DIY CNC ?

[Jack01]

I am interested in building a CNC.
New to this area.

Where should I start?

Size;  2' x 4  ( estimate)
Material to cut - wood, plywood, plastic

I will use for  cutting small pieces( parts)  engraving

[Phil Thien]

I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be, but...

Maybe start by posting what you plan on machining, (materials, sizes, etc.).  That may narrow it down for some of the helpful people to come after me.

[gov.cheese]

Woodsmith magazine has a two part article, step-by-step instructions with parts list, on building your own...latest two issues.

Parts list

[Jack01]

I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be, but...

Maybe start by posting what you plan on machining, (materials, sizes, etc.).  That may narrow it down for some of the helpful people to come after me.

Thanks  , just posted updates based on your feedback

[Bobby Thompson]

Here is a link to a few pictures of my build.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/17594307@N...7152776661

[packerguy®]

I am interested in building a CNC.
New to this area.

Where should I start?

Size;  2' x 4  ( estimate)
Material to cut - wood, plywood, plastic

I will use for  cutting small pieces( parts)  engraving

Honestly, if you are new to it, save yourself time and money and buy one (tons of companies now and are affordable and I dont mean what they sell at Woodcraft/rockler, just do a google search and you will come up with more than you can count on both hands)

In the future, when you gain the knowledge build away. 

Years ago (has to be 8 years) I thought it would be cheaper to build (thankfully I was just pricing out parts) and I ended up buying a kit and getting my own controller software (Mach3) and its still in service today. Dont have the time to build one (its alot of work) but I am planning to buy second machine that is larger to use to cut parts and make my current unit a dedicated engraving machine. 

But if money and time line isnt a large consideration go over to CNC Zone and start reading up. (Honestly if I had time and space id build a 5'x10' machine and take my time....it would be fun.

[Bobby Thompson]

Honestly, if you are new to it, save yourself time and money and buy one (tons of companies now and are affordable and I dont mean what they sell at Woodcraft/rockler, just do a google search and you will come up with more than you can count on both hands)

In the future, when you gain the knowledge build away. 

Years ago (has to be 8 years) I thought it would be cheaper to build (thankfully I was just pricing out parts) and I ended up buying a kit and getting my own controller software (Mach3) and its still in service today. Dont have the time to build one (its alot of work) but I am planning to buy second machine that is larger to use to cut parts and make my current unit a dedicated engraving machine. 

But if money and time line isnt a large consideration go over to CNC Zone and start reading up. (Honestly if I had time and space id build a 5'x10' machine and take my time....it would be fun.

+1

[CARYinWA]

I agree with Packerguy..  I just ordered a CNC from a well known mfg with a reputation of great CS.  I don't know anything about CNC's and don't have the time to learn everything at once.  I figure the software will be quite a bit.  I don't want to fight mechanical problems.  I want ti to run so I can get on with what I want to do with it.  I just bought a 3d printer kit.  It took me 2 days to put it together and then it didn't work.  I spent about 6 hours between 2 weeks talking to tech support to get it to run.  It was quit aggravating and starting to sour me on cnc/3d printer/lazer.  It happened to be a cable that was pinned  wrong at the factory.  Now that it is up an running I am having a blast. It is one thing to have issues here and there as you go along and it is another to put the machine together and it be DOA and have no clue where to start.

[gad5264]

I have an 18x24 GarageworX, Dave Gatton (designer of GarageworX) also has a 48X48 machine that comes as a kit.

As a second area of interest, check out Dave's "Gatton" CNC. It can be built to whatever size you want.

[paulJohnstoneJr]

I build my own CNC, using an earlier version of Joe's CNC as a basis.
His plans now are much better, more rigid, and have a lot of the problems worked out.
It took me a lot of time to build, and rebuild, and rebuild, and experiment until I got something that worked acceptable, although I did learn a lot.
If I had to do it over again, I would probably order the cnc router parts, because everything comes in one kit together.. probably would build my own table to save money.. I am not sure I would want to put my own controller again.. it was a pain and still sometimes needs parts replaced.. not really sure what I did wrong.
The problem with pure DIY is having to source parts fro m like 40 different sources, paying shipping every time.
I would recommend a rack and pinion design over a leadscrew one. Mach3 is great because so many people use it, it is easy to get help.. Also, even if you do not build Joe's CNC, it is probably worth the $100 to join the forum just to have access to the forum to learn.