CNC PCB mill for n00bs

pappavis · February 24, 2016

UPDATE 31-3-2016. My overall experience,

INTRO:

Is your home cockpit spaghetti wiring difficult to keep track of? Solution. Create a printed circuit board (PCB), much like any electronics device has nowadays.

Option 1: DIY at home. Use chemicals to make a PCB, by etching wiring onto a copper plate of <>15cm x 12cm. Cost <>€12.

Option 2: DIY at home. Use a CNC Router such as "X-carve" to etching wiring onto a abovementioned copper plate. Cost <>€2 exluding the CNC router!!

Option 3: Have it made in China. Advantage: Cheap €15 for 10pcs. Disadvantage: 4 weeks wait time.

TOOLCHAIN for CNC'ing DIY.

1. Hardware.

* CNC 3040 such as Shapeoko, X-carve or Chinese CNC 3040.

* Drill bits. V-shaped 0,1mm and PCB drillbits of >=0,80 to 5,0mm

* Computer with parallel port

* RECOMMENDED. Buy USB-port TinyG or a GRBL-USB Motion controller, replaces the parallel port-option.

2. Software.

* CAD-program. KiCAD / Eagle to design the PCB.

* FlatCAM to convert PCB 'Gerber'-files to gcode-text files.

* LinuxCNC or Chillipeppr to actually run the machine.

All above software are FREE open source.

DIY PCB in 3 steps.

1. Design the PCB in your preferred CAD program.

2. Export the PCB to 'Gerber' files.

3. Produce it.

* China?? Upload the gerbers in ZIP-format to DirtyPCBs. Then wait 4 weeks. Cheap, but slow.

* Chemical? Beyond my experience.

* CNC? Translate gerber to gcode, and execute on your CNC.

TODO:

1. Write out beginners guide to PCBs with CNC machines.

2. make yourube vid on gcode to physical PCB.

[[ reserved for future]]

24-2-2016;

Guys,

I consider investing in a cheap http://www.ebay.nl/itm/CNC-ROUTER-ENGRAVER-ENGRAVING-MACHINE-3-AXIS-3020T-WOODWORKING-ARTS-CRAFTS-/221814559429?hash=item33a52d92c5:g:GkoAAOSwPcVV0qkb Chinese CNC PCB router[/url], with USB port for MiG-21bis cockpit panels & PCBs.

I had 2x PCBs made by dirtyPCBs but that takes too long, and 1x mistake, and its another 4 weeks waiting :cry:.

Option 1. Home made PCB using chemicals. Physically no space, and my wife wont allow it.

Option 2. DirtyPCBs. Cheap but 4-weeks waiting time = €14.

Option 3. DirtyPCBs + DHL shipping + 2 weeks waiting time = €58

Option 4. My own PCB Mill 2030. Costs €450 + Mach3 software.

Option 5. Ask a FABlab in my city to make it. NONE of them have CNC, and NOBODY knows about PCB Milling. I've asked at hobby groups too. I get blank stares.

I watched a sh*tload youtube vids, experimented with FlatCAM & CAMotics simulating PCB milling, and feels its the way to go.

1. Whats your opinion on owning a mill vs dirtyPCBs?

2. Is a 300w spindle any good for cutting (wooden) panels?

3. What is the actual working area of 30cmx20cm mill? Is it smaller than that?

4. Which soft/hardware will i need to phucsally let the mill operate? (free alternative to Mach3?)

5. Any other tips, advice, or opinions?

One example of my PCB to make.

=============================================

UPDATE 23-6-2016

the below PCB was made.

Bit used=v-shaped 0,2mm tungsten carbide

carving depth=0,1mm (takes only copper away)

carve speed=280mm per minute

Track spacing=0,6mm

Track width=0,8mm

Gcode generator=FlatCAM 8.4 (open source)

FlatCAM CNC file used=xxxx_noncopper_paint_cnc.nc

Material=1,65mm thick copper plated board

IMPORTANT: The drill area was autolevelled using tinyG before start.

Edited June 23, 2016 by pappavis

Bacab · February 24, 2016

Guys,

I consider investing in a cheap http://www.ebay.nl/itm/CNC-ROUTER-ENGRAVER-ENGRAVING-MACHINE-3-AXIS-3020T-WOODWORKING-ARTS-CRAFTS-/221814559429?hash=item33a52d92c5:g:GkoAAOSwPcVV0qkb Chinese CNC PCB router[/url], with USB port for MiG-21bis cockpit panels & PCBs.

I had 2x PCBs made by dirtyPCBs but that takes too long, and 1x mistake, and its another 4 weeks waiting :cry:.

Option 1. Home made PCB using chemicals. Physically no space, and my wife wont allow it.
Option 2. DirtyPCBs. Cheap but 4-weeks waiting time = €14.
Option 3. DirtyPCBs + DHL shipping + 2 weeks waiting time = €58
Option 4. My own PCB Mill 2030. Costs €450 + Mach3 software.

