Building my CNC router

Having obtained a bunch of linear rails, ball screws and servo motors, I figured I might as well try to build a CNC router out of it. I'm not sold on CNC, but having the parts, I might as well try to build one and see how it goes.

[@klausnielsen1537]

For some reason it makes more sense to me to watch you build this cnc from wood than it does to see the many +5000 USD sponsored builds that are on KZbin. Great video. Super entertaining.

[@Beakerbite]

The more impressive part is the ease with which he setup a CNC controller because I'm pretty sure he made it from scratch.

[@mylesfranco3545]

@@Beakerbite And he didn't even mention it.

[@matthewbaker2573]

wood changes size with heat and moisture. within a few months, will need to rebuild this

[@tanmanhnguyen5932]

@@Beakerbitei really really want to know if he wrote something to control all those motors but he didn’t mention it 😢

[@mattivirta]

this cnc not ewer can cost ower 1200$. i just build little better than this have and all cost less than 1200$ very cheap and lot better than this video machine, 2.2KW spindle, all motors biggest, better software linuxcnc, and gantry style not worst only table move.

[@EjDantes]

This says a lot about Vevor, takes the criticism like a champ and continues to work.

[@jjjacer]

Vevor feels like the Harbor Freight of Amazon buying, not the best, not the worst, and prices fall in line to be affordable for most people.

[@vasyapupken]

since when ignoring became equal to "takes the like a champ" ?

[@baseball43v3r]

@@vasyapupken They didn't ignore it, they are actively sending him more things to try even though he was critical. Lot's of companies would have gotten butt hurt and blacklisted him.

[@Watchyn_Yarwood]

I've bought a couple of items from them and I am very well satisfied so far. Good products at a very good price.

[@girrrrrrr2]

Vevor has some good shit. And stand behind their stuff too, bought a pressure pot a while back and the gauge didn’t work, no questions just shipped a new one and some Teflon tape. Sure it’s a few bucks, but it took 2 messages and it showed up in 3 days.

[@Hoaxer51]

After watching you disassemble over half your CNC machine to tighten 2 forgotten screws, I’d say you would qualify for either Ford or GM’s engineering department for the placement of their water pumps. With just a few tweaks you could easily move up to their oil pump/sensor locations! Another enjoyable video, thanks so much Matthias and looking forward to more on this subject.

[@scrout]

Ford 3.5....🤦

[@Lizlodude]

I had to replace the water pump on my truck recently, and yeah I saw that and thought oh this shouldn't be too hard, I just have to *checks notes* removed the entire front half of the engine. Neat. That sucked

[@HobbyNut-sy3lo]

HaHa Try changing the WP or the Alternator on a Lexus RX(V6) or the rear passenger side spark plug. I came up with may new names for that car. However, it is 23 years old and doubles for my covered pickup truck so there's that.

[@avyouandme]

So it begins…

[@mattv5281]

In a few years... Building a wooden semiconductor fab

[@daylen577]

Next one made out of metal, then a better lathe made with the metal CNC, then a CNC plasma cutter, then a CNC water jet, then a fully automated self-replicating fabrication shop

[@AngryArmadillo]

Only a matter of time before he goes additive

[@alexej917]

We've all been waiting for it for many years now. This is the point of no return.

[@greglamphier4430]

Yup… could see it gradually going in that direction over the last year… it’ll be fun to watch for a bit, he’s brilliant and entertaining. I still enjoy the good old fashioned book case builds though!

[@andrewgalbreath2101]

That's a real nice etch-a-sketch you got there

[@1pcfred]

Plotting is a surprisingly useful feature of CNC machines. Even if you don't want to cut with them plotting is handy. Mathias is using the best pen for it too. Cheap disposable ballpoints work the best. I tried using fancier pens and you just can beat ballpoints.

[@ricos1497]

​@@1pcfred I use a quill in mine. Took 8 days to work out the perfect path for dipping feather in ink.

[@smitm108]

@@ricos1497… funny!

[@cpwright82]

That's exactly what I thought too!

[@jmcarp0]

Yes I love the pen plotting! more more!

