Desktop CNC machines

Everything Else
34

I’m with you @dan, I love my desktop CNC router. Here are a few pics of my"desktop" CNC router I designed and built a while back. Of course if you are going to have a desktop CNC machine it has to have an enclosure :). I can upload the Solidworks files if anyone is interested.

I have to preface this post by saying I was a little hesitant to post these photos. The photos and techniques are quite old and I have made a lot of changes and improvements. (I know that no one really cares, but sometimes I get a little self conscious :grimacing:) Anyway, they are kind of fun.


My little prototyping machine. Sits on a desk and doesn’t make a mess… or at least not a very big mess.



The dust skirt is held on by neodymium magnets and can quickly be removed.


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Electronic zero plate makes it easy to quickly set height of the Z-Axis cutter.


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You can see my quick and dirty clamping solution. It has actually proven to be quite convenient and fast.


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It also had its own Skype address so I can keep an eye on it from anywhere. Not the safest thing, but it sure is fun.


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The enclosure as well as the side panels of the CNC machine are made out of MDF.


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All painted up and lit with some LED lighting.


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I use the CNC machine to make buck molds for the desktop vacuum former that I designed and built (I know, I know, I am a super nerd, but I love it!).


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Testing out my proof-of-concept thermoformer/vacuum former.


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I have found that MDF is a cheap and easy material for creating buck molds for the vacuum former, especially when I am just prototyping. I seal it with a sanding sealer and it gives it a nice hard glossy coating.


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More buck molds. My desktop vacuum former is 100 times more valuable in combination with the desktop CNC.


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Here is a finished product and an “in progress” shot.

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35

Hmm. Since I’m thinking for my home shop, I was deterred by the 800 lbs. But if it disassembles sufficiently. Maybe…

36

@markwal - Tormach has a YouTube video that shows how the 770 mill can be disassembled into pieces that make it fairly easy to move to a basement shop.

You may need a Tormach moving kit and and other tools but it doesn’t look too bad to me. My wife and I moved an 1100 (1,100 lbs) to the basement by ourselves in a similar manner, although Tormach doesn’t officially support dis-assembly of the 1100. I’m just in the process of moving their “new” CNC lathe to the same location but riggers will be handling the two heaviest parts as my back and knees are no longer up to the task.

The way we moved the 1100 is illustrated and described in the links on this page on my web site:

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37

@wesleyjames The CarveWright is an interesting beast… it doesn’t have much Z-axis, around 1", has a 14" Y axis and of course the 12 foot X axis. It’s very noisy, and is built like a planer - you feed your workpiece in one end and it automatically pulls it in and then moves it back and forth as necessary. The dust collection is pretty bad, and you can’t see your work piece as it’s being cut, so that makes things more difficult. It’s good for some things, though I would probably prefer a Shapeoko 3 or an X-Carve.

38

Impressive machine!! Your CTR plaque looks pretty good too :slightly_smiling:

39

I picked up an x-carve, and will hopefully be running it for the first time this week or next week. I am also in the process of building a fairly large vacuformer! How is your vacuforming coming along? What else have you made with it?

40

I have the X-Carve as well and love it. Use it for small projects to get the kids involved in making things and its perfect since I don’t have a large shop with a bunch of cool machines for wood working. I just ordered the new X-Controller for it and can’t wait to get it rolling again since my current controller board fried in December.

Here are a few of the projects I have done with it over the last year.

https://www.inventables.com/users/garin-gardiner

BTW - the Inventables team is great, cant speak highly enough about them.

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41

I’m going to see Zach this weekend. He still hasn’t shipped my Carvey yet. :wink:

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42

Heard they had nighmares with UPS damage but things are finally arriving un-bent.

43

That is awesome work. Very nice finish and attention to detail!

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44

I’m still waiting for more info from these guys, Shaper

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45

Did anyone get in on the Pcocket CNC kickstarter?

46

Thank you, I appreciate that.

47

I just saw the Applied Science guy, Ben, show off the Shaper. Holy cow, we live in the future! That thing is awesome.

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48

Thanks for posting this! It really helped show the capabilities of the Shaper - and got me wanting one.

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49

That is one fine tool!
A hand-held CNC device. That’s some serious innovation.

50

that looks fantastic. It’s like a shopbot with a gimbal! I I’ll put this on my christmas list for 2020… to accompany the Glowforge creations.

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51

I have one application for this cool tool: routing the insert slots on the top of home made router, drill press and band saw tables, Seems like the setup routine makes it fairly efficient instead of having to set up a template for routing out by hand. Can’t say as to efficiency for a regular CNC, but from what I understand with the clamping, and positioning, and computing, there is a lot of work for a small hole. Nifty.

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52

I’ve have been using a carvewright CNC for many years. The software is easy to use and the gantry style allows for me to carve things 14’ inches by almost unlimited length (if supported correctly). It also has a rotary jig so I can do cylindrical carving as well. Great machine that has been around for a long time with a solid design. My one disappointment is that it doesn’t have built in dust collection. I made my own - but for the large amount of fine sawdust it generates it should really have dust collection built in. http://www.carvewright.com/