The TRUE COST of Building a DIY CNC | PrintNC

[@pg9112471]

Building machines is definitely not cheap and it's not for everyone. But learning how to operate and build them from scratch is priceless. You really can't put a price on the satisfaction you get from finishing a machine or robot and learning mechanical, electrical, welding, machining, woodworking, and software. Not to mention producing the ideas in your head that don't exist yet.

[@ChristophLehner]

It really is a priceless moment, when your machine does the first moves, after building it from scratch. Almost like seeing a child grow

[@imqqmi]

For my first cnc I went with a cheap aliexpress kit with steppers, controller and frame for 750 euros (ox clone). Got a rattm 1.5 aircooled spindle and vcd for about 250 euros. After a few years I replaced the frame with a diy build with 20mm linear rails and 16mm ballscrews. Added a square tube for torsion stiffness. The upgrade cost about 2500 euros, reusing the steppers, spindle and replaced everything else. The great advantage of steel tubing vs any aluminium extrusion is torsion stiffness.If the printnc was available when I started my cnc journey I'd definitely gone with the printnc! Some excellent points were given in this video! I want to replace the z stepper with a servo but didn't consider a braking system. Thanks for sharing!

[@antiikadad917]

Man, that was great work. I have been looking for an estimate like this for over one year. I really appreciate your effort

[@BonifiedWingnut]

Never heard of PrintNC until this video. Interesting how KZbin works. A lot of good info in this for anyone planning on building a DIY CNC even if they have no interest in the PrintNC. You put alot of work into your videos to make them entertaining. Usually I dislike that and wish people would stop trying to be movie makers and just share the info. But your journey to get where you are I think is like alot of us. We want to build "X" but don't like the price or design of the tool we need to do it so we decide to build it. Usually the designs for CNC on here are not practical. They are usually barely functional and would be good for making something on an occasion and would require as much time maintaining them as operating. On the other end they are so complicated or expensive a person might as well buy one. Oddly enough this design is similar to the one I came up with. I wish you would have made this video 2 years ago..lol. Thanks for the time you put into this and all of the info.

[@trowawayacc]

Excelent starting point. Nice delivery to the point.

[@ralmslb]

Thank you for sharing this, not only gives a good idea, but also showing what brands, etc you went for is helpful.

[@tuberroot1112]

Excellent video. Fits perfectly with my experience. The cost is perfectly realistic, I wish I'd had this video available about 8y ago !

[@Flako-dd]

This video is sponsored by Stepcraft, Avid-CNC, Shopbot and X-Carve :D Joking aside i really think this really helps with a make-or-buy decision. If building the CNC is not part of the fun and you only want to use it to build other stuff, affordable CNCs are really a good option. Thanks for the detailed breakdown!

[@bmz1]

Pretty cool to talk about money. Really nice to have a comple list and real prices. Thanks

[@xyzspec82]

In the end, I think it's worth to invest in a machine like this. My concrete CNC build is maybe a couple hundred € below that number, it has 3nm closed loop hybrid steppers and 2.2kw spindle, but the work area is half the size. I like the PRINTNC model, maybe one of the best DIY routers out there at its price point. BTW, I'm addicted to your channel and I miss VISA Bob lol

[@ChristophLehner]

Thanks! Bob will definetely have another cameo.😅

[@relaxingnaturevideos1203]

Good video. I wouldnt build a machine without closed loop steppers though. Its not that much more, and you can get amazing performance with the new CL57 (8-90VDC) drivers!

[@bitp1mp]

If you're cutting wood. The cheapest way to go is an MPCNC. They're great and about as budget as it can get. They can do aluminum but really you need a small work area for robustness, if you're doing a lot.

[@mikexkennedy]

7:03 ATCs also need a compressed air source.

[@JamesBiggar]

Great video. Building your own machines is really just for the fun and experience. It's the same with cnc as it is with anything else. If you want to build something cheaper than a manufacturer with a fully equipped facility can, then you either need to cut corners, salvage or buy parts at wholesale cost, or delude yourself into thinking your time building it is worth nothing and all you had to pay for was some parts.

[@JohnDlugosz]

0:22 I don't understand the bill of materials fragment shown. How can Amount be 1500mm when the Title of 100x60x3mm is already a complete three-dimensional specification? Likewise for the second line, but on top of that "X & Y Rollers" implies you need at least two, but the Quantity is 1.