[@bassgojoe]

Having designed a CNC router myself recently it was cathartic to see you run into many of the same issues, thank you for leaving them in. Especially the “this bolt is loose, but it’s behind this other thing that is behind yet another thing!?”

[@ekij133]

I had a group of friends in the US who were into XY tables and the most common thing for them to make with their first XY table was ... more accurate parts for their XY tables.

[@johngreydanus2033]

Similar to owning a computer, spend more time solving computer issues and finding solutions than actually benefit from having a computer, although much better than 1980 when there was still a need for DOS inputs.

[@superjojo555]

the same goes for 3d printers lol

[@joutilas]

Just like with 3d printing... get a printer to print parts and accessories for 3d printing.

[@donepearce]

Von Neumann described this whole process many years ago, and it is a sound way to progress. I got into CNC by buying one of those tiny Chinese things with a minute motor. It is now a full sized machine that cuts seel happily, but I can still trace its heritage. The main task is stopping things flexing and only then fitting big steppers.

[@ManuX]

He says he is not sure if it was worth the time, but at least for KZbin it was. Fantastic video. Super fun to watch.

[@jmcarp0]

Yes absolutely! I need a whole series of Matthias hating cnc in person!!

[@ManuX]

@ That would be great. And easy to do. He already built the cnc, he already hates the cnc. The only thing missing is hit record and we have a series.

[@PiefacePete46]

@@ManuX : Dead right! Having got to this point, there is no way Matthias' mind will let him leave it there... Let the hating begin!

[@bradley3549]

Been waiting for this moment for a long time. I knew the tinkerer would eventually run out of other things to tinker with. I have a few CNC machines I've built over the years. I never CNC anything but the journey of building, learning, modifying, updating, and making some relatively small projects was worth the price of admission for me.

[@mr.picklesworth]

Words you never expect to hear when watching someone build a cnc "none of this is very precise".😂

[@johnl121]

I built my own CNC using the same ball screw and support rail components (1605 screws for mine - looks the same as what you have). - Instead of connecting the motors directly to the screws, I used pulleys and toothed belts. I made the pulley on the screws double the diameter of the pulley on the motors, therefore doubling the torque and doubling the accuracy. That also allowed me to place the motors beside and parallel to the screws which means the overall length of the each assembly is the same as the length of the screws, rather than having all that extra length hanging out of the end of the screws. As a result I can run the motors twice as fast for a given screw speed which gives a smoother motor control I find. - You can buy aluminum L brackets (which are designed to fit these motors) to mount the motors properly on their mounting flanges for about $5. a piece. - In my design my Y axis moves the "gantry" not the table. The table is stationary. On a small machine it may not matter that much, but I like the stationary table better. - You are going to have to mount a spoil-board on the table and decide how you will fasten the workpieces to it. - Realize that the axis don't have to be super fast when it will be working. Just think about how fast you would move a router by hand if you were cutting a 1/4" wide 1/4" deep slot in a piece of wood on the bench, especially in the case of a piece of hardwood - not very fast. Another thing I did last year was get a 3 axis laser engraver which I can mount on the table (after moving the router fully back) and use it to "burn" designs, lettering etc. on the piece I have made with the CNC. Works really well. I could send pictures of mine if you are interested - If so let me know how to send them. "Two holes out of place" ? - What about the end of the X-Axis screw hanging out in mid-air with no place to support it? What about the Z-axis support plate that was too narrow because of the width of the rail supports. My only point was the main reason for designing in cad with 3D views is to see these problems in he design phase, and not have to correct for them in the build phase.

[@isaacmadhavan]

You make a lot of sense. Maybe you could just post a video of your work here on KZbin? I, for one, would like to see them - the laser engraving seems really nice.

[@ventasoficial1674]

Hello, use direct transmision of the screw ball is less presission than using pulleys?

[@johnl121]

@@ventasoficial1674 Yes, because when using direct drive each step of the stepper motor = x mm. But with the 2:1 ratio provided by the pulleys (remember I said the pulley on the screws is double the diameter of the pulley on the motors), each step = x/2 mm. So the motor makes two revolutions to cover the same distance as 1 rev of direct drive ... therefore double the accuracy.

[@bmich281]

I can't wait till Vevor makes a pocket hole machine.

