DIY CNC Milling Machine - The Complete How to Build Video

[@warpspeed9877]

Every once in a while i come across a video that proves to me that human spirit and engineering know no boundaries. Yours is one of them.

[@T0tenkampf]

Hobgoblin product placement shows that you are a man of substance!

[@LanceMcGrew]

Amazed with sound of cutting and apparent rigidity on something built with a drill press and bolts.

[@SeabassEngineering]

I believe rigidity largely comes from the overall mass of the machine. I think it could be improved further by filling the column with epoxy granite, as well as the hollow frame with sand or similar. Perhaps even adding a heavy block into the frame base.

[@robertclason9212]

That is just spectacular. This is inspiring and was a pleasure to watch. Great work.

[@SeabassEngineering]

Thank you very much!

[@danielfry8882]

Well this is my new favourite DIY CNC mill project! The DMM_Wales t-shirt requires credit alone

[@Tchefter]

It's rare that I watch such a long video, but this one is worth every second👌thanks for the Show 🤘👌🤘

[@entebach]

Mit den Mitteln die du hattest ist das ein Hammer Job! Da zieh ich meinen Hut! Sehr gut gemacht!!!

[@mikieman74]

Amazing! That was some build, you are gifted.

[@SeabassEngineering]

Thank you!

[@rjpeterson1]

You truly are a man of many talents and skills!

[@Gab20783]

You should give a workshop class - would sign in!

[@marcio.tecnico]

Parabéns. Você é inspiração. Falo do Brasil.

[@adamdiaz8442]

You got my sub bro awesome work especially when I seen the mini pickup with what looks like a busa in the rear awesome

[@SeabassEngineering]

Thanks for the sub! It's actually a pug engine but in the racing I do there are other classes that use twin busas. See my other vid for engine build.

[@armastat]

@29:30 Revealing his secret Identity as Superman.

[@PeterK6502]

I am impressed with your build skills.

[@tomnorman5461]

What a thing of BEAUTY!

[@SeabassEngineering]

Thank you

[@ashesman1]

Awesome build. Really impressed with the end result. I was worried about a axis rigidity but it seems to machine well. Thanks for taking he time to share.

[@SeabassEngineering]

Glad you liked it!

[@glennedward2201]

Doesn’t take as much rigidity as people think. For a home model you dont worry about throughput. So what id it takes twice as long to machine 👉right👈

[@dtroy15]

Nice! I'm looking forward to seeing some steel get cut!

[@SeabassEngineering]

Me too... I'll video it when I cut some and upload it

[@dtroy15]

@@SeabassEngineering I might have missed it, but did you fill your frame at all? Are you considering epoxy granite? It would probably help with surface finish quite a lot.

[@akosbuzogany2752]

That's what I call one-man-band! Brilliant!

[@MegaCoolshot]

Great build, next get a chinese ATC spindle, the ability to change tools without having to change collets and re measure is a game changer.

[@diygaragetx]

at 34:08, the plastic junction box, where'd you get that? Great build!

[@HenryOCarmichaelSmith]

I think it was from eBay to be honest. It's just a 100x100x50 IP55 junction box. Commonly used in UK electrical systems.

[@DonQuichotteLiberia]

Wow, what a build. A beautiful design, perfectly executed.

[@SeabassEngineering]

Thank you very much!

[@tonywardle-winship5744]

Good video, I've built two CNCs but this video is inspirational to build a bit stronger. Lovely engineering

[@SeabassEngineering]

Cool, thanks for watching

[@cskilbeck]

outstanding, bloody love it - great minimalist presentation as well, thanks for sharing

[@SeabassEngineering]

Thanks for watching

[@wesco123]

Highly intelligent thinking, diligent work and achievement man 👌

[@easyco99]

Great job... appreciate the effort to document the process.

[@NURSULTANTECHNOLOGY]

God job, support from indonesia 😂❤❤👍👍

[@jaspervandenameele4834]

Great video, thanks for sharing! Edit: that tig job on the chip plate was great!

[@johnburrell1568]

Would you mind saying that you have the design maintained in CAD? Do you have a site where folks may download the STEP files along with any other supportive data to help follow this build? Thanks in advance and for your time sharing this project. Such a great built mill by using conventional MFG processes to get the job done!

[@SeabassEngineering]

No, sorry

[@t0rnado695]

excellent step by step build, and what a cnc machine you ended up with. just great. well done.

[@SeabassEngineering]

Thank you very much!

[@shaneord7527]

Great build! Would love to see more of that mini too, do you have a build video of that?

