Really interesting series, Mike. Count me among your followers who don't mind the departure from your initial goals/strategies, etc. You're doing great work and your willingness to try difficult things is an inspiration! [insert applause emoji]
Awesome! Loved your project! Couple of things I wish I knew when I started CNC routing/milling. Get yourself some 2 flute upcut carbide endmills from McMaster, so worth the 20 bucks (1/4in) and make a world of difference in your finish and speed. For wood, get some double-sided carpet tape (Lowe's or home Depot) cover the bottom of your stock by 25% - 70% (depends on how aggresive your cutting/how much you trust it), and then you don't need to use tabs at all! I use it all the time. For aluminum, clean it off with acetone and then put blue painters tape on the bottom of it (careful not to overlap or leave gaps) and blue painters tape on your spoil board, then put super glue (be semi-generous) between the two, slide it around and put some weight on it to hold down. NASA uses the super glue trick and it saves you from having to cut your part out with a band saw, no tabs needed. Harbor freight has cheap and good super glue, don't use gorilla glue super glue. Anyways, not trying to be annoying just figured I'd share some stuff I knew starting out. Thanks for the vid!
When you drill, you should use a pecking function where it drills down a little and then backs out to clear the bit and then drills deeper and so on. This will avoid burning the tool and the piece.
Or use a smaller tool and plunge the hole partially then circular interpolate the hole to the correct size... then plunge again circular interpolate.... repeat until desired depth is achieved...thus limiting the actual "drilling" by making it into a machining process
This is one of the most interesting video series I've ever watched. You've covered so many useful angles for doing projects that require a lot of custom work. I'm definitely going to attempt my own cnc now.
To avoid the endmill rushing in the stock in the beginning you can go to the post-process window (when you are ready to generate the G-code), in the property table, scroll down and disable "G28 safe-retracts", hope it helps.
You should get a proper spindle and not just a router not only will it be many times quieter but can be controlled by you control board and potentially more powerful
Cool project, for such a strong machine the travel is pretty small, your side plates are strong enough to support an 8' travel gantry. This machine could be scaled to an 8x16 table pretty easy although you would want to switch to a rack and pinion drive.
Hi! Is fusion 360 good for special planning? I’m building a coffee shop and want to know if I can use the software to figure out furniture walls, sink location etc. or is fusion360 really meant for objects? Thanks
Hey...question for ya. Does it have any noticeable flex on plunge cuts or x/y cutting movement? I'm looking to soon start finishing the design of my 3rd revision of my own homebuilt cnc because it had flex problems in my first 2 attempts, even just in MDF. I might have our local steel shop do me some precut bits if you're not having many problems. I can't seem to get the hole pattern for mounting things to some linear ( rectangle style bar) slides I got for better accuracy.. I want to use this thing for exotic hardwoods and aluminum so it needs nearly no flex.
Hey man, I had the same problem with the bit hitting in the beginning of the gcode, even if I set the retract and clearance height appropriately. What I found was that fusion was inserting a g28 into the beginning of my gcode, before it made the first x/y move. I started opening my gcode in a text editor and removing the g28 manually. That may be something for you to look at. Also, let me know if you find a better way!
Trent Wainwright I don't use F360 myself, but it is common on all cad cam software that there is a setting somewhere to prefix gcode to the gcode. Have a look through the menus. It's handy to have it as I always forget to turn on the spindle so add a feed hold to the begining of all mine in cambam, pain in the arse though if they just presume you want certain code prefixed though.
+Sirus thanks, I will have to give it a look. I know I went through it once before, but I was new to it all back then. Maybe I will have better luck running through it with a little more experience!
G28 moves in absolute machine coordinates so it makes sense to have in the start, to e.g. move the Z axis to the top before any moves regardless of what work coordinates you are working with, but it of couse relies on the machine being homed first so it know where the top of Z is. I think "G28 safe retracts" are an option on most F360 postprocessors
Lasse I think the issue here was I am setting the top of the workpiece, and usually the bottom left corner to 0,0,0. It seems as Mike is doing the same. So the G28 was returning to 0,0,0 in the workspace. I will look into the "G28 safe retracts" and see if I have better luck. Thanks for the info!
I enjoy your projects and have friendly suggestion: If you improve the lighting, you’ll be able to increase your depth of field by using a higher-number f-stop on your camera. This will reduce the number of times your subject is out of focus. It will also help viewers like me when we want to have a better view of the surrounding elements of your project, rather than only the particular screw or cut-line you’re speaking of at the time. It will also let you move the camera or subject a bit during a shot without losing focus. This doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. Initially, simply adding more light will help.