[@greglamphier4430]

Ha!!

[@punkdigerati]

They don't make anything, it's all white label, similar to harbor freight.

[@hypnolobster]

Absolutely fascinating approach to CNC, love it.

[@1pcfred]

Yeah he's a strange one. I've watched a lot of people put together CNC machines and I'm seeing things here no one else does.

[@amconsole]

@@1pcfredfor a reason

[@SemenkS51]

Dear Matthias, thank you for this video. I would definitely watch a 10 part build series and see how you find and solve problems!

[@ForestCinema]

My friend and I recently resurrected a 10 year old Laguna from a local school. CNC isn’t good or bad, it’s just a tool, and like every other tool, there are things CNC are good at, and things CNC is bad at. You still need a LOT of conventional woodworking knowledge to use a CNC effectively. Jigs, speeds, cut depths, and even general order of operation planning are all really important. I’d definitely suggest looking into FluidNC for anyone wanting to convert or DIY a machine, that’s what we used to open-source-ify the Laguna, and it works great.

[@MarkSmith-rb5mc]

Great design and implementation! I built something similar a few years ago, and had all the same problems you did with the z axis. I used oldham couplers to overcome slight alignment inaccuracy on the motors. I agree that a CNC has very limited use in a home-workshop setting, but for some tasks, nothing else will do. Eg: I recently cut slots and holes in a couple of foam sheets for 2 sets of taps and dies. The holes were all different depths & sizes which would have been a pain to do by hand. Love your channel - keep up the good work!

[@hipjazzbone]

I've wanted this video for years. And never thought it would happen!

[@baetz2]

That was very satisfying to watch, especially the part when your cnc drilled the holes in its own future part

[@kurtbilinski1723]

Welcome to the club, brother. I set out to do much the same, only with a granite base and end plates. The idea was to make it capable of machining aluminum, but oh man did I pay for that. Aligning the rails and squaring everything pushed me to the edge of sanity!

[@stretch668]

I dont care for cnc but man this felt like a real classic mathias video. Really enjoyed it

[@mr.bennett108]

I work in the entertainment industry, and CAD+CNC is a GODSEND. We can render an entire scene of a show in a modeling application like Unreal, translate those parts to CAD files, and then CNC-produce it DIRECTLY from the model. (And, in my side of the equation, translate that DIRECTLY into the motion control platform I help make so you can have a perfect 1:1 representation of what the equipment is doing in relation to the parameters you're driving it with, and thus enable EXTREMELY high-fidelity pre-visualization.)

[@Shildifreak]

I bought the same linear rails set 4 years ago. Honestly the CNC takes up a lot of space and sometimes creates but mostly collects dust. But the journey of building it was (and still is) quite educational. So it is very interesting to see your design and solutions.

[@69dblcab]

Thank you Matthias. I love that you have and do include the errors. I suspect you miss the big shops (yours and your dads) somedays. Then there are fewer things to take care of in the basement. All the best to you, Rachel and the kiddos.

[@ifiwooddesigns]

I thought same thing until I purchased one. It has saved sooo much time and money than making things by hand. Not to mention repeatability. I’m sure you’ll love it and find uses for it in the long run.

[@Tolono]

Reading other comments, there's a difference between 'showing mistakes' and being careless, especially on purpose. One of the things that makes these projects enjoyable is the drive to take common, imprecise material and make something the best it can be, pushing the limits of what's possible. As soon as mistakes are created intentionally this excitement about care and overcoming the limits, which is so rare these days, is lost. Making it go wrong is worse than pretending it went right, and people only praise avoiding the latter end of the scale.

[@doug9176]

This is brilliant Mattias! Combining your skill and unique presentation with a technology that you (and many like-minded people) are skeptical of is genius. Great video idea and really good content to watch. Looking forward to many more of your videos :) 😊😊

[@samforsey]

It's fun to see you explore Mathias! I can almost see the cogs turning!

[@ehhhhhhhhhh]

When I realized that the first project after building a CNC was to use it to build more accurate parts for itself, that made me smile. I flashed back to watching Dan Gelbart's tour of his shop.

