Hi Ryan and all,
I have been looking to build a cnc router for a while now and this definitely looks like the best place.
I will mainly be doing small lettering, carving and would like to be able to laser engrave too.
its looking like my best option is to source the parts here or UK/EU due to shipping and import taxes. Is this ok?
My biggest issue will be the printed parts, I have had some online quotes of about €12 per part which is out of the question for the 40 or more parts needed.
All advice appreciated.
James
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If you’ve got the cash, buy an Ender 3 Pro or Sidewinder X1 and use it to print the parts. It’ll pay for itself after you print the MPCNC and stuff for future projects.
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Also, I can send you a BOM for all the parts if you want. It’s AliExpress and then Acco for all the nuts and bolts. Then just send Ryan a donation for his hard work or contribute here on the forum.
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Hi James,
FWIW, I bought a £70 ‘i3’ style printer, of which there are loads on ebay. It needed a new (flat) bed (£10) before it could print the largest pieces, and I printed a cooling duct to tidy up the overhangs, but otherwise it produced OK parts once I did a little bit of woodwork to hold the frame straight and allow the bent lead screws to wobble freely.
I think it’s a viable option if you enjoy tinkering and upgrading things, but by the time I’ve upgraded the sub-standard rails and bearings, and a few other little tweaks, it’ll be the same cost as an Ender 3.
Another option may just be to ask around - since I’ve started this project I’ve discovered that I already knew 4 people who had 3D printers, and they were all interested in helping and possibly being able to ask for CNC help in return later. It’s a pretty private hobby, so you never know what’s happening locally.
Robin
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No other printing service is allowed to sell Ryan’s prints. You can source everything else yourself, but the printed parts have that one restriction (they are CC-NC). You can print the parts yourself.
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Wow! so many responses and so fast! Thanks all.
Just found out my local library has a printer free to use, I will call and find out what the story is.
What material should it be printed in?
The BOM would be great thanks.
Here is the BOM: https://www.v1engineering.com/blog/parts/
Do you think your library lets you block their 3D printer for a couple of 12h+ jobs?
Just buy a 3D printer and print it at home.
That BOM states 91hrs of printing! Dont think I could sit around the library that long…
At £70 id this junk? or good enough to do the job?
Ok I cant do a link, I typed in i3 3d printer to ebay and found £70 ones.
0.4mm nozzle, layer precision 50-100 micrometers optional.
(btw, I am a 3d printer noob)
You should look for a printer that is capable of printing the large parts as well!
I own an Anycubic i3 Mega for instance.
Once you have a 3D printer you will use it for different stuff as well so don’t buy the cheapest one.
BTW: count with more than the 91hrs! You might have failing prints or different settings/speeds than Ryan was using after all optimizations.
General agreement is that you should use PLA because it’s stiff. There are some people who have used PETG, but that requires extra walls and extra infill (and extra time spent printing because more plastic = more time).
Thanks, so standard PLA, how many kg?
Based on the suggested settings, it’s about 1.5Kg. Your actual usage will depend on your settings, printing successes (well, failures), and how much the spriggans eat at night…
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Me: What is a spriggan?
(Quick google search ) Oh, you mean gremlins. Tie a bell to the printer, should fix that right up!
Thanks,
What size would you all recommend? I have a space 800mm X 1200 to fit it in, If I use the max I will have a working area of 500 x 900 according to the calculator, is this do-able?
What you can do is build it closer to the suggested size (~650x650), and if you need it bigger later, you can just change out the pipes and belts.
800x1200 is a bit large, and it won’t be terribly rigid. Maybe 800x800? Still a fairly large machine, but not out of hand. Once you start getting out around 1200-1500, you might start considering a low rider. And if you want to work in metals at all, you really need to go smaller. Much smaller.
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doable, yes. Recommended, no. Across long spans the conduit tends to bow just slightly under the weight of the gantry. Some people do it and put supports under the conduit (or pipes, depending on what you’re using) on their X and Y axis, but I’m not sure how much that would help the Z axis as that is built of the same length tubing (though the mount for the gantry is larger, but I still wouldn’t trust it). The recommended starting size is 24 inches square (or smaller) and that comes out to about 610mm. I built mine at 31.5 inches square (800 mm square) and that seems to be working well with just a pen so far. I haven’t mounted a router to it (that’s definitely on this weekend’s agenda) so I’m not sure how much it might droop in the center but I’m not expecting a ton of problem considering I’m mostly going to be using this for wood.
That said, if you plan on using this for aluminum or other hard materials, the smaller the stiffer.
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I will only be using wood, possibly some plastic.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19cnV5Koaq-NPuMXj8QtOoBSlAEkFTn2l/view?usp=drivesdk
Here’s the BOM. Prices in AUD and all links included.
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Do you have any ideas on what sorts of projects you’ll be doing? Do you have concrete plans that involve larger workpieces? If so, build to your needs. If not, stick closer to the suggested size, at least for your first build. Fewer things to go melodramatically wrong. It’ll also give you an easier base to learn CAD/CAM and get your bits dirty. Like I said, if you find you need a bigger machine later, you can either build a new one, or get new pipes and belts (and maybe wiring), and reuse everything else.