[@SeabassEngineering]

Not the car, but there is a build video of the engine.

[@homemadetools]

Very nice work. We shared this video on our homemade tools forum this week 😎

[@Gallardo6669]

Excellent work! Would be great if you could make a video about parts order prices and detailed manufacturing steps

[@Dev_Everything]

0:05 what song is this?

[@andli461]

Amazing build! 👍

[@bogopouk8551]

Can u plz upload a video about all the elecronics, design software, tool path control software to final result explanation.? Inspirational one.!

[@SeabassEngineering]

Check my other videos for one specific to building the electronics which has a little more detail

[@landonhillyard]

Ha ha using your drill press as a clamp, love it.

[@SeabassEngineering]

Haha. You gotta use what you have to get the job done

[@Magnificent1988]

Okeey it's over ... that's pretty impressive build 👏👏 ... now lathe 😃

[@matic1265]

great job! could you please explain the shimming process of the z ?

[@SeabassEngineering]

This is a painstaking process of torquing the column bolts down, measuring out of alignment amount along the z travel using a machine alignment square and dial test indicator and then shimming the approximate amount and repeating. This is easier if you always torque the bolts to the same value every time.

[@henrykleyn3423]

That was a really great video to watch. Well done. Always good to see a completed project.

[@ramsankar1969]

Very interesting , nice and very precisive task. Very well done.

[@SeabassEngineering]

Thank you!

[@BT-st4ho]

you like an artist, engineer and craftsman al in one. Really nice work and thanks for sharing! I wanne build my own cnc to, but smaller. I’m curious, I guess you’re using aluminum plate material underneath the linear guides, can you tell me what thickness plate material and what type of aluminum (6082, 7075..)? And is the aluminum plate material flattened?

[@hamitinan6422]

Selamlar. 100x100 ölçülerinde ahşap oyacak CNC de T10 16mm pu çelik destekli zamanlama kayısı kullanmayı düşünüyorum. Boşluğu alındığında esneme v.s. yapip yatay eksende kaçırma yapar mı ?

[@arva1kes]

No plans to release diagrams/drawings for the build so we can make one too? It would be quite much easier to have plans + videos since it's exactly the problem i'm facing - to make a mill you need a mill.

[@JamesWHurst]

Splendid presentation, and your skills are impressive. Thank you, for creating and sharing this. May I ask - did you perhaps track your time/costs to create this? I love your design, and.. I am thinking I want to build one too. In fact I am wondering whether it might be worthwhile to produce something like this in my workshop to sell. ? I'm actually a software-designer and am wondering whether I could enhance the control aspects with a bit of AI. Thank you, your work is inspiring.

[@MultiBruho]

Отличная работа. Станок получился хороший.

[@th3smurf692]

Hi, i didn't finish watching yet, but how much would you say is the material cost to build it?

[@SeabassEngineering]

total machine cost approx £3k

[@th3smurf692]

Wow, that's super cheap for such a great machine. Very impressive

[@sgtpepperaut3392]

Are you willing to share your 3d plans ? This is a great build

[@T0tenkampf]

I really like your no compromises approach to DIY...I get so sick of everyone doing the "cheap and easy" approach on 95% of DIY tools. That being said, how do you feel about the inexpensive MATTM steppers? Are you using HIWIN linear guides or the chinese knockoffs that I am reading about that seem to be of good quality? Is that also one of the chinese spindles? I was looking at a nice 2.2kw USA made air cooled type but wow its expensive for ATC.

[@SeabassEngineering]

Yeah I know what you mean, people doing "how to make a CNC using twigs and tree bark or other such nonsense! The rails are Chinese and so is the spindle. To be honest the one thing I really would like is an ATC spindle. That would make it so much better. The closed loop steppers are great too in my opinion. Thanks for watching btw

[@mikemike6096]

Dang this is a great built. How accurate are the cuts? Within .001 or less? thx

[@МихаилАлександрвич]

Amazing work, proud for all engineers with deaf-muteness !

[@SeabassEngineering]

lol

[@robertfontaine3650]

Great example of machine making. Getting x,y and z axis all true must have been a beast. How is the accuracy?

[@cazevedo77]

CONGRATULATIONS FOR THIS GREAT JOB !!!!

[@SeabassEngineering]

Thank you so much 😀

[@sputniksputnik4821]

Great job....what's software you're using in this cnc?

[@SeabassEngineering]

It's called UCCNC which is the software provided for use with the axbb-e motion controller by CNCdrive.com

[@JohnK8]

That is a really nice build.