[@lmkenefick]

Matthias: I’m not interested in CNC Vevor: Bet

[@axelSixtySix]

Mate, you should really look into CNC routers. It’s not the future: it’s the past you’ve completely missed. Meanwhile, everyone else has caught on, and loads of people are already using them. But yeah, you do you

[@matthiaswandel]

vevor offered me to pick any product of theirs and they'd send it to me. If they had a milling machine, I would have taken that instead. Already got their lathe.

[@himmlnomml]

​@@matthiaswandelthey offer some 3018 machines, but these are very small

[@jmcarp0]

@@matthiaswandel then I think they need a matthiswandel deigned milling machine like you got involved with the pantorouters.

[@fietsbel1234]

Great video, as usual! CNC has a purpose I think, mainly for production. For single pieces it's a lot of setup time, but if you enjoy that then it's a blessing. ;-)

[@PiefacePete46]

@fietsbel1234 : You hit the nail on the head... "If you enjoy that".

[@jmcarp0]

You can now hate CNC in person! I love it! You spent way too much time on it but it made a *great* video! You could make a lot more great videos with this hated cnc and I have to say out of all the cnc videos I've seen, you're is *THE* best! Most cnc videos just are a video of a cnc machine running oof.... But you actually tell us everything that's going on and that's why you're the best so lets explore this whole hating cnc thing with MatthiasWandel! Does anyone agree?

[@johndearden6410]

Lead on, brother! I had just received some rails and ball screws to build something like this. Seeing yours lets me know I'm not totally out of my mind. (Or I am, but I have company on this road.)

[@johnkunze5362]

Dear Matt, biggest flaw in router cncs...the angle of pressure on a side mounted carriage....the draw is unequal to the push/ pull. It's best to mount the router between 2 rails so draw is equal. Also, moving carriage verses moving work surfaces. We, in woodworking almost always move the work ie a table or bandsaw.. it also gives us an unlimited y(?) axis. A prime limitation. Also if it means a single channel for dust and cuttings rather than the whole table.....laser/ water jet cutting etc.🤗

[@sebastianocano3289]

This feels like April's fools

[@amconsole]

This was my initial reacrion, too. That Mathias is forced to make content he doesn’t really feel like making and is therefore making a mockery of it.

[@jordandodge677]

I have always loved your videos. Been watching you for years. Just an fyi, that is called a lovejoy coupling.

[@DaveBuildsThings]

This video was an interesting find. I built a CNC machine for my shop out of plywood. It uses 1000mm screws. I did use solid aluminum for the Z axis mounting but the rest is wood. Works fine but it does weigh quite a bit. I'm in the process of upgrading it to use aluminum extrusion. Nice job BTW.

[@mattivirta]

all what can build wood can build aluminium too same tools, no problem and can change new parts you cnc machine aluminium more stabile and strong. i used first 3/4" birch plywood and make aluminium all same parts whit cnc, then change parts plywood to aluminium and then have lot lot better machine working.

[@Rumo0fZamonia]

Even though you’re not convinced by the end result, as always it’s a pleasure to watch your videos!

[@ZWBenedict]

Never thought I'd see the day.. Matthias with a cnc feels like a dangerious combo! Cant wait to see where this goes

[@jmcarp0]

now he just needs a hot end and a filament holder >

[@tracybowling1156]

Watching you figure it all out took up all my fun time and I loved it!

[@DaveChurchill]

I absolutely love the idea of using the first assembly of the CNC to make new parts for itself which are more accurate than the hand-made parts. Then the new version is more accurate, so it can make better parts to be more accurate, ad infinitum.

[@johntrimmer1417]

Thanks!

[@matthiaswandel]

thank YOU!

[@jvin248]

I found the Z-axis rigidity and accuracy is the most important sub-system to making good parts. Evaluate the flex when "drilling". How much the router bit is offset from the Z-axis rail guides creates that moment wrench-arm to flex the supports and lash issues.

[@jvin248]

Like if you relocate your Z-axis screw and rails such that the router is tucked back in the gantry. Kind of invert the rails+screw.

