Getting Started With Your Shop-Built CNC Router

[@warrenscorner]

I used the Woodsmith plans to make my CNC. Well, I started using the plan but as I was building I made mods that I thought were easier. I did purchase some of the suggested parts such as the lead screws and anti backlash nuts. Most other parts I purchased on Amazon. One mod I made was installing flange bearings on both ends of the lead screws. I mounted legs on my version with a cabinet underneath to house the electronics and misc parts. The legs ended up reducing the travel a little bit but I still have a working surface of about 24 x 36. I also didn’t make all those fancy bed boards. I just use a piece of mdf as a waste board. It was a fun project which kept me busy for most of the winter. Unfortunately I’m afraid to leave the house now so I don’t have any material to make anything. I live near Niagara Falls. NY. I didn’t keep an accurate total of the cost of everything but I figure it was about $1200. Thank you Woodsmith for the inspiration you provide.

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

Those sound like reasonable modifications. Glad everything worked out for you.

[@chipsandsawsaw]

I'm building one right now... worried about the aluminum ways wearing down after use... just running my assembly back and forth a few times has left marks... how are yours holding up?

[@warrenscorner]

@@chipsandsawsaw I was concerned about the marks also but they haven’t gotten worse.

[@gregstockert3169]

Okay, stop it already. The temptation is almost overwhelming. Do you know how hard it's going to be to order in all these parts without my wife finding out? 🤣

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

LOL... be safe out there. :)

[@billymiles24]

it's been a year. did your wife find out? if not...how'd you do it? i need guidance.

[@loucinci3922]

Holy smkoes! Very popular shop add lately. Never really thought about having one in my weekend shop. This one seems smaller than the full sheet models and could fit my shop. Nice one! Thanks!

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

Yeah, it's a really nice size for the hobbyist.

[@user-jv4vf4qo8z]

Beautiful looking design. One tidbit I'll offer though is that after changing setting in the motor tuning section- you HAVE TO press save axis settings, not just OK. your settings will not be saved and you'll pull a good bit of you hair out trying to figure out whats wrong.

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

Thanks for the tip! I'm sure that can be frustrating.

[@johnjacobjinglehimerschmid3555]

UGH..... How can you binge watch this stuff .... when you only post one vid at a time.

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

I know, right. ;)

[@daverowe5351]

Great job - Many different uses for CNC - make templates to use on you router table or for set up on table saw, make signs, puzzles etc... - I just purchased the plans and Premium additions - looking forward to this adventure

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

Great! Let us know how the build goes and if you have any questions. We plan to get more CNC project related videos up soon.

[@kuzcatlan]

Hi Dave... how did the build fare for you? Can you share your experience with us? Thanks!!

[@daverowe5351]

@@kuzcatlan I have not been able to start it yet - unexpected issues came up that have idled my shop time but have a look at this site - Bruce did an excellent job: brucemacdonald.wixsite.com/macteam/cnc-router

[@timhalcomb4041]

Really enjoy this series thanks for sharing this information

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

Glad you enjoy it! We'll work on getting some more CNC related videos up.

[@PaulDominguez]

Been thinking it making LowRider CNC, but this looks more solid. Hope to see more vids.

[@TheshBuilds]

Ha ha. Same. I started printing parts for it already too but then I found this. Going to do this instead but with ball screws. Seems more solid and without the gantry drifting issue.

[@pauloalbertovamosfalardequ6976]

Thanks from Brazil!

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

You're welcome!

[@donf3739]

Excellent presentation, other than the X and Y thing. (X is across the gantry, Y is along the rails). I hope that doesn't confuse anyone who builds this.

[@2460speedy]

Best tutorial on the net. You have kept it simple. Can you recommend a CNC router for a beginner with a size of 4 feet by 3 feet.

[@user-jv4vf4qo8z]

I cant see a reason that this design couldn't be easily modified to 4x3. But sencondly I'd also look at gatton cnc plans.

[@timdavid8304]

Maybe I missed it but I saw no mention of changing bits or re-zeroing after the change...

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

We couldn't fit all the details into this video... We are planning on having a series of monthly videos related to the CNC coming up in 2021 so stay tuned for a lot more in-depth information on this topic.