I want to use it for a while before recommending it to others. I think you could easily use 1/4 and 3/8 aluminum on most parts without compromising anything.
Hey Mike, can you make a video about milling glass with your CNC machine? I just saw applied science's video and it showed some good tips for milling glass. I just wonder if it could be done using a desktop CNC machine. You would need to build a rig for holding the glass and stuff, and you would need a diamond bit. It would make good content for your channel :D
I wish you hadn't called it "stupid strong"....but its a decent little machine. Some suggestions: when you have a bolted assemblies (like you gantry), parts should register together such the way you aligned & tighten bolts has no effect on the shape of the assembly. The "home shop" way would be to use ground pins or roll pins if ya wanna be sloppy about it. Each part of the assembly only needs 2 pins to accurate position the parts...assuming you holes are well drilled (ideally reamed). So layout & drill slightly undersized holes through the top layer and assemble the machine. Make sure you are happy with it, once pinned, you wont be able to adjust AT ALL and that's the point. Now transfer those holes, make a proper drill guide (not the alum block you used previously) and push the still undersized drill through the base part a ~1/2 length of the pins you are using. At this point, I would open up the hole to a few thousandths undersized, ream it to size and loctite it into the base. If no reamer, open the top hole to the size of the pin and leave the base small for a press fit. hammer & punch will set them in. Repeat until you have have 2 pins though every 2 parts (bearing blocks included) The next time I break it down, I would open up the clear holes for the bolts as they no longer need to set the position and that will make assembly less frustrating. Now all those positions are locked, forever and every time you assemble its the same. couple side notes: your step clamps need spacers for the back side. others commented you should have taken a tramming cut on the sacrificial table top, I agree. I have to add that since it is wood (mdf it looked like), it is not dimensional stable over time. Nothing truely is, but wood is really bad. So you can take a prep cut every time you load a part, or you swap that out for a peace of plastic, acrylic or hdpe. That would give you a bed that will not morph over time and also add a touch more travel to your Z axis. I am curious how this has held up in the 2 years since this was posted? Have you continued to develop it?
I think the problem you getting it's 'cause the standard settings of the stock in fusion is 1mm higher than the body, so you have to remove this when you are setting the stock
What was the point of making it so strong, did you just have money to burn to spend on stupid thick metal or is it getting really noticed on youtube and you are making your money back
Watched the whole series. Really nice build!
Really interesting series, Mike. Count me among your followers who don't mind the departure from your initial goals/strategies, etc. You're doing great work and your willingness to try difficult things is an inspiration! [insert applause emoji]
Awesome! Loved your project! Couple of things I wish I knew when I started CNC routing/milling. Get yourself some 2 flute upcut carbide endmills from McMaster, so worth the 20 bucks (1/4in) and make a world of difference in your finish and speed. For wood, get some double-sided carpet tape (Lowe's or home Depot) cover the bottom of your stock by 25% - 70% (depends on how aggresive your cutting/how much you trust it), and then you don't need to use tabs at all! I use it all the time. For aluminum, clean it off with acetone and then put blue painters tape on the bottom of it (careful not to overlap or leave gaps) and blue painters tape on your spoil board, then put super glue (be semi-generous) between the two, slide it around and put some weight on it to hold down. NASA uses the super glue trick and it saves you from having to cut your part out with a band saw, no tabs needed. Harbor freight has cheap and good super glue, don't use gorilla glue super glue. Anyways, not trying to be annoying just figured I'd share some stuff I knew starting out. Thanks for the vid!
That machine looks fantastic! Making a case for those electronics would be a perfect project for 3D printing.
When you drill, you should use a pecking function where it drills down a little and then backs out to clear the bit and then drills deeper and so on. This will avoid burning the tool and the piece.
well he is using a router bit which does not have a cutting edge all the way. but thats part of the learning process :)
Or use a smaller tool and plunge the hole partially then circular interpolate the hole to the correct size... then plunge again circular interpolate.... repeat until desired depth is achieved...thus limiting the actual "drilling" by making it into a machining process
Very cool. Thanks for persevering on this project.
Hey, Mike, have you cut any metals on it?
An absolutely awesome series, a testament to what can be accomplished. Great job Mike!!
