Category Archives: Making

CNC router mount finally gets shifted

Because of the way that the original router mount was designed, I lost a lot of usable router bit length. So I redesigned it immediately; it was the first real job I ran on the CNC machine. But, because the … Continue reading

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CNC update – endmills

I have a DeWalt palm router (I’ll get the model number later). It has a collet, not a chuck, so it can take 1/4″ shank bits only. Speed change bits don’t work. Just round-shank router bits. I ran the endmill … Continue reading

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Dust, there’s a new Deputy in town

I didn’t really spend a lot of time thinking about sawdust before I built the CNC machine. Now, I think of little else. Everything in the garage is covered in a fine layer of sawdust. So, I have been thinking … Continue reading

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CNC – 3D, baby!

… well, 2.5D anyway. This is by far the most complicated design I’ve even attempted on the CNC machine. I learned a lot. In particular, I learned that the machine is *slow*. This carving took about 14 hours to cut … Continue reading

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CNC – fully functional

I finally brought all the pieces together today and cut my first “real” project on the CNC machine. To this point, I was hamstrung by a variety of startup costs, both financial and temporal. I wanted to really see how … Continue reading

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CNC Build, Day 22 – parts is parts

The X-transmission nut has really been giving me a hard time. It hangs in there for about 15 minutes, then pops loose, and I end up spending 20 minutes fixing the silly thing. This part of the design really needs … Continue reading

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CNC Build, Day 21 – on the case

OK, I knew I needed to work on getting the electronics mounted into a case. It’s a pain to have to unplug from the wall to turn things off. But last night’s catastrophe put me in a mood to get … Continue reading

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CNC Build, Day 20 – Robot self-upgrades!

I designed a new router mount for the CNC machine today, and the CNC machine cut it out! Long build notes below, but I just can’t help a “brag photo” first: oooh, pretty! OK, here’s how that object came to … Continue reading

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CNC Build, Day 19 – Excuses to shop

I sent off the broken motor and motor controller today. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to get parts back. I really need a new way of mounting the router, because the current method eats up … Continue reading

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CNC Build, Day 18 – First Sawdust!

Mellow greetings from my new robot friend. The “spare” Z axis motor arrived today. A bit of solder and I was ready to test it out. It took a little bit of time to get the hang of the basis … Continue reading

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