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• This n That

  David Tucker • 2 hours ago • 0 comments

  I picked up a honeycomb bed that is large enough to cover the full range of motion of the CNC.

  It came with a very thin sheet of aluminum to protect the bed. I had hoped this would be strong enough to hold its own shape, but it is about as thin as a coke can.  I've temporarily taped it to the bottom, but this is not a great long term solution.

  I think for the long term, I'm going to make a wooden base to put the aluminum on. Then I will make some small risers to lift the honeycomb up so smoke can escape. If I make it right, it should be able to be registered for repeatable placement.

  I also picked up a large inline fan to act as a fume extractor. Once I get this fully enclosed, I will use this to remove the smoke from cutting and send it outside where I won't have to breath it in.

• A place of my own

  David Tucker • 2 hours ago • 0 comments

  I love my new CNC, but my shop is very small (basically 3 feet deep in the back of the garage).  I decided to move it down under my workbench, on a roll out shelf.  This lets me get easy access, while keeping my bench for other projects.

  I added a little nook to put the controller. And eventually I will fully enclose this to keep the dust down, and to keep the laser light enclosed as well.

• First Steps

  David Tucker • 12/31/2025 at 04:36 • 0 comments

  I came into a little money and opted to get a new FoxAlien XE-Pro CNC machine, to replace my home made MultiBot CNC.  My home made machine has been great, but it had a few flaws.  First, being half plastic, it tended to warp and come out of shape over time. Every time I needed to use it, I had to tighten up all the screws, and retention the lead screw nuts.  And second, it was not as ridged as I would have liked.

  The new machine is a touch larger (400x400mm square) and much stiffer and heavier. It also can be upgraded to linear rails, that should further increase the rigidity.  It also has much larger NEMA 23 closed loop steppers, so it can handle a much larger spindle in the future. It should be able to handle a little aluminum.

  I got my NEJE laser module mounted up and wired into the controller.  My first project was a custom cutting board etching. I think it turned out well

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