Drawer Slide CNC Machine for under $200
Like many of us interested in this hobby, I wanted my own machine. But I didn’t want to dive into it, spend $2k plus and have a large paperweight out in my shop. The idea was born for a simple, cheap, somewhat accurate CNC machine that I could modify as I gained knowledge (and funds).
The first step in the process was deciding what hardware I was going to use.
I decided on the TB6560-3 axis driver bought off eBay for $22.00/free shipping. I chose this driver because it was very affordable, and that is how I chose most of the components for this project. Next came the 12V 8.5A Switching Power Supply, also bought off eBay for $14.99/free shipping
For stepper motors, I found a lot of 5 on eBay for $10.00/free shipping. They are small, but they actually have plenty of power for this machine (I’m not milling aluminum and the x-y is quite small).
The spindle is probably the most important part of the machine. If you buy something that has too much run out (movement in the shaft/bearings which makes your cutting tools “wobble”) you will have difficulty achieving any sort of accuracy. This is the mistake I made, I chose a Dremel 100. This is a great tool, don’t get me wrong, but it is made with a plastic housing, and it turns at 35,000 RPM so it has quite a bit of run-out.
There are a lot of misc hardware pieces need to build this machine, but most of which can be found at your local Lowes, Home Depot or local hardware store. I will detail a list of materials needed here:
Also, you will need some sort of software(and obviously a computer) to run the machine and to do drawings. I use Mach3(free... http://www.machsupport.com/) for the controlling software, and I do most of my drawing in Turbo Cad for Mac. There are many choices out there, some more expensive than others.
****EDIT**** I forgot to mention what I would do with the laser cutter if I were to win! I would make a lot of crafts and projects to benefit a not for profit I'm involved with. It's a great organization that helps children increase their self esteem and self confidence.
(2) 2”x4”x8’
(2) Pairs of heavy duty drawer slides
(1) small linear slide rail (bought off eBay $5.00/free ship) for Z axis
(1) 2’x2’ 1/8” sheet of luan plywood (could also use Plexiglas)
(1) Sheet of Plexiglas or lexan ¼” to 3/8” 10" x 10"
(1) 3/8”x 3/8”x 36" aluminum angle 3
(1) 3/8” x 36"aluminum U channel
(1) ½” x 1/8”x 3’ aluminum flat stock
(1) ¼”-20 x 3’ Threaded rod (lead screw)
(3) ¼”-20 hex standoffs 2” long
(1) ¼” fuel line hose for coupling motor to threaded rod
(1) Tube of super glue
(4) Wood screws for securing drawer slides to frame
(16) Nuts and bolts 10-24 x 5/8”
(12) Nuts and bolts 8-32 x 3/8”
(2) drill bushings (for lead screw support)
Wire:
-For stepper motor hook-up determined by stepper motors (how many wires) and how far your drivers are placed.
-Power cable for power supply (used 3 wire cord of old power tool)
-Small length of 12ga wire for driver power (from power supply) + and –
1. Start by building a 2x4 frame, as shown in the Illustrations.
2. Attach the drawer slides to the frame
3. Glue or weld a small piece of sheet metal (with holes), or plastic to the hex standoff for the lead screws and attach to bottom of both X and Y axis
4. Attach the X axis plywood, luan, or plexiglass
5. Attach the next set of drawer slides to the X axis
6. Attach the Y axis plexiglass (10" x 10") to the drawer slides on the X axis
7. Next, attach the small linear slide to the upper Z support
8. Attach a small piece of plexiglas, or any other rigid material for the Z axis, along with another hex standoff mounted to the back for the lead screw.
9. Depending on your spindle motor choice, you will have to figure out how to mount it. I used a 2" plastic pipe holder, found at Lowes in the plumbing section.
10. Also depending on which stepper motors you choose you will have different options on mounting them. I used aluminum angle to mount them.
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http://www.stepperonline.com/tb6560-3-axis-cnc-stepper-motor-driver-board-35a-output-current-p-113.html
Good Idea's on Sourcing component's...
You have given me some Invaluable Ideas on cutting down the cost's of the
http://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-CNC-Machine/
I am building with quite afew modification's...
Thanks !
What did you use for the bushings that hold the screws in place?
I see a plastic part with a cylinder in it, but what is that? You didn't specify it in your BOM.
I don't really have any backlash, yet. I'm sure as the nuts and rods wear, it will get more noticeable.
I did however find a Chinese supplier on ebay with a warehouse in the US that I got a 4 axis version of the same controller, and 4 motors for about $100. The cheapest I found anywhere was $85 for the 3..
I'll just keep looking around.
Thanks!!