[@ChristophLehner]

1500mm length, 100x60x3 tubing

[@PiefacePete46]

That is massively useful thank you Christoph. I live in New Zealand, so the currency and amounts will obviously vary, but because of our isolation, the bottom line will only get bigger. 😟 Liked and Subscribed. 👍

[@mikko3d]

0:44 aren't those just regular pin punches? For some odd reason I can't seem to find transfer punches anywhere, not even what they are called in Finnish. I'm guessing they are mainly a thing in the USA.

[@ChristophLehner]

You are absolutely right, but you can grind the to a point, so they work the same way

[@mikko3d]

@@ChristophLehner True, that should work. I'm a bit limited on tools so I think I'm going to use an automatic center punch and a 3d printed sleeve.

[@rando5673]

Thanks for this, I think I'll end up getting a cheap 3018 for wood/plastic and using a CNC converted lathe for horizontal milling. Love the idea of open source though!

[@mildlemon7866]

Very interesting insight, thanks for making this transparent!

[@StemmProductions]

Thank you so much for the video! Its great to get a overview of everything needed to build this machine. Love you channel, keep up the great work

[@SantaDragon]

6:43 RATTM I would NOT advise. I ordered one of them and it came completely destroyed as grease was leaking out of somewhere and the whole plastic bag was full grease or fat. So the quality seems not to be that much better and the kind of bearing might also depends on the kind and type of motor of each brand. I doubt that VEVOR only builds in normal ball-bearings in general.

[@ricardo-iw9sq]

Dude this has been one of the best builds plus the extra commentary with physiatrist and Bank, 😂🤣🤣😂 thanks for the trip you gotta new sub 👍👍👍. The sign in the last video about tools 🤭😉 every bloke had a twich at that.

[@kitawithsomenumbers]

"finding joy in misery" I'm all set then

[@xyzspec82]

🤣

[@SaitoGray]

Thanks you so much. I have my eyes on the PrintNC for a while now, but without any idea on how to budget it outside the US. That video helps a lot !

[@JunkWorkshop]

Thank you for sharing buddy. Greetings from Sicily 🤙🏻

[@gosonegr]

It's money but not expensive at all. Great video

[@dfn808]

Excellent information, thanks for sharing!

[@christianhenderson5471]

Superb video as always!

[@intelligenceservices]

you did a great job. Did you consider making the electronics enclosure out of sheet metal?

[@oc_geek337]

Excellent video !

[@jimmer411]

Just about finished purchasing everything for my PrintNC. Im upto $4700 so far, thats with closed loop steppers, 2x4 and 3x4 steel and an ATC spindle. I still need to purchase wire and a controller.

[@ChristophLehner]

Oof that's a lot 😐 But I really envy your ATC Spindle 😎

[@Shaminmv]

Mind telling how long it took you for the project from first research to finish?

[@ChristophLehner]

Probably arround 6months

[@stangindude99]

What is the working size and total size of your build? I was going to save for a onefinity but am leaning towards the route of building my own.

[@ChristophLehner]

Workarea is 1070x770 and overall size is 1140x1400 mm

[@elonf6164]

Having watched this a few times and with my hypercube evolution derivative running in the background, I'm eager to hear your thoughts on whether you'd make the exact same choice again? My hypercube was probably a mistake. It was a rewarding, but painful experience mostly because I chose a remake, redesigned parts in my first build that spawned additional requirements, and it's clear there are better open source builds now. Doing it again I'd bite the bullet and go voron 2 or like you did with an upgraded ender. Would you do printnc again? Any regrets not just buying one?

[@ChristophLehner]

Nah i am team open source. Once something goes sideways, (and it inevitable will) you better know your machine and how to fix it. But of someone offered me a Haas or Datron for the same.money, i'd definetly switch 😅

[@JulianMakes]

Awesome video would you consider making a plasma cutter/cnc? Cheers

[@ChristophLehner]

I really built this, with the intend to also use.it as a plasma, but the more i think about it, the stupieder the idea seems. You have to somehow cover up all the ballscrews and linear rails, and need a water tray somsthing similar. Plasma is a rather crude process, so the accuracy a printnc can achieve is rather useless. But probably i will try it regardless

[@JulianMakes]

@@ChristophLehner ahh yes i see, probably better to make a new machine.

