Hi guys, I am Martin, 37, business owner from France. I would like to build my own router CNC machine as well as a router CNC lathe to be used for small to medium scale productions for my business. I have a background of engineering as I have a Msc in mechanical design engineering, 10+ years working in various industries and 5+ years manufacturing my own parts. I owned a Stepcraft D840/2 CNC for a while but was really disapointed. My biggest issue is I don't know where to start. I can surely design a machine, but I don't know the do's and don'ts, what are the key elements to consider, how to dimensions components properly, etc. I know I want my machines to be able to be use on a production level, running about 30h a week. I need precision, repetability as well as reliability. Is there any wiki or resources I can check to learn more about custom built CNC ? Thanks !
While our first suggestion will always be one of our well designed systems like OpenBuilds LEAD CNC Machine 1515 (60" x 60") I understand your desire to create your own system. Foremost would be coming to an understanding of what you intend to use it for. Oversizing a system is one of the greatest mistakes you can make. The larger a system gets the less rigid it is and rigidity is key in the quality of the cuts the system makes and the speed in which it will operate. You’ll notice the LEAD systems are intentionally kept low in the X/Z axes. And the dual beam X-axis adds rotational resistance to the Z-axis creating additional stiffness at the tool head. As for the remainder of the design it all comes down to what you want to do with the system and how large you want to make it. Linear rails are nice but they’re expensive. Ball screws are nice but they’ve also expensive. Rack and pinion drive is even better and even more expensive. That’s why it’s best to determine exactly what you intend to use it for as it gets very easy to build in a lot of expense. As for the electronics, you really can’t beat the BlackBox Motion Control System X32 but it’s only for 24V systems. You want more power, you’re on your own but I suggest you stick with GRBL based systems. There is a lot of support out there for them. Truly though it would probably be best just to show us where you’re headed with this and we can make suggestions from there.