Thanks :)
Mike
I wasn't asking about the side to side support though. I was concerned about the vertical - Yes it's on a slide, but what other than the motor and screw is keeping that slide from dropping to full extension? As an example, if I have two pounds of trim router, small mount to connect it to the slide, etc, wouldn't that two pounds be pulling down on the screw, trying to pull it off the motor? Since there is no spring to help alleviate the weight, wouldn't this stress and break the hold made by glue, etc with the coupling hose?
I have not had the tubing "coupler" break loose yet. I guess super glue, and a very tight hose connection is enough for the light weight dremel. I am in the process of rebuilding the machine and upgrading it. Stay tuned! Thanks.
How long are all the drawer slides that used?
I thought it would be a good idea to get the best slides, and use them through upgrading later.. Only $3-5 difference from the smaller/lighter duty ones..
Can you speak a bit about the resolution you're getting out of your CNC? Also, you say that you had touble with your Dremel100, is there are Dremel tool that you would recommend that doesn't have as much play? Can you speak a bit about your source for the U channels, threaded rods and other hardware you used in your build?
Sorry for the deluge of questions, but I'm trying to build my first CNC and I'm still trying to get a feel for what kind of hardware and where to purchase it for a reasonable price.
I got almost everything from the local hardware store, which was the point of this whole project. Let us know how your project is coming!
http://www.hobbycnc.com/
The LED worklight is a nice touch though!
GREAT!
I understand that the plastic thing is just a piece of scrap plastic probably but what is the metal part?
Despite its limitations major machines of the First Industrial Revolution were made out of wood. Now here we are in the post industrial age and some folks still build machines out of the stuff. For many of the same reasons too I might add.
We call this progress? Sometimes I wonder ...
Can you tell me the dimensions. Though the cad diagrams look nice, the resolution is too poor to read. I need the dimensions for the:
- base outside 2x4's
- base inside 2x4's
- height of the arm
- lenths of the arm
I modified your arm design by not doing the cutouts. The goal is to just have 2x4's cut to length. I'll sandwich the horizontal arm between two verticle 2x4's. I'll add 2x4 blocks in the verticle arms to keep them spaced correctly and give screw points. This combined with some metal angle brackets (home of the pot has tons) should give me the proper strength. I'm also going to skip cutting out the section to mount the arm to the base and go with screws from the inside and angle brackets on the outside.
Thanks for the good photo's. This probably is the simplest CNC build I've seen. I hope the resolution is enough to cut parts for a gantry CNC.
If you click on the picture, it should have a little "i" in the upper left hand corner where you can view the files in a larger, more clear format so you can read all the dimensions. Let me know if you still need them.
Thanks!
Base Inner 2x4's = 16 inches
Base Outer 2x4's = 19 inches
Base cutout = 1/2 inch deep
Base cutout width = 3 inches
One side of verticle arm:
Height = 15 inches
Cutout = 3/4 inches by 3+1/2 inches
(2x4 so width/depth = 3.5x1.5 inches)
Horizontal arm
Length = 10 inches
Status update:
I have 2 steps moving CW and CCW (originally got this going only CW) (clockwise/counterclockwise).
I have the base and arm created
I used home of the pot drawer slides $15 a pair.
I used "" 3/8 screws and those long nuts (forget their name).
I found a clam thing that is basically a C with screw holes at the end of the arms of the C. It's rubber coated and they come in many sizes. I found a size that fits tightly around the long nut above. 2 per nut oriented so the screw's are on opposite sides of the nut, and screwed into the platform that this nut/screw controls are the way I'm going to move the platform. (what horrible writing, if anyone understands that paragraph it'll be amazing".
The same C clamp thingy comes in pure plastic. I'll use one of those at the end of the screw for support. (found one just slightly bigger than the 3/8 screw).
The only steps I have next:
- attach screw to top platform (easy)
- drill out via's through the 2x4's for the other screw (and attach it)
- hook gas lines to screw and stepper motors (my 2 steppers are from printers and already have gears on them...easy to clamp gasline to)
- hook up longer wires to the motors
The I can draw (X/Y) and will have a "working CNC" machine.
(Im using linux/EMC2 and the test tools spin the motors now.)
Next I'll craft a Z mechanism. I bought a medium drawer slide from home of the pot. The drawer slides came in 3 quality levels $15 (ball bearing, nicer, smoother), $5(still bearings but not as nice as first), elcheapo that doesnt have a "enclosed" slide mechanism.
So medium is the $5 one. I picked it because they're all too long for Z, but the $5 looks like a metal bit in my sawzall (or if your crazy, a simple hacksaw) should be able to cut it down to 4-5 inches. That's where I'll start for my Z axis.