[@frankshannon3235]

A couple of years ago I bought a lightly used (practically new) Stepcraft D-840 with the laser engraver kit, the drag knife and the 3D printer attachment all for $1200. Since then it's completely replaced router template work for me. Using tiling I cut out the 7 main curved plywood parts of a 70x22 curved welcome booth that's now in the local church. The inside radius was 10'. Obviously a trammel would have been a nightmare. But the whole thing was a breeze on the 840. Pretty good for a hobby level machine. If you can pick up a deal on a lightly used hobby level benchtop machine in the 24x36" range I don't see how you could go wrong. You often find deals on machines at the facebook user groups. That's where I found my Stepcraft.

[@NWMT]

Ah, The Mad Wood Professor! I’ve been away too long. Building this using your normal proto and long EV approach is actually normal IMO. Time? You have it, and your proto thinking is a benefit in that teaching. Less impatience on your part and less focus on whether this is good for you is not why you do vids. Your proof of concept is of value despite your thinking CNC’s are not for you, and THAT gets US thinking. 🇺🇸🇨🇦 Congrats.

[@MultiWallus]

finally, this can keep us going for years

[@RROOBBWWAANN]

If you have a CNC with CAM and a hardware controller in one, plus well-thought-out table mounting and the obligatory vacuum table, working on such a set is pure pleasure. A controller without CAM will discourage many people from using CNC. There is an inexpensive hardware driver together with CAM (PikoCNC). I have been using it professionally for many years in the production of custom-made furniture.

Gratulálok a gépedhez! Én is készítettem egy nagyobb CNC marógépet, 1200mm * 1000mm *300mm. Én NEMA23 2.2Nm léptetőmotorokat használok DM556 vezérlővel és Mach3 USB vezérlő kártyával. A marómotor egy 2.2KW teljesítményű 380V-os 3 fázisú motor egy gyári fordulatszám szabályzóval. A gép asztal váza nálam 18 mm vastag rétegelt lemez belselyű bútorlapból van. Az asztal oldalán van 2-2 darab 1200 mm sín, 300 mm-es eltolással. A sínek távolsága is 300 mm így az asztal vastagsága elég nagy. Így az x tengely lábain a csapágyakat egymás mellé tudtam rakni, az alatta lévő sínnél szintén, de eltolva 300 mm-el. Így gyakorlatilag 100 mm vesztek csak az 1200 mm úthosszból. Az asztal mindkét oldalán van a sínek között 1-1 golyós orsó, léptetőmotorral. Minden tengely végen van végállás kapcsoló. Az x tengely híd lába 3 egymásra szerelt bútorlap, a középső belül ki van vágva a súlycsökkentés miatt. Így a híd lába 3.18 mm vastag + 3 mm takaró burkolat fából. Rettentő merev lett így. Az X tengely híd egy 20*20 cm-es 100 cm hosszú bútorlap doboz, erre vannak felszerelve a sínek és a motor. A Z tengely hasonló mint a te gépeden. A gépem asztallapja két rétegből áll, alul egy 18 mm vastag tükör sima MDF lap, majd ezen egy 10 mm vastag másik MDF lap. A 10 mm vastag MDF csíkokra van felvágva és közöttük sok rögzítő C sín van közé szerelve. A léptetőmotorral sokkal lassabb a vezérlés mozgaatás, és így nem rántja a gépet. A gépem súly kb 120 kg. Én relief marásokat szeretnék csinálni.

[@MCsCreations]

Fantastic work, Matthias! 😃 It's looking great!!! Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@eformance]

CNC machines have 3 phases: The machine tinkering phase, the setup and learning curve, and the make lots of parts phase. Once you reach the "I can make these precise parts while I'm doing other stuff", the light will come on.

[@matthiaswandel]

but what lots of parts?

[@amconsole]

@@matthiaswandelthat’s the one question I ask myself every time I feel like getting a CNC. Also why I still don’t have one.

[@jsjs6751]

With that CNC machine, Matthias can mass produce the wooden parts for making that exact machine. 😁 Could be a package deal with the hardware from Vevor. 😊

[@richlagger507]

With all of that being said, I would like to see the new Matthias-CNC making a pile gears all at once. As always, great video.

[@robertholcomb6200]

Always great to see what you are up to in the shop!

