Introduction: $400 DIY Drawer Slide CNC Machine
This is just a quick follow up video of my completed drawer slide CNC machine. The total cost for this was around $400. It took a couple months just working on it when I had the time. The stepper motors and driver board (TB6560) were ordered through eBay for $175.
I would imagine that this general design could be enlarged with longer slides and could hold a full sized router.
The next step is to start working with creating some G code and figuring out the cut settings in Mach3.
Thanks for taking a look. (I've posted several videos of the project as it has evolved.)
14 Comments
6 years ago
Sir, i want to say that of all the "home made " or diy of your own design... wow. The work you did is some of the cleanest, neatest and most organized ive ever seen. I expect to see absolutely amazing things fromyou in the future. Oh by the way, im not just some average dumbass fan boy. I did 14 yrs of welding, fitting and fabrication. Also during that 14yr span i also had a few side projects. Built several full on race engines from scratch ranging from 400 - 700 hp. I also build an addition to my house which was nearly the size of the original house. So long story short, dont take my praise to lightly. Seriously though, you have done great work and i am excited about seeing what your next work or art will be. Take care sir and have a great day.
Reply 6 years ago
Thank you. This was a pretty much on-the-fly kind of build. A lot of late nights just playing with sketches and ideas. A lot of trial and error. Once I finished it and played around with some cutting I did re-design it to hold a regular sized router. This opened up lots of possibilities. Then I made a whole bunch of projects with the machine and had a blast working with it. There are many projects on my YouTube channel with it in action at drez20001. Building it was not overly difficult, it just took time and patience. Thanks again for your comments.
7 years ago
Hello buddy, can i use 3.25Amp unipolar six wire stepper motor with TB6560 shield. Please replay fast its argent
8 years ago on Introduction
Really nice videos Dan, and a very robust, simple, cheap, design. Have you considered putting together plans? The videos are easy enough to follow; but a set of plans that described everything in the latest version would be nice -- and worth a reasonable price.
9 years ago on Introduction
I'm at loss .. this isn't an instructable ?
9 years ago on Introduction
Hi I want to build a 4'x2' cnc table but I want to know which one is the right stepper motor size, I am planning to use a rotozip SCS 01, I check in several forums but cant find answers or somwbody using a rotozip
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
You may have some problems with the Rotozip. I made this machine work for a short while with the small rotary tool shown in the video, but the bearings wouldn't hold up to much cutting. I redesigned the CNC to hold a regular-sized DeWalt router. If you check out the other videos I've posted they show the change over to the regular router. It wasn't a big deal and didn't cost much to swap over but it works much better and much more consistently. The stepper motors I used were the Nema 23s. Best of luck and thanks for taking a look and your comments.
9 years ago on Introduction
What did you use for your stepper motor drivers?? Or are they not required? like the KL- 4030 Microstepping Driver. Which hooks up to the breaker board. Trying to figure out a rig for myself and not too acclimated with the technology yet. Thanks for the help.
PS your machine is sweet!
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
S30z - Thanks for taking a look and for your comments. I've made a lot of changes to the machine since this ible was made. I swapped out the smaller Dremmel-like tool for a regular sized DeWalt router and had to change a few other things but the machine is pretty much the same design. The motors, driver board, and power supply were ordered on eBay for $175. The rest of the materials were found locally at hardware stores and my junk pile. More videos are at my YouTube channel at drez2001. Thanks again for taking a look.
10 years ago on Introduction
manantais - Thanks for your comments. I've done some modifications to the machine - I swapped out the small rotary tool for a more standard router that can take a regular 1/4" bit. I wanted more torque and lateral support. I had to change the gantry design a little, but it's still running on good old drawer slides. I need to post an update showing the revisions.
10 years ago on Introduction
Hello,I just wanted to say that ,that is a great idea to use the drawer slides.I have been trying to gather up all the info I can to build my own cnc router and you have given me some great ideas.Thank you
10 years ago on Introduction
sleeping - We'll see. I've started to do some test cuts and the spindle/rotary tool seems to be pretty solid. The way that it is attached to the drawer slide though I need to tighten up; there's a little bit of flex in the way that it is mounted. Thanks for your comments.
10 years ago on Introduction
Wondering how that dremel is gonna do. I have heard they have problems handling the horizontal force placed on them, since they don't have a good bearing at the spindle end? Thanks for keeping us up on your project.
10 years ago on Introduction
Each option appears to be workable. The motors and driver that I purchased came from Longsmotor in China. This is where I bought it:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/200590003120?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
I don't know about reliability at this point. Time will tell... So far so good though.
Best of luck!