Hi, I'm extreme new to the CNC community. I purchase a "Woodpecker" as a starting machine to see if I like it. However, that machine can't do what I eventually want to do and I can't afford to purchase one that does. So I'm considering building one but I need to figure out which type is correct for what I want to do. I want to make some complex toy designs such as Marionets. Given the details of facial features and hands, do you think a CNC can do this? I was thinking a Lathe design was close but might not be completely the ticket. I've looked at many of the lathe builds and a lot are defunct. Are there any builds that you know of that can do this sort of work? How many axis do you recommend? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks. R
The biggest issue you will have is the controller and software. This is something you should have fully nailed down before you even begin purchasing physical parts for the build. Openbuilds controllers aren't designed to run 4 or 5-axis systems. As far as builds go I can only think of one over the years that actually took 5-axis to fruition. C_Beam X5L Hybrid_Tank
I was worried about that as well. The only 4+ axis controller with software that I know of is Mach3. I'm sure there are others but I just haven't run into them yet. I'd like to find something affordable and useable though. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check out that project. I was thinking of modifying the Openbuilds Mini-Mill to 4/5 axis as my projects are not that large.
Vcarve should allow you to carve what you want with a rotary axis. There was a build posted here last fall called the Rotary Demon. It was a fully functioning lathe using mostly OB parts. I am currently designing one that can be built completely from Openbuilds parts, but it may take me a year or more since I lack the free time . Google Rotary Demon and check out Designs by Phil on YouTube.
Apparently the build has been either removed from OB forums by the author, or he just provided a link to his webpage in another thread. Here it is and a majority of the parts are available at the OB Parts Store. He provides the plans and a post processor for the gcode. ROTARY DEMON CNC