[@enricodesign619]

good video, i build the indymill and upgraded to some cindymill parts, around 1000$ so a little cheaper, but also a smaller one. but yeah it cost more that one would think, so build if you want to learn and achieve some tinker experiance ... buy if you just want it to work right away :)

[@user-pe8ir4iy1e]

can the indymill cut Stainless Steel?

[@enricodesign619]

@@user-pe8ir4iy1e i dont know, i have not tried .. bit maybe very light and slow

[@vintyprod]

der bre ist fix Österreicher 3:42 servus! tolles video 💪

[@ChristophLehner]

😂 servus 👋

[@poepflater]

I need a cnc drill basically> make lights using aluminium extrusion maybe 1.6mm thick. involves sooooo much marking and drilling. Could be done by a machine I think.

[@das250250]

It would be interesting to see the price of an equivalent product ready built?

[@ChristophLehner]

Afaik the x carve pro is the closest to the printnc

[@davidhall6452]

how much do you think the table is worth? some job by the way.

[@KrastyoKrastev]

Thanks for the video!

[@josephjones4293]

Im building a printnc as well and im in at like 2700-2900… i have all the large parts, and this included rewiring my garage for an extra 220 30a outlet… i may be short 100-200 for misc connectors or wiring gizmos… but i should be close. USD btw…

[@josephjones4293]

I just finished the video, i have 2.2kw 800hz gpenny ‘bullet type’ spindle with FOC vfd (aka most expensive non ATC), gh2k board, 180w servos on Y and 400w on X and a closed loop stepper on Z, i was able to find a us supplier for omc and jmc servos so i paid 390 for the 3 free shippin. I paid for my Z plates so i could just get it going without the struggle that was $180…

[@ChristophLehner]

@@josephjones4293 how do you like the gpenny spindle? It's crazy how fast things add up 😅

[@josephjones4293]

Im coming from an mpcnc, so i have a better idea of what i hate about diy cnc and what i want from the new one. So i expected to pay a good bit. A onefinity x50 was my backup and its 3300 without spindle. Ive just finished the frame, and im only starting on the electronics. The spindle looks great, it feels like a solid piece, but thats all i can say just yet. My shielded cable arrives wednesday so hopefully i’ll be making cuts by oct 1. When she’s running i’ll tag you on the discord.

[@fociidannick]

I built a cnc for £700 with a 2hp water-cooled spindle. If your clever and search around you can make them cheap. Mine is 1000x800 and is made out of steel box section as its mules cheaper than aluminium extension.

[@jonasneumann5915]

Where did you get your Linear rails? If I go to a reputable seller in Germany (Dold Mechatronik), I pay 422€ for all 4 rails and 8 carriages

[@ChristophLehner]

@@jonasneumann5915 got them from AliExpress HLTNC

[@zakariakhamees]

I am building a small Desktop metal cnc mill 500mm×500mm overall size. And i am at $320 just for the frame. I am hoping it won't go over $1100 when finished.

[@ChristophLehner]

Should be doable 💪

[@smallgarageworkshop6119]

I thought its way cheaper to build than buy as I build them and the last one cost me £1000 which cuts wood and steel . Equivalent machine to buy is about 10k but mine are more accurate

[@ChristophLehner]

imo the biggest advantage of building your own machine, is you can fix,upgrade and repair it since you understand everything about the machine

[@smallgarageworkshop6119]

@@ChristophLehner correct it's something I would never buy . In general with what I have seen available the machines I see for around the 6k to 12k if I purchased those parts separately and built myself I'm saving about 80 percent so thats a huge chunk.

[@theunboxers24]

tolles Video, wäre das was für Siebdruckholz 1,90 x 95 in der Größe?

[@ChristophLehner]

Bei 2m.lämge wird wahrscheinlich ein zahnstangen antrieb oder einen riemen antrieb vernünftiger sein

[@henrymach]

Ball screws and linear rails are expensive anywhere

[@noddingat]

I did a 1550x1550 and mine cost about $5000. That included some tools that I had to buy to make it happen.

[@Slavko_Husam]

Approx 25€ shipped for the aluminum stock, 40€ is a huge difference

[@W0LLL3]

Why did you chose the PrintNC? It would be interested to hear your thoughts on the other open source project!