[@jarexxsuvexx8212]

The last time i checked an X-Axis movement is Side2Side and Y-Axis is Back&Forth.

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

Yeah, flip-flopped those as many have pointed out now 👍

[@russellredard9200]

Are the SVG files available for the parts? I have access to a CNC to cut the parts. This would be helpful with my FRC team as well as home projects.

[@crztrn1]

i would love to see the build

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

Yeah, I'm kind of getting pumped up to build another one.

[@getenlightened]

I wonder how strong this is, how rigid? I wonder if it can mill aluminum without too much wobble. Has the tool deflection been measured?

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

We have used it to cut aluminum from time to time, but we haven't measured the deflection on it.

[@chrisp7957]

Can you give me an idea oh the cost $ to build this including the software ? Thanks for another great video.

[@artdubs5275]

In the first video, they said about $1300. No mention of software cost. From what I've seen on other home-built CNC machines the different software ranges from $300 to $700 Plus.

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

Last I heard it was in the $1300 range to complete the build, but you could shop around the sources and piece out the CNC parts and get it cheaper. Here is a list of the parts: cdn.woodsmith.com/files/issues/242/cnc-router-materials-and-hardware-list.pdf Some the sources are clickable links to find out more. We have a couple of recommended software options, either Mach 3 or Vectric, that are about $150 each.

[@spencerjw]

Look into MPCNC (shop.v1engineering.com/), total cost to get started is relatively low, about $500-$700 depending on your setup and requirements. That's what I did and it's been working great for me for the few months I've had it so far. And the community is amazing, always helpful no matter how simple your question is.

[@prestonthomas9406]

So, how are the parts cut for the router? Do you have to send off the plans and have them cut with someone else’s cnc router or do you cut them manually?

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

All of the parts for the CNC were cut manually, but now that we have a CNC we can program it to make more CNCs. :)

[@musicmaneman38]

X "CROSS the river" Y "the LONG face" Z "the rocket go UP"

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

LOL - thanks for the reminder. :)

[@timpedzinski230]

I didn't know they taught CNC programming in Kindergarten,

[@chrismoore9997]

@@timpedzinski230 - They don't start that until 1st grade now.

[@WilliamsWorlds]

It appears your X & Y axis are swapped from what is normally done. Is there a reason for this? Usually, X is the narrow side, Y is the long side, and the origin is left/front. The front is the same side of the gantry as the spindle. Technically, it's probably no big deal. It could be confusing.

[@ltscustomwoodworks4052]

what kind of drag chain are you useing

[@dirkventer8112]

What is the main frame , gantry made of wood(MDF)?

[@scotttovey]

By the way. Nice rig you have there.

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

Thanks! We're pretty pleased with it.

[@scotttovey]

@@WoodsmithShowandmagazine 😎👍

[@LanceCunningham]

Are you planning on releasing any build videos? Looks like a great addition for my shop.

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

We haven’t got around to shooting a build video yet, but that is something we would like to do.

[@Kephers7]

Would love to build my first one as well...

[@pip5461]

Nice... but you have to be a serious woodworker, who makes lots of repetitive pieces to justify one of these... I'll stick to my hammer, saw,drill,chisel,setsquare and ruler. No software needed, I might invest in a router to make some things easier... (one that I move up,down and across).. . :)

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

Fair enough... CNC's aren't for everyone, but we just thought it would be an interesting field to delve into now that they are getting pretty popular in the hobbyist shop. Thanks for watching.

[@elephantfeet280]

This cnc can it cut out templates for furniture legs?

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

It sure can! We've actually done quite a bit of template making with ours.

[@tawficyakubu5116]

Best explanation, Sir where to buy genuine parts of C.N.C router machine

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

You can purchase the downloadable PDF plans here: www.woodsmithplans.com/plan/cnc-router/

[@timpedzinski230]

You should have shown us what you nade or is that tomorrows video?

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

We hope to have more CNC related videos soon... stay tuned.

[@moncymp6518]

How many will be the price ?

[@markperkins9437]

You should have offered the various parts as SVG files.

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

Good idea. We are looking to add some SVG files and more CNC related projects really soon, as well as more CNC videos.

