I had a lot of parts lying around so I built this unit to use some of them. Most of it is 6mm acrylic, but it has some metal and some plastic parts. When I ran out of a specific part, I fired up TinkerCAD and designed and then 3D Printed a replacement. This now uses Mach 3. I am considering turning this into a kit as most of the parts are off the shelf.
As much as I like using Mach 3, I am going to replace the electronics with a RUMBA or ordinary RAMPS. I lile the idea of a single carriage with multiple, vs interchangeable heads and the RUMBA lets me do this. I will do the same for the 3-in-1
Oh hi, I abandoned this project long ago and replaced everything with extrusions. It became, essentially a 3018 machine. I am using one of those GRBL boards you buy on Amazon with an LCD controller.
This is actually what will become my 3-in-1. I based this on my CNC machine, and use a flying gantry with a few printed parts. My intent is to install a 'head' that holds a spindle and run the whole thing off either a Sanguinololu board or a RasPi with a GrblPi board on it (using Teacup). I am still gearing up for this but the intention is to also replace each acrylic panel with an aluminum equivalent just to make it stronger and more rigid. I want to keep it to desktop dimensions with the table currently at 6"x6" but I easily scale up to 8"x8" by widening the bed and using longer rods. The most I imagine this unit being is 18"x18" which may be sufficient for most. Really large scale machines have already been done. I can easily, for example, also extend my ShapeOKO to be a printer and laser engraver with different electronics. What else would you like to know?
Thanx for the reply. TBH nothing specific. My mind is walking through the similar route currently - just without my own CNC machine currently ;) I am planning to do a desktop CNC diode laser engraver / dremel mill and are considering using acrylic for first version before I go for 6mm aluminium (which seems to be the tickest aluminium plate available around here within reasonable budget). And as you used 6mm acrylic it sounded like a good read if its more completely documented to see what would be the typical issues one can run into when taking that route. The local MAkerlab has a laser that can cut acrylic but for metal parts I would have to get some local metalworking shop to do the cutting which can be quite a pricy for a unique set of parts.
I cut my own metal parts as well as tge acrylic. I use a scroll saw or jigsaw with a metal bit and drill out holes with a press. For the acrylic I highly advise you not use nuts and use thermoplastic inserts instead. I will tap holes in my aluminum. I may also cover my acrylic with sheet aluminum bonding it to the acrylic for strength. With the inserts in place I can lock screws in with stronger hardware and apply more torque to them. If you need any kind of help let me know.
Oh hi, I abandoned this project long ago and replaced everything with extrusions. It became, essentially a 3018 machine. I am using one of those GRBL boards you buy on Amazon with an LCD controller.