[@texasermd1]

Very nice project. 👍🏼👍🏼

[@heeder777]

Very nice work! It sure helps when you have a great selection of tools. I don’t think I’ve seen such nice holes made with a hole saw. The enclosure is really clean. That’s a great idea using the extruded standards andI love the door hinge. How much time did you invest in the project? 😊

[@STPhilips6453]

Wow, this is cool! Great job!

[@SeabassEngineering]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@brandonhicks7549]

Really impressive build. Any willingness to ballpark estimate the material costs and time spent?

[@jiraautobot736]

Cool a bi metall sandwich. Move it in the 0.01 or 0.001 on temperatur?

[@Nealieboyee]

Did you have any problems mounting the z axis plate directly to the steel box section? Box section isn't very flat so did it distort the aluminium plate at all?

[@SeabassEngineering]

To my surprise after hand filing the start of the radius of the box section (you can just make out where i've done this in the video) the z axis plate actually sits pretty flat. It didn't rock when sat on loosely and didn't seem to distort when torqued up. The biggest issue was with the z carriage alignment, as that had moved all over with welding. Without access to a mill this needed careful shimming and other than aligning the column was one of the most difficult parts of the entire build. Thanks for watching.

[@taiarenthlei909]

What is the NM of the stepper motor?

[@GraphicManInnovations]

great work! how did it do with steel?

[@Multiquadra1]

Nice job, nice machine, congra bro !

[@Максим-р6у1щ]

Ништяк, когда много алюминия и станков.

[@roboticus3647]

Impressive build, I really liked it. A couple questions: Why did you opt to make a small table? I was expecting you to put the rails on the underside of the table and the bearing blocks supporting it so you could have a longer table. My other question: Now that you built it, what would you do differently? Thanks for the video, pretty nice. (I appreciate that it didn't have loud background music, and that I could hear what was happening.)

[@SeabassEngineering]

Thanks for watching. You're not the first to point that out about the table. I actually considered this after someone else commented the same and after a lot of consideration decided to do it this way mainly because the longer table would have meant a much bigger enclosure with no real gain for my purpose. If I were to do it again I'd probably overkill the rails and ball screws and I'dmake the frame heavier somehow. I may still do this. E.g. fill the frame with sand and potentially put a big resin block in the bottom to stop some of the harmonics.

[@scottwatrous]

Having a small table on a long X axis saddle is how, say, a Haas VF series is setup; while a long table on a short saddle is how their lighter duty Toolroom machines are setup. From what I understand its a tradeoff in capacity/versatiliy vs performance. Smaller table ends up more rigid and less mass which is easier to move around accurately AND quickly.

[@HenryOCarmichaelSmith]

@@scottwatrous great info thanks for replying

[@stygianindustries8295]

@@SeabassEngineering have you looked into the epoxy granite?

[@stfcasii3681]

Software for desktop controller is your job ?

[@blakes8901]

hell yes. HELL! YES! this is what it means to be alive.

[@sidneycook3196]

do you have a schematic on this build i would like to build the same sir

[@SeabassEngineering]

I would recommend the schematic by CNCdrive, who supply the axbb-e controller I used.

[@geekazoid]

what kind of drill press is that?

[@SeabassEngineering]

It's a Meddings Ivybridge 3 phase drill press converted to single phase with a VFD. A great machine.

[@Unl0gic]

Very nice build, great video!

[@averagepainter]

35:32 aaah, i see you're a man of culture (the wiha screwdriver)

[@772777777777777]

Is that 3kw spindle capable of cutting steel at low rpm? 5000rpm

[@SeabassEngineering]

It will cut steel with sensible cuts and the right feeds and tooling but I've found minimum rpm that has any usable torque to be around 8k with this spindle.

[@garybucher6824]

Bravo 👏👏👏👏👏👏 What are you going to do for a encore?

[@clintw438]

Nice build! And only for 3.5k! great work

[@SeabassEngineering]

Thanks!

[@rcalin9354]

Nice work!

[@Jika-Qureshi]

AMAZING SKILLS AMAZING JOB

[@keith_hudson]

Dang bro. Save some tail for the rest of. Haha seriously incredible build!!