[@joethompson11]

Love seeing projects of yours come together like this. That'll be interesting to see if you end up finding other users for it

[@rafammbass]

You and Rush are probably the only two good things Canada has given the world.

[@randomdds]

Personally, I think that CNC is a natural progression from your pantorouter. There's a dentist in Canada that does a lot of CNC woodworking. I'd be happy to connect you to him.

[@Gabrulo_knifemaking]

The title should have been "I built a cnc... so i can hate it properly"

[@Mindcore777]

You'll come around Matthias. I remember when I built mine starting with a sliding glass door frame. Cabinet doors are fun. And once you start with 3D you'll start to see how powerful it can be.

[@SomeMorganSomewhere]

Congratulations you've passed the first rite of passage, using your CNC machine to make better parts for your CNC machine ;)

[@touhoutrash2436]

Your DIY router is looking really cool so far!

[@ordelian7795]

CNC is good for mass producing the same set of holes. Also with a sharp pointed router bit you can make simple carvings. I carved the King of Jacks as a wall ornament back in school which I sadly did not take with me.

[@ericschleppenbach3519]

Never thought I'd see rubber bands as an integral part of a CNC 🤣 I hope they make it into the BOM of the pen plotter!

[@ivonakis]

Looks a lot like mine CNC. But with ball screw and servo instead of ACME thread and stepper. Good work.

[@1pcfred]

Yeah I went with acme leads myself. I was extremely budget constrained. I even have rubber hose couplers.

[@rustyul]

There is a very good reason that precision machine tools are made out of cast iron and steel. CNC potential is realized when you need to make multiples of the same item. Believe me, as a CNC professional, the machines are necessary if manufacturing is your business.

[@Karaon]

just yesterday my stepper motors etc arrived for my cnc. This is great to see you do similar project in your workshop. I will take more precise approach tho as it's supposed to be very precise :D

[@KerboOnYT]

There's something very satisfying about having a machine make its own upgrade parts.

[@shawngrosser]

I was watching and this and realized that with the pen, you have designed a very nice plotter.

[@thieltech1]

It doesn't take up way to much time when your having fun and being productive! Plus your learning stuff you knew nothing about! Or not alot about. I build cncs and love the end product and the stuff they make while iam off making other parts

[@ourtube4266]

I use my light duty cnc machine to cut out boundaries for my plunge router to follow on a bearing. It’s a great way to make complex pockets.

[@IVAN_ENT]

Haha unexpected excited to see what you do with it though ,I'm almost finished building the printnc v4 myself

[@HiddenSteelWire]

The part where the CNC milling its own mounting plate reminds me how I (or probably everyone who owns an ender3) bought a cheap 3d printer and print its own upgrading parts.

[@tedr5182]

Just use aluminum extrusions to mount your rails and ball screws, to make adjustments easier. Also to avoid play, mount the motors on 4 points.

[@simonhopkins3867]

As a long time subscriber I an excited to see this mini series.

[@Ghujelk]

I'm excited for the future "John Henry" man vs. machine comparison videos where Matthias and the CNC duke it out over speed / quality / reproducibility of parts for future projects!

[@jsjs6751]

Love it, Matthias. Looking forward to much more playing with this machine. Actually, some asmr of it doing its thing could be nice... 😊

[@SaflisStPahlawan]

your video remind me to finish my diy cnc router :) after 5 year ago calibration

[@crashn]

I wondered if this day would come for many, many years. I remember the gear cutting video challenge you did way back when.

[@sylviaa5517]

You can put the table servo parallel to screw and connect with sprocket and chain

[@questioner1596]

For crash testing, it might be good to attached the heaviest workpiece you're likely to use; as that would give the table more momentum.

[@xenusceptic]

I built my first cnc from mdf, later I rebuilt it in ply and finally aluminium section

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

Excellent work, Matthias! I prefer a moving table, because it has much less mass than a gantry, and reduced moving mass is better, for small machines.

[@matthiaswandel]

yes, I don't regret going to a moving table. The gantry assembly is half the mass of the machine, and I wouldn't want to move all that. Also, just a simpler and sturdier machine this way.

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

@@matthiaswandel Absolutely! It was a good decision.