My goal is to get it drawing this weekend. I'll post more info when I get there.
Bill
thanx for giving me your notes :) you rock! so .. me imagino que no hablas ingles, hablas español?
What is the cutting size in X,Y, and Z?
Do you have any idea about the resolution achievable?
Do you have any photo's of stuff you've made with it?
i'm so interested in your project, in fact i'm about to build it.. i wonder if you can help me :) so i have some more questions.. just to be sure :)
the Threaded rod is the same for x, y and z axis?
wich material is the threaded rod?
what do you think if i use a Nema 23 steppers motor, should i change the frame?
should i modify the drawer slides?
mach 3 works on windows?
ok, last one
you bought the slide rail for Z axis on ebay but, is from a drawer too?
thanx for reading me, have a nice day :)
*i already downloaded the PDF file but there's some missing pics :(
It looks like a rubber tube of some kind.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-an-Acme-Tap/
All thread is a pretty bad lead screw material. Going from 20 to 10 TPI would double your speed too. Mounted correctly you can drive 1/2 X 10 screws 800-2,400 RPM which means you could get rapid motion of 80 to 240 inches per minute.
I think for tolerances that tight you'd had to have used different linear slides etc.
Turns out the older Colts fit right into a piece of 3 inch schedule 80 PVC (well within 3 hundredths of an inch 0.03 nothing a hose clamp can't hold) so guess how I'm going to make my Z axis?
Yeah that's right I'm packing that little honey up inside a piece of pipe and the pipe will slide up and down in a fitted box made out of laminated sheet goods!
I'm like Wiley E. Coyote and stuff, supra genius! heh. The rest of my design is even more ingenious but the world is just going to have to wait until I'm all done before I unveil it.
So the answer to your question is yes you can use any CAD software. But you haven't really asked the right question. You've confused CAD with CAM.
As pfred2 stated, I will be editing my instructable to show how I made the connections. I just recently re-wired the controller to It is fresh in my brain.
If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask! Thanks
anyone got their old cnc drivers and controller tht they don not need and could give me!? yup i cant afford to buy new ones and my machine is ready, and only needs the electronics! The motors iv got hav been rescued from old office printers.
ANYONE??? PLsssss :)
btw, i pay for the shipping!
This is almost as bad as someone who has access to (or worse, OWNS) a LASER CUTTER and 'teases' us with what the 'normal' -IBLE person CANNOT do. This only makes us drool. (Really, who has a few thousand $$$$ in todays economy to buy a "toy" like this???)
I mean, ok, I have yet to make even an -IBLE on how to pick my nose, but, I am looking for more than one long, (basically) run-on paragraph, of what someone did to make such a 'great' device that some of us would love to build. I'm sure is I wasn't so f***-in lazy I could sit and make my own set of instructions, but, like I stated, "I'm **** lazy!". Also, not everyone is able to 'read' some blueprints and work them out into a step-by-step set of plans that winds up creating this AWESOME project. YES, if you (or anyone) is capable of making a device like this (basically from scratch), it's AWESOME. So, CONGRATS of making your CNC machine and enjoy using it.
OK, I changed my mind, I'll give it an A - -.
{I would just lik to see great device(s) also have a 'great' -IBLE to go with them.}
Keep on -IBLE'ing (and I'll work on that nose picking thing!) :-)
It is my first -IBLE, so just bear with me I guess. I'm sure I will get better with practice, and I plan on getting a LOT'S of practice.
I'm very technically minded, but sometimes getting it down on paper (or keyboard) is tricky without sounding like a government document (Impossible to follow).
Thanks, I'll take an A-- for my first try!
To add picture notes bring up the image in article editing mode, then click and drag on it. Then you can move the boxes around, scale them etc. I never get mine quite where I want them right off.
I have been editing it, I keep thinking of important info that I left out. I want to add a good description of the wiring and maybe even a basic walk through of making it move.
Thanks!
My only question is, what is the horizontal peice of U Section for across the Z Axis? i can see theres a wire inside it from the pics but im baffled after that.
Yes, you are right, the slides have no play, they work perfectly. Good luck with your build! Glad I could inspire someone.
The U channel you see was an add on I was messing around with. It actually is a LED light bar, so I could see what I was machining. You'll see it after you look again (15th pic). I'll be re-doing this as well, making a round style that fits around the spindle (360 deg. light). Thanks again for the kind words! - Jon
Mach 3 (which you can download for free, but limited to 50 lines of code)
http://www.machsupport.com/
And I do most of my drawing on my Mac, using Turbo Cad Pro.
Thanks!
It should be that easy!