[@markperkins9437]

@@WoodsmithShowandmagazine I bought the project files yesterday and frankly I was surprised that the premium package didn't include them especially considering that you had all those nice pdf drawings.. I already have a CNC and would have loved to cut out these parts on may current machine. I'm in the process of making these files.

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

Mark Perkins - Very true. I guess on this one we made the assumption that someone building this project wouldn’t already have a CNC, but I guess that isn’t necessarily true.

[@talegunner115]

Great job BUTin the article and all of the videos you never tell what size step motors you use. Too small and the gantry will never move accurately. I have been a fan of Shopsmith forever. Now I am getting disappointed.

[@DannyBurgess-nd4du]

Would love to talk to someone about this çnc they wònt return my email. Tried calling, that didn't work either.

[@schmidtludwig884]

metric not available on your website !Thanks subscription off!

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

Sorry, Australian Woodsmith does our metric conversions and they haven't gotten to this project yet. :)

[@PaulDominguez]

Looking forward to the metric plans.

[@axelSixtySix]

Sorry, but you're wrong about resolution. It's a bit disappointing to hear a serious magazine taking wrong because of a lack of understanding of electromechanics. There's theorical resolution and real resolution. Please understand steppers can only stop precisely on full steps and half steps. Any other position is not the expected quadrant, as there's a growing deviation as you come closer to a full step or an half step. So the real resolution of your stepper ends on half step. Definitely. The microsteps in between smooths transitions, like when you're cutting a circle. But when the machine moves along an axis only, like X0 to X200, the path will be exact if the Y stepper stopped on a full step or an half step. If it stops on any other microsteps, the position is wrong. And keep in mind that the holding torque of the motor decreases dramatically with the microsteps division. You can loose 80% of the holding torque on a 1:64 microstep. That means the machine can be subject to slide to another wrong position if it's stopped on a microstep on a axis, Y in our example, while the cut along X apply a lot of resistance on the bit. So in transition microsteps gives the illusion oh a higher resolution while stopped on microsteps, the resolution is symbolic only. Last but not least, real resolution does not consider motor steps only. All the drive system needs to be measured. Unless the machine uses insanely expensive C-0 ball screws, the precision decreases with the build quality of the other components (especially with anti-backlash nuts, which are literally spring loaded breaks). You can adjust the parameters as you like to come as close as possible to the expected point B, but if the thread oscillate few degrees during each turn, the resolution is not what you expected anymore. And that's exactly the same with guides. Finally, the resolution of the machine, which is the precision you can get on the machined part, is way inferior of the teorical resolution. It's the teorical resolution reduced to the half step, then reduces to the screw precision, then reduced to the guides deviation, and so on, until the wobble of the bit on the spindle. Usually, you need a machine with 10 microns resolution to make parts expected to have just a 100 microns precision (ten times lower). Actually, the most expensive industrial machines can't reach the resolution you claim. A machine made out of wood and construction materials will introduce variations much larger than the components' teorical resolutions, because of moisture, flex or vibrations indeed. You would be wise to call it "theorical resolution" or to duck your numbers to realist values.

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

Thank you for taking the time to type Ot the long and detailed explanation. It is possible that Chris misspoke on that subject, but then again we are all still learning too. Regardless, the machines we’ve built have worked spectacularly for us. 👍

[@davidvitale9338]

Can you please point me to the video or website you have created for a DIY CNC? Thank you.

[@axelSixtySix]

@@davidvitale9338 I started here, back in 2005. Enjoy.

[@scotttovey]

"Building a CNC router has been an exciting project for all of us here at woodsmith magazine." WHAT! And you didn't ask me to help you screw it up?! 🤨 What's up with that?! Y'all are no fun! 😏😂

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

Sorry, we'll think of you first next time. :)

[@scotttovey]

@@WoodsmithShowandmagazine Hey, it's the thought you know? 😂🤣😂 😎👍

[@edwinfriedl2446]

Actually you might ask for a job. Knowing how non sophisticated woodworkers can mess up might help them reduce the chances of of users making mistakes. The more experience one has makes it harder to see where beginners might err.

[@schmidtludwig884]

Rather do it myself using other aluminium ways.