[@ChristophLehner]

Initially, i had a look into the MPCNC, but quickly realized, the amount of work you need to put in, is almost the same, regardless which CNC you build. And since my time is also limited, i figured, i go with the most capable machine, despite being more expensive.... In general, you want to stay away from builds, which use printed parts for load bearing or motion compoments.

[@W0LLL3]

@@ChristophLehner Did you had a look at the Killerbee/Workbee from ratrig? The kit is nearly the same prince as you PrintNC! Thanks for the open communication of the costs!

[@ChristophLehner]

@@W0LLL3 yeah, actually i also considered the killerbee, but the v-slot motion system is imo not as rigid as a linear rail, for a plasma or 3d printer, this is a great system, but for milling i think the linear rail wins. And as said, it's very time consuming, to build a cnc, so i wanted as little compromise as possible. It also depends on what projects / material you plan to tackle....

[@horstmaier8168]

Hallo , Deine Epfehlung bei den Kugelumlaufspindel eine steigung von 10mm (XY-Achse) Nur wegen der Positionirgeschwindigkeit. Oder warum genau? Übrigens, Dein Tip mit der Wandstärke habe ich befolgt, habe 50x80x4 verwendet. Bringt mehr Gewindegänge! mfg

[@ChristophLehner]

Ja bei 10mm steigung hast du vernünftige Positioniergeschwindigkeit .

[@horstmaier8168]

@@ChristophLehner Danke dir!👍

[@CunningLinguist01]

Extremely helpful video. Thanks for posting. Liked and subscribed.

[@DanteEhome]

I think ABS might be better for CNC machine, for their temperature tolerance properties.

[@ChristophLehner]

You are absolutely right, but for the motor mounts it's recommended to.print them out of abs or petg. I am still on PLA parts and they didn't warp or soften

[@vasyapupken]

my homemade CNC cost around 2000 euro. and it's 600x800 working area epoxy granite frame with HGR15 rails + closed loop steppers and 2.2Kw spindle. it mills titanium. i can build it for such cheap because right from the start i deny all DIY-3dprinted bullshit cause it is basically a wasted money with no profit. i made my plans and just found a guy with CNC mill who made all parts i needed for an adequate price.

[@kalujny]

Thanks tons

[@coolstreetman]

You can buy haas second hand CNC machines for cheap for what you are getting

[@thomaskletzl6493]

Was ist deine meinung zu großen cnc maschienen also 3m x1,2m damit man komplette platten ohne zuschnitt rein legen kann

[@ChristophLehner]

Bei 3m brauchst du entweder eine Zahnstange, oder eine rotierende Kugelumlaufmutter. Für nur Holz würde eine Zahnstange bevorzugen

[@heavyweather]

Ich baue gerade eine Große.Für die lange Achse werde ich einen Belt in Belt Antrieb verwenden.

[@DodgyBrothersEngineering]

Think I am up to about $7,000 for mine. Although some of that is because I have changed a few parts that were just design changes.

[@hahahano2796]

lol, motherboards have parallel ports built into them until ~2020. They just looked different than most people are used to.

[@UmamiPapi]

I want to mill out some freedom from aluminum blocks. One day would like to build this.

[@horstmaier8168]

Hallo Christoph, tolles Video und interessantes cnc Projekt hab zwar schon eine CNC-Fräse aus Siebdruck platten.(#LifeLatitudes) Würde mir aber gerne die PrintenNC bauen, ist natürlich um einiges Stabiler/ Steifer als meine aus Holz! Meine frage nun was für ein Rechteckrohr hast Du verwendet? Gerechnet ist das ganze, wenn ich es richtig verstanden habe, mit 75x50x3 ist aber kein gängiges Profil.

[@ChristophLehner]

Ich hab 100x60x3 verwendet, würde dir aber zu 4 mm Wandstärke raten

[@horstmaier8168]

@@ChristophLehner Und wie hast Du dann alles angepasst? (Druckteile usw.)

[@ChristophLehner]

@@horstmaier8168 es gibt eine parameteische Fusion360.Datei wo man die Maße eintragen kann

[@horstmaier8168]

Habs gefunden ! Die Zeichnung ist Parametrisiert

[@ivyr336]

Pretty much the price of a premium voron. Rather reasonable imo.

[@philipps00]

nice work

[@ferencszabo3504]

Of course ,in the EU everything is insanely pricey! Most of the hobby shops are importing the cheap Chinese stuff with 4x prices!

