToolkit I have a garage so it won't actually be inside. I'm more concerned about disturbing the neighbors who live above my garage. My plexiglass enclosure plan may not work then lol
TXstang347 yeah having the windows on mine showed me that plexi is great for visibility but didn’t do much for sound dampening! It was noticeably louder with the sides off and the plexi exposed
Would it help with stability if you built the whole thing with lead screws instead of belts?
I’ve not seen anyone do that but perhaps. Like any engineering effort, trying to spruce up one part just points out another weak spot that would also have to be shored up, until you’ve basically rebuilt and redesigned the entire machine. I think the feet were one area for improvement, and Ryan already released a beefier version since this video. The z unit also has upgrades available, and where I saw a lot of issues...even tightening it can help.
GeekToolkit makes sense. Thanks!
what the dewalt 660 you have, can you mill light aluminium or plastics?
I myself have not tried Aluminum, but I know it's possible with that router (Here's the creator Ryan showing it working with the stock setup: th-cam.com/video/BRFeZESDo4k/w-d-xo.html). You have to go relatively slow, and I'd recommend setting up trochoidal milling...this will help keep the bits cool so they don't weld to the aluminum. Plastic I'm not sure about...I know that spindle speed/heat is a consideration to try to prevent melting...but I'd suspect it'd work. I'll give it a try and report back when my setup is back up!
@@geektoolkit Thanks for the reply man.. much appreciated.
What material and thickness are you using for your spoil board
I just used 3/4" MDF that I had leftover from the sides of my encasement at the time. It really shouldn't matter too much...I think something soft and forgiving in case the bit hits it, but also tuff enough to screw into to hold the material down. I think pine would work fine. I'd probably not use a hard wood.
GeekToolkit thank you
Is their a video showing full coding for a concert like this please.
V1engineering.com has all of the information for the build including the stl files, plans, and links to firmware (and source) for programming the RAMPS boards. Is that what you're asking about? I'm guessing 'concert' was an autocorrect of 'concept', apologies if I'm wrong there.
GeekToolkit yes thank you. And thx for the informative video
I had to redesign, because I use 28mm scaffold pipes
Oh no!! Hope the build went well. This is a really old video I hope your building to the new designs of the MOCNC they are much better!
@@geektoolkit yes indeed I do
great build, cannot get over the fact you guys use metal conduit in america, biggest no-no ever here in Australia and all conduit is pvc/plastic
svd31garage thanks!! That’s also fascinating about the metal conduit in Australia I didn’t realize that! If you are looking at doing a build and can get steel pipe I hear it’s a bit more expensive but would give you a stronger build.
@@geektoolkit yeah can get stainless, alloy or mild steel (even galvanised) quite easily here, will probably build mine from 316 tubing for the strength and polished up it should glide a lot easier. Australian and New Zealand electrical standards are some of the highest in the world, if not the highest, especially when it comes to safety, hence why pretty much any conduit is non-conductive. Your average wall socket in a house here is 240v 10A but everything has safety switches and RCDs.
Will post the build when im done,
Take care mate
I know! Same over here in Europe.. Seems both unsafe and hugely time consuming to use metal :S
Gazebo's
Ask your local hardware store for Polished SS pipes, or SS pipes. These are used in diary and nuclear or power plants, easy to find anywhere.
Fill those tubes with structural epoxy and the frame will be stiffer.
From what I understand, the frame in this design (Unless you go really large) isn't always the weak point, and so stiffening it doesn't always help unless you also do upgrades to several other areas. But if you've done it with success please let us know, I'd be interested in the cost vs. going steel pipe (which was the recommended path). This is not the new Primo build that is much burlier, I need to put one of those together, though I'm debating at this point for my potential build size if an MPCNC is the right way to go vs. a Carvey or Shapoko (I can only do about 2'x3' max anyway, which gets me 1'x2' of carving space with the design of the MPCNC head)
@@geektoolkit no I have not done it I am at the stage at looking at building a cnc. I got a 3d printer so this looks like a interesting way to go.
@@je-fq7ve Definitely search for the 'Primo' model. This was a few versions back..there is a 'burly' and now Primo. The Primo improves on just about every aspect. Also aluminum is one option, but Steel is another for having sturdier rails. People have been able to mill aluminum with the Primo which is awesome, and which I hope to build this year
@@geektoolkit Thanks just printed a primo corner bracket
@@je-fq7ve Wait till you get to the center portion. When you assemble that I hope you have the sense of appreciation and wonder I did at how amazing that design is!
how much do you have in this setup?
yourdaddidwhat about $400 for the MPCNC including electronics spindle and conduit. About $125 in bits. My 3D printer was 200, but you can get printed pieces for 160 I believe from V1engineering. The wood for the enclosure was about $80 (I piece of plywood and 2x4s...enclosure is 3’x3’) with another 50 or so for soundproofing, wrenches, bolts for tie downs, etc. I could’ve gone quite a bit bigger for not much more..I just didn’t have the space
Great video and informative. All the lip smacking is SUPER annoying.
Yeah this was my first video I’d ever filmed. My mouth was dry and I didn’t know it’s blow up, I thought it’d help a few people. In the years since I’ve taken this feedback to heart and gotten a better mic, keep hydrated, actually edit my videos and all sorts of stuff. But I’m glad the contents still useful!
Hey, just wanted to point out that the "hold downs" you talk about near the end I believe are commonly referred to as toe clamps. I've seen similar devices used on machining channels (Mainly This Old Tony.) After a bit of searching I found the devices that he uses, they're called step blocks, or step clamps, or step block clamps, or step block toe clamps? I dunno, but I found something on thingiverse that may interest you: www.thingiverse.com/thing:1744734
Thanks! I'm new enough to CNC that I'm still picking up the lingo. I like that style and will have to try it out when I get my machine back up. This query against 'cnc clamp' turns up a bunch of designs...you can see the ones I used in that list and a bunch of designs. I think that's one of those things where you try a few and see what style fits what you're trying to achieve/hold down/etc. www.thingiverse.com/search?q=cnc+clamp&dwh=185bd8a31177ec8
3/4=19mm
That's ID, 23.5mm is the OD.
is it just me hearing things or is he smaking with his mouth constantly
MrZhefish oh man I never noticed that, but it’s there. I am working on new videos and have invested in a mic (this was with my cell) and will work on editing (I had to do about five takes to try to get through this). Good feedback! I’ll have to break that habit
@@geektoolkit boss repsonse :) and thanks for the tipps on the MPCNC, very usefull
@@justotalkalottashit8392 imho thats no reason for that... he contributed good info, acknowledges the critic and works on it. beside, we all have our habits... its human
Do a part count, MOST parts are NOT printed.
Yeah but “somewhat printed CNC” doesn’t quite come off as catchy. I mean I didn’t name it. I just enjoyed building and using it
@@geektoolkit MP == Minimally Printed. Thanks for the helpful video.