[@SeabassEngineering]

lol

[@galaxy5am987]

could you show a parts list and a breakdown of the sizes and parts used. thanks

[@alitn588]

Very nice job mate ,

[@SeabassEngineering]

Thanks

[@etiennecoetzee8716]

Hey mate congrats on a great build. I am in the process of building a Vertical Machine Centre as well. Could you tell me what stepper motors and what diameter ball screws did you use. Looks like a 1” ball screw in the videos. The linear slides, is that the 20mm wide ones ? Cheers

[@SeabassEngineering]

NEMA34 short body version. ball screws and rails are all 20mm

[@catchulater7483]

Ok Im not thru the whole video…. But I have to say as a fabricator myself, the support table is impressive asf just all by itself. Now about that very very expensive table with the X and Y axis…. Lovely job. Were ya nervous when ya started. You know, not wanting to make a tiny mistake. I didn’t see any so I’m commenting about that also. I will be commenting throughout the build. I’m one critical bastard too! How much did ya need to shim when you showed the small ammount of tilt to the spindle bridge. (Didnt look like much)(prolly only reason it is askew is because I was typing while ya welded it🤣) also how can I avoid that? Did you have a set of plans or do ya work with a similar machine and just memory wing it? I realize all this was a year ago, how well is it holding up? Have you had to change anything? Overall, I think ya did an excellent job on it. Thanks for sharing. Oh, I gave ya a passing grade toooooo! 😂🤣

[@SeabassEngineering]

I used a precision square to "rough in" the column square while welding. I found the trick was to make small weld initially, a few large tacks and then used a heavy duty ratchet strap to pull it back square before welding the other side, then go back to fully weld it. It's impossible to keep it from moving while welding. I would say this is probably the one part of the build that could have really done with being squared up on a milling machine but I wanted to see if it was possible to finish the project without any machining.

[@iman96_fa]

Amazing, Good Job!

[@thadandashley]

What are the Dimensions of the Aluminum plates you used?

[@scienceandtechnologyst8134]

What spindle u use ? suggest me a spindle for metal milling

[@SeabassEngineering]

It's a Chinese water cooled 3KW ER20 spindle. 24,000 rpm.

[@MrSTIRCK]

excellent job

[@michaelmiller5566]

Nice build!

[@SeabassEngineering]

Thanks!

[@D_Labs_machinery]

Great project! But I propose to make a guide line for the axis cover so it won't pop up that way

[@GBWM_CNC]

Awesome! What's the maximum feed you're able to set?

[@SeabassEngineering]

Thanks. 3000mm/min is as high as I've tried but I suspect they will go faster.

[@MD_Builds]

Amazing work :D What was the final cost?

[@Lionstarr86]

Nice Job 😮

[@boru-cnc]

Well done Mate! Did you put anything inside that Z axis Tube ? Or is this hollow?

[@SeabassEngineering]

Hollow currently. May fill with epoxy granite at some point

[@scavengers4205]

This is nice man. P/s: 18:20 Royal Blood!

[@guypatts494]

Beautiful work 💪

[@SeabassEngineering]

Thank you so much 😀

[@taoufikbfd1514]

Trés bon travail merci.

[@brado.y.7919]

This is amazing and you can tell you put a lot of heart and work into it! Do you mind saying about how much it ran cost wise for all the parts?

[@ChristianDybdahlXTR]

I am concerned about chipping in the energy chain, as it can gauge the wires. Have you thought of a way to negate this?

[@SeabassEngineering]

Yes it is a concern, I will need to find a way to prevent this especially if i start to cut steel.

[@ChristianDybdahlXTR]

@@SeabassEngineering really like your setup, how much did it approximately cost?

[@HenryOCarmichaelSmith]

@@ChristianDybdahlXTR somewhere around 3.5k all in. I was buying it bit by bit for over a year. So I don't know exactly

[@makex_se]

Hi! Why do you sometimes use MIG over TIG welding? Do Prefer MIG on thicker parts and TIG on thinner parts? Awesome build, well done!

[@SeabassEngineering]

For me, it's sometimes due to material thickness and other times just due to time. MIG is much faster than TIG. For the column also my TIG is only 170 amps and the MIG can go up to 230 amps. I had it on maximum to get good penetration on the 10mm wall thickness into the 20mm thick plate.

[@makex_se]

@@SeabassEngineering thank you for explaining! Just about to by my first TIG welder so this was good information . 225 amp tig it will be then :D

[@HenryOCarmichaelSmith]

Amperage isn't the only thing to consider when buying a Tig that's for certain. Do your research before you buy!

[@ElixirCNC]

What are your thoughts?

[@prasads4743]

Can you help me to convert my milling machine into CNC please

[@rorypeycha9700]

Can I please have the plans?