[@1pcfred]

@@matthiaswandel Up to a point moving table is the superior design. At some point the inertia and size of the table gets pretty big though. All the bigger machines are moving gantry. Get a water cooled spindle off Vevor. You want one. They definitely have them. Heck you could use a few of them. Get one for your panta router too. So quiet.

[@AndrewMoizer]

@@matthiaswandelkayak designer and builder Nick Shade has a moving table CNC and uses it quite a bit. The perfect machine for cutting out strip built kayak forms (although I do suppose that getting stuck in the the bandsaw and 12” stationary disc sander would have them done to an acceptable accuracy in an afternoon). It has allowed him to do production runs of foam kayak seats and a neat jig that holds a mini shoulder plane to bevel the edge of the strips.

[@AdamKalbasz]

excellent video and thought process behind the engineering.

[@foldionepapyrus3441]

CNC really becomes worth it if you have lots of identical parts to make, need rapid production and don't mind a bit of waste - feed in sheet out comes x parts, complex 'high' precision geometry that is hard to do by hand (as you yourself encountered a basic form of building the machine), or when you don't have the space for all the regular tools to do a job the way you would with that nice workshop full of stuff Matthias! A gantry CNC is effectively a regular worktable with minor inconveniences added when its powered off, but able to do much the same job as the Bandsaw, Tablesaw, planer etc and usually needing much less space while doing the job too. Does come with downsides of course, but if you have a smaller workspace a gantry CNC router might just be the only tool you really need beyond the hand tools, saving you space in the workshop already, and with the gantry rather than bed slinger style the space you need around the tool to work on larger parts becomes much smaller - work a long sheet through the table saw you need MORE than the full length of the sheet clearance on either side of the blade ideally so you can push it all the way through, can get away with less if you don't mind flipping it over and cutting from both sides. But even then that is much more space around the tool required - if you are slinging the tool and not the bed around the only space constraint on the raw stock is it must fit between the gantry rails and in the workshop.

[@1pcfred]

CNC really becomes worth it if you have a complicated part you need to make that needs to be accurate. Just one and it can be worth it. As opposed to how careful you'd have to be doing it any other way. The CNC can go max speed accurately. CNC just spits out accuracy. A thousandth tolerance all day long is incredible.

[@yewsengcheong1637]

I think Vevor is committed to staying at this price range and are being very realistic about it. Matthias is making a user guide, troubleshooting guide, more comprehensively then they will ever care to, so it’s no wonder they are very happy about it. The worst thing about a product is having an inherent problem that cannot be fixed. This is showing how it can be fixed, to a certain degree. If you’re happy to do the work and can live with less than tight tolerances, this is actually a kind of advertising for them as well, I feel.

[@calebbender1031]

Inheritance Machining did a great video about one off products and efficiencies of doing all the work manually vs sending it to a CNC shop. Key words: one off products

[@matthiaswandel]

Yes saw that one. Big time suck for CNC is all the tool path programming and verifying. But the complementary time suck for manual is all the setups and dialing everything in precisely before any cut

[@calebbender1031]

But dialing in precision is soothing

[@somethinggeeky]

Pro tip: to have the machine clean up those counter sink holes itself, do convention then climb milling profile pass and all the fluff will be removed 👍

[@jpa3141]

I have identical axis configuration in my diy cnc. Just a tip, you can make a nice dust shield for the table ballscrew and rails from an old roller blind.

[@1pcfred]

Yeah I went with a moving table myself. I have a drawer slide CNC machine. Those are notoriously rickety. With a moving table it is rigid though.

[@mattivirta]

axis config not have perfect, lot better have Y axis move all beam not table. and better use 2 ballscrew and 2 motor Y axis move.

[@1pcfred]

@mattivirta What's better about it? Better how? Because what's going on here is perfect and you can't improve on perfection. If it was a moving gantry 2 leads and 2 motors is better then. But this is a moving table. These work just fine with one lead screw.