[@clementdetruche3764]

2.2k $ its a good price and seem cheap vs the ready to use at more than 10 k $ :)

[@DAIMANization]

Its a good machine, But I think the only part you do save money on is the metal you brought. Up to the ballscrews, You had spent £720+ So really when you get kits like the Queen Bee Pro Cnc, Actually for the parts you get and the frame its really good value for money going by your video. With that you get liner rails, all that stuff, But it only cost the same amount of money. With free postage, Its hard to argue when you see the individual costs of parts. Just ballscrews, Cable chains, Liner Rails, Aluminum Angle, Still cost hundreds, So the kits actually excellent value. Given me a lot of insight into parts and stuff, I don't think your CNC is expensive, Because it tailored too your needs and must be capable of the jobs you want. So the price point you choose will always depend on the jobs you require, The speed you want them jobs done. Equally you could of spent 2000 it'd still be a great machine, But just less capable than the 4000 version one. In that sense? The price is nonapplicable to your needs its neither cheap or expensive. That is just the cost.. The only CNC machines I think are a rip off? Is mostly shop brought ones certainly for a benchtop. Workbee z1+ I wanted that originally! we're talking £1500+ that is before adding any extras? No liner rails either on that.. Insane pricing. Even when compared to yours.

[@piccilos]

Thanks for the info, that is pretty reasonable for what you get. A more rigid Shapeoko HDM that you can customize the travels on for half the price.

[@joerivandenabeele6707]

Thx

[@chicoxiba]

time is $ also

[@mattivirta]

hobby user NOT, its hobby and fun time not can newer calculate how much you go time/money, if you play golf or swimming calculate you all time too hobby is freetime and funny not can newer calc.

[@chicoxiba]

@@mattivirta Im happy that your context works like that;

[@mattivirta]

cable chain can made 3D printer lot cheapen, stepper drivers DM 556 normal less than 20$/pcs, DM860 about 50$/pcs, power supply normal used 48volt max what driver can handle better, about less than 50$, old HP pc tablecomputer cost about 20$ normal old have FREE or cheap. if have near scrap parts salvage area or trash area can build lot cheapen, my first cnc cost less than 300$ i found rails and motors and steel at salvage area lot parts FREE. i have build about 40 cnc machine now many small metal factory and many friends, all has cost less than 1000$

[@ДенисЗайцев-э1ф]

you use two stepper motors where one is needed. And this is not the only example of increasing cost without improving quality.

[@sjjohns88]

Thank you for your financial wisdom, off-brand Tom Hardy. I will continue to dream of CNCs while never building one.

[@JDesignSwe]

True cost,, currently at 4500usd for my build..

[@mattivirta]

lot has waste money, were ?????

[@JDesignSwe]

@@mattivirta Im not building a printNC...Im into usable machines

[@markyu70]

I don't agree with you. I have 20/05 ballscrews on one of the machines and it is fast, 15000mm/min. It is much better to use 5mm step per rotation then 10mm because it is more precise.

[@mattivirta]

my machine diy 1500mm x 1500mm x 300mm build metal tube frame cost about 50$ C-beam aluminium 40$ nema23 3Nm 4A motors 50$ pcs =150$ rails kit XYZ SBR 20 1500 XY 300Z include ballscrews 1604 350$ controller paraller port, 10$ spindle 500W air cool ER16 100$ 800W cost 170$ water cool whit VDF about 400$ 1,5Kw, software linuxcnc FREE, cables FREE, limitswitch 10 pcs set 12$ MDF table sheet 1200mm x 1200mm 30$ all about less than 1000$ i not calculate this bits, or other little stuff not lot has less than 100$. only tool what i need buy has mikrogauge 0,001mm can make rails and spindle traights,

[@somtingwongwai7194]

Just buy a Bulkman3D Queenbee with an Xpro V5 all encompassing ESP32 controller with Wifi / SD card offline operations, and save yourself headaches and dollars. It comes as a kit and you still need to build it.

[@don5nake]

Queenbee comes with an aluminium frame which isn't great if you want to mill aluminium. Steel is 3X stiffer and more suited to the task.

[@mattivirta]

if build closed loop servo motor machine need 10x more money,waste money if use only hobby garage user have. not need. hobby budget can working good strong nema 23 or 34 or biggest stepper motors.

[@aha5888]

Biden is uncertain as always 😂