Homebrew CNC Engraver

[pfredX1]

I never got the Gcodetools Inkscape extension to work very well for me ever. I find the whole software side of CNC to be troublesome. Someday I am going to have to break down and buy some CAM software that actually works.

[Ralphxyz]

Thanks for posting, great project!! It encourages me to to do my CNC engraver also.
I have most of the pieces, I have a Dumore #44 tool post grinder that I bought at a Tool Swap two months ago and then this month
I bought a big drill press XY table. I need to motorized the XY table mount the grinder and do the Arduino what could be simpler?

Ralph

[pfredX1]

Well X Y tables probably do have backlash. Compensating for that can be somewhat non-trivial. You'd still need a Z axis too. While they can be fairly easy to make ( I managed to come up with a practically free for me and easy to build design ) they're still not nothing. I am not familiar with the gory details of a Dumore #44 tool post grinder but I can imagine it has any number of things that make it less than the ideal spindle for a CNC machine. Does it take standard ER collets? Also Arduino's themselves do not really power stepper motors. Stepper motor drivers do that. Just the high current low DC voltage power supply itself can be a chore to figure out. Most opt for a cheap Chinese SMPS these days but it is not without its drawbacks. I'm using one now but I'd rather a plain filtered rectified transformer. They can be pricey though. Quite honestly looking at it from the other side building a CNC machine is nothing compared to making G Code to run on a CNC machine. That can be a real PITA. Especially if you're looking for customary unit support that actually works. I'm convinced foreigners botch that up intentionally just to be spiteful these days.