[@ObsessiveEngineering]

Everyone is trying to convince him that the CNC is valuable for producing lots of identical parts, but that's clearly not something he does a lot. Matthias: the best initial value for you will be making flat patterns in plywood of any shape complexity, with precision-located holes, dados, rabbets, etc. You just need to get a basic CAD/CAM workflow to convert 2D drawings into toolpaths for a given wood thickness, and you may find it doesn't actually take you longer (and now designing with weird angles and curves doesn't cost any extra time). Some newer software makes these flat patterns very simple and fast. Also, don't forget the CNC opens up engraving options, too. P.S. If you're doing a lot of flat patterns, for the contour/profile cuts I recommend a 2-flute, 1/4" compression bit (the first few mm of the bit is upcut, the rest is downcut). As long as your first pass is deeper than the upcut section, you'll get a very clean finish on both the top and bottom edges of the part.

[@amconsole]

What CAD software do You use for making accurate 2D templates?

[@Benoit-Pierre]

4:40 in lifts and gates they use pre arrival slow down zones. Allows to suppres or reduce safety bumper, use wider ranger, at the cost of more software. Gates use counters to evluate edge proixlity. Lifts use switches or reeds ( ILS )

[@charlesgoff6429]

His problem solving skills are off the charts.

[@netroy]

It might take up more time, but it also be fun 😅. looking forward to more CNC videos 😎

[@Panzax1]

That's great to watch. And off course you did the program to run it yourself too ! I don't know where your skills end.

[@moakadarkmaster]

Matthias, fancy Käsefräse you build there. I love it!

[@swellest]

Eagerly awaiting the CNC bandsaw revolution.

[@johnfreiler6017]

CNC is only really for mass or large batch production. A DRO on a conventional machine tends to work better for small batches or one offs.

[@matthiaswandel]

yes, I discovered this too. My xy drilling machine with DRO was very handy with much less setup time and anxiety.

[@1pcfred]

Wrong. CNC can cut patterns too complex for humans to easily deal with. They do it with ease too. You literally push a button and it is done.

[@scotttovey]

@@1pcfred "You literally push a button and it is done." That's a definite exaggeration. First you have to design the part in CAD. Then, if your CAD does not output gcode you have to output the design to stl or other file format. Then convert the CAD output into gcode. On the other hand, if all your doing is downloading gcode that someone else produced, then yeah, all you need to do is upload the file and push a button and she's off and running.

[@1pcfred]

@@scotttovey it depends on the job how difficult it is. For someone like you it can be extremely difficult I'm sure. It can be as easy as I say it is too though. At least it is for me.

[@RobertWill-uq3iv]

At least he called it a router, knowing it will never function as a mill. But even expecting precision measured in hundredths of an inch would preclude using any type of wood for any piece, let alone the gantries. The phrase "I'm gonna have to redo these plywood parts" speaks volumes.

[@daviniusb6798]

This was fun to watch, I'm building an CNC Engraver out of two old Ender3 3D-Printers so I can relate lol

[@mbarrio]

Most dumb imprecise CNC ever, god I love this guy

[@mikedtubey]

glad to see you joined the cnc game. I'm in the cnc game since 2008. cnc isn't good for one off project because of the time allotment, as you state , it shines when you need to make repetitive parts. you do time consuming stuff once and its off the the races with all your same parts!!!

[@matthiaswandel]

but so far, I can't think of a project that I did where I could have saved tim with the CNC doing all the repetitive cuts

[@moki123g]

@@matthiaswandel Where you save time is in the accuracy. How many things did you have to remake or re drill because things were crooked or off? Z plate -You could have surfaced that part, drilled the holes, drilled the countersink, and then cut the outline to the exact dimensions you want. Your cad-cam workflow is masochistic, no wonder you hate it. Credit for getting something to work, but there are free or low cost cad cam stuff around now. GRBL, tinyg, open builds, freemill, easel, fusion 360, free cad, linux cnc. When you get a workflow down, you can make things almost as fast. Yes, you have more computer time, but things are usually right the first time.

[@wasdaletimelapse7658]

Informative and entertaining as always. Thanks for sharing.

[@robertobrenes5283]

My first CNC was built just like this but with crappier tools, crappier components and still was useful to make PCBs and cut some plywood I used some sketchUp plugin to generate gcode and chillippr as a gcode sender, tried UGCS, flatCAM and inkscape also Dirt cheap CNCs are good fun