This is one of the most interesting video series I've ever watched. You've covered so many useful angles for doing projects that require a lot of custom work. I'm definitely going to attempt my own cnc now.
Amazing video!!
As a Cad/Cam designer, this is awesome
That is realy cool man! Machine looks awesome!!
To avoid the endmill rushing in the stock in the beginning you can go to the post-process window (when you are ready to generate the G-code), in the property table, scroll down and disable "G28 safe-retracts", hope it helps.
Thanks I’ll give it a try.
You should get a proper spindle and not just a router not only will it be many times quieter but can be controlled by you control board and potentially more powerful
Cool project, for such a strong machine the travel is pretty small, your side plates are strong enough to support an 8' travel gantry.
This machine could be scaled to an 8x16 table pretty easy although you would want to switch to a rack and pinion drive.
Well done. I would like to see how it cuts aluminium. Looks like decent machine to learn CNC.
Aluminum is coming.
@@MikeAndLaurenTV how much longer?
@@CodyThierauf haha
@@MikeAndLaurenTV I'm also waiting to see alu. would be awesome
You wont see this. One more dead end noob project.
Turned out really nicely. Congratulations!
It’s been two months. I miss you guys.
Nive build but I have to ask is able to cut hardend steel
Hi! Is fusion 360 good for special planning? I’m building a coffee shop and want to know if I can use the software to figure out furniture walls, sink location etc. or is fusion360 really meant for objects? Thanks
It could be done but it’s not meant for interior design, no.
fusion is overkill for that purpose. use sketchup
Hey...question for ya. Does it have any noticeable flex on plunge cuts or x/y cutting movement? I'm looking to soon start finishing the design of my 3rd revision of my own homebuilt cnc because it had flex problems in my first 2 attempts, even just in MDF.
I might have our local steel shop do me some precut bits if you're not having many problems. I can't seem to get the hole pattern for mounting things to some linear ( rectangle style bar) slides I got for better accuracy.. I want to use this thing for exotic hardwoods and aluminum so it needs nearly no flex.
This looks great, will it cut something like 3mm stainless steel?
Good work. Please more!
Impressive! Now I wanna build one!
Thanks! Do it :)
Fantastic work man 😘
Hey man, I had the same problem with the bit hitting in the beginning of the gcode, even if I set the retract and clearance height appropriately. What I found was that fusion was inserting a g28 into the beginning of my gcode, before it made the first x/y move. I started opening my gcode in a text editor and removing the g28 manually. That may be something for you to look at. Also, let me know if you find a better way!
Trent Wainwright I don't use F360 myself, but it is common on all cad cam software that there is a setting somewhere to prefix gcode to the gcode. Have a look through the menus. It's handy to have it as I always forget to turn on the spindle so add a feed hold to the begining of all mine in cambam, pain in the arse though if they just presume you want certain code prefixed though.
+Sirus thanks, I will have to give it a look. I know I went through it once before, but I was new to it all back then. Maybe I will have better luck running through it with a little more experience!
G28 moves in absolute machine coordinates so it makes sense to have in the start, to e.g. move the Z axis to the top before any moves regardless of what work coordinates you are working with, but it of couse relies on the machine being homed first so it know where the top of Z is. I think "G28 safe retracts" are an option on most F360 postprocessors
Lasse I think the issue here was I am setting the top of the workpiece, and usually the bottom left corner to 0,0,0. It seems as Mike is doing the same. So the G28 was returning to 0,0,0 in the workspace. I will look into the "G28 safe retracts" and see if I have better luck. Thanks for the info!
you should be setting the work coordinates to 0,0,0 instead of setting the machine coordinates to 0,0,0
th-cam.com/video/BiuD6li6h8A/w-d-xo.htmlm30s
You've successfully convinced me to build my own CNC (again; not my first). I need a small desktop 4 axis for doing jewelry.
Awesome! I plan on adding a 4th axis as well.
Impressive wow! How do you program it though?
google g-code simply as that just linear movements
Please let us know when you make a commercial product out of this - I would be interested in buying one!
I enjoy your projects and have friendly suggestion: If you improve the lighting, you’ll be able to increase your depth of field by using a higher-number f-stop on your camera. This will reduce the number of times your subject is out of focus. It will also help viewers like me when we want to have a better view of the surrounding elements of your project, rather than only the particular screw or cut-line you’re speaking of at the time. It will also let you move the camera or subject a bit during a shot without losing focus.
This doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. Initially, simply adding more light will help.
It seems like you burned the first cut hardwood. You should increase your feed rate or reduce the spindle RPM to avoid getting burn marks.
So now that it’s done. How much would you charge to build one for someone? Could it be built out of thinner aluminum?
I want to use it for a while before recommending it to others. I think you could easily use 1/4 and 3/8 aluminum on most parts without compromising anything.
What grease did you use?
Hey Mike, can you make a video about milling glass with your CNC machine? I just saw applied science's video and it showed some good tips for milling glass. I just wonder if it could be done using a desktop CNC machine. You would need to build a rig for holding the glass and stuff, and you would need a diamond bit. It would make good content for your channel :D
Super how strong is the machine
waste of material, it would be much more usable.. Strong machine has no supported bars but linear rail only. But for wood it is sufficient
I was surprised you didn't start by milling the waste-board so that you knew the bed was flat.
Exactly. That was what I would have expected as first cut. It must be done after every change also.
I wish you hadn't called it "stupid strong"....but its a decent little machine. Some suggestions: when you have a bolted assemblies (like you gantry), parts should register together such the way you aligned & tighten bolts has no effect on the shape of the assembly.
The "home shop" way would be to use ground pins or roll pins if ya wanna be sloppy about it. Each part of the assembly only needs 2 pins to accurate position the parts...assuming you holes are well drilled (ideally reamed). So layout & drill slightly undersized holes through the top layer and assemble the machine. Make sure you are happy with it, once pinned, you wont be able to adjust AT ALL and that's the point. Now transfer those holes, make a proper drill guide (not the alum block you used previously) and push the still undersized drill through the base part a ~1/2 length of the pins you are using. At this point, I would open up the hole to a few thousandths undersized, ream it to size and loctite it into the base. If no reamer, open the top hole to the size of the pin and leave the base small for a press fit. hammer & punch will set them in. Repeat until you have have 2 pins though every 2 parts (bearing blocks included) The next time I break it down, I would open up the clear holes for the bolts as they no longer need to set the position and that will make assembly less frustrating. Now all those positions are locked, forever and every time you assemble its the same.
couple side notes:
your step clamps need spacers for the back side.
others commented you should have taken a tramming cut on the sacrificial table top, I agree. I have to add that since it is wood (mdf it looked like), it is not dimensional stable over time. Nothing truely is, but wood is really bad. So you can take a prep cut every time you load a part, or you swap that out for a peace of plastic, acrylic or hdpe. That would give you a bed that will not morph over time and also add a touch more travel to your Z axis.
I am curious how this has held up in the 2 years since this was posted? Have you continued to develop it?
I am very proud of you. what happen to the alexa project ?
Use a spiral bit, they work much better.
where are the plans
you are great
I think the problem you getting it's 'cause the standard settings of the stock in fusion is 1mm higher than the body, so you have to remove this when you are setting the stock
we want more videos!!!
like it alot
Now you could do others of different thicknesses of wood instead of straining the screws.
Looks somewhat impressive.
Great work !
It would be great if u could show a circuit board milling test as that would be a good measurement test.☺️
This is only for wood working. How about putting it to a more sever one like a heavy duty metal job?
I built it for metal. More projects coming :)
dont worry about drilling with a flat mill. ive seen a 2 inch sks do drilling.... at least the flat mill can do it.
Really weird clamps.😂🤣
JUST BUY SOME ADJUSTABLE CLAMPS YOU WILL BE WAY BETTER OFF
why would I want to learn anything from an inexperienced bumbling (cnc mechanic)
One more of these useless cnc projects. "Want this on my desktop..." wtf.
I'd kill for one of these.
good for wood and wax; not suitable for metal, even aluminum
And you base it on what knowledge ? I'm courious
Sounds and looks like an old clunker. 🙄
Once I tuned up the couplers and greased everything it ran much smoother.
Many positive comments, im supprised. I felt the videos where too short and didnt give me anything. Maybe just me then :)
Kishan Patel you mean the fusion 360 course? No, I don't need that. I have a fullsize CNC and do my drawing in another software.
Not to mention, I wont likely take advice on Fushion 360 from a person that didn't get the toolpaths done properly either.
What was the point of making it so strong, did you just have money to burn to spend on stupid thick metal or is it getting really noticed on youtube and you are making your money back
You need it strong enough to stop deflection from occuring when machining metal.
rigidity is the most important factor in milling, ask any machinist