I watched a sh*tload youtube vids, experimented with FlatCAM & CAMotics simulating PCB milling, and feels its the way to go.

1. Whats your opinion on owning a mill vs dirtyPCBs?
2. Is a 300w spindle any good for cutting (wooden) panels?
3. What is the actual working area of 30cmx20cm mill? Is it smaller than that?
4. Which soft/hardware will i need to phucsally let the mill operate? (free alternative to Mach3?)
5. Any other tips, advice, or opinions?

One example of my PCB to make.

I don't know where you are living so my advice may not be suitable for your case.

Where I live there are places dedicated to DIY enthusiasts called Fablab where you can find tools like drills, CNC, 3D printer, etc. Most often it's cheaper and less trouble than buying your own tools. Furthermore there is always someone ready to help you or teach you about technology and fabrication process.

pappavis · February 24, 2016

In my city, are 4x FABlabs. NONE of them have CNC, and i visted the labs. Weird..NOBODY knows about PCB Milling. Sum1 at such fablab didnt even know what a PCB is :huh:.

I don't know where you are living so my advice may not be suitable for your case.
Where I live there are places dedicated to DIY enthusiasts called Fablab where you can find tools like drills, CNC, 3D printer, etc. Most often it's cheaper and less trouble than buying your own tools. Furthermore there is always someone ready to help you or teach you about technology and fabrication process.

FSFIan · February 24, 2016

In my city, are 4x FABlabs. NONE of them have CNC, and i visted the labs. Weird..NOBODY knows about PCB Milling. Sum1 at such fablab didnt even know what a PCB is :huh:.

The magic word to search for is "hackerspace", possibly also "makerspace".

Maybe you should check out RevSpace, there's a picture of a PCB mill in this hackaday.com article about them.

Maybe those FABlabs are more geared towards the artist crowd.

pappavis · February 24, 2016

Ian;2690064']
Maybe you should check out RevSpace, there's a picture of a PCB mill in this hackaday.com article about them..

LOL u know Den Haag?? Have we met in Real live?? :P

I've been to

* Revspace, its been broken since forever, and wasnt used much.

* FabLab Den Haag, they dont have one.

* Makerspace Leiden, they have a CNC -- very seldom used, and no experience on PCB milling.

* Makerspace Haagse Hoge School.. same thing. No CNC router.

Edited February 25, 2016 by pappavis

Bacab · February 24, 2016

In my city, are 4x FABlabs. NONE of them have CNC, and i visted the labs. Weird..NOBODY knows about PCB Milling. Sum1 at such fablab didnt even know what a PCB is :huh:.

Sorry to hear that. Good luck in your search then.

Warhog · February 24, 2016

My advice to you, having 10 years experience with CNC is to read the two threads I listed below from beginning to end. They pretty much illustrate the trials and tribulations that are indicative of purchasing "Cheap" Chinese CNC machines. It is a road I strongly recommend that you and anyone else building cockpits, avoid like the plague. Now these individuals were fortunate in that they were able to achieve, with some frustration, a reasonable degree of quality when cutting very soft materials. Unfortunately they are the exceptions. Most people just give up and chalk it up to a learning experience never to be repeated or try and resell their stuff or throw it in the trash.

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=138862

Over time I expect these Chinese machines will improve but they will always be limited to very basic cutting/engraving operations because of their design...i.e. Gantry type design which by its very nature, is a weak design for any milling type operations.

Cutting good quality PCBs require good quality CNC machines. There are no short cuts or cheap alternatives available. If you don't have the finances for a good machine then I would consider using the chemical etching process or a third party manufacturer.

If you do purchase a good machine then you will also be able to make so many other parts. I refer you to my signature. You can see on my photo sites what a good CNC machine will enable you to accomplish.

This is an example of my machines capabilities (Taig). The 5050 led is there for scale reference. The holes shown and not yet drilled are 0.03" diameter.

A reasonable budget figure would be around $3000.00 not including tool bits and other nessary accessories. The mantra you need to keep repeating is "accuracy costs money".

I sure hope this helps. Best of luck.

John

pappavis · February 25, 2016

$3,000 is waaaaaay beyond my pricerange. Ofcourse with a highclass router one can do a lot more.. but i wanna go for best of both worlds.

I'm not gonna make computerchips. Its for my MiG-21bis DCS cockpit build

Cutting good quality PCBs require good quality CNC machines.
A reasonable budget figure would be around $3000.00 not including tool bits and other nessary accessories. The mantra you need to keep repeating is "accuracy costs money".

I did sun digging. The Open Source alternatives;

* X-Carve, cost <>$950 with 1200w spindle and 750mx750mm workarea.

* Shapeoko 3 -- apparenely is an improved X-carve.

* Cyclone PCB Factory, another small Open Source thing-a-majing.

Cost estimated for 1x PCB, and about 4 iterations to perfection;

1. Home made, with cehmicals = €???

2. 4x€15 with DirtyPCBs = €60

3. DirtyPCBs cost for 12 panels x 3 iterations = €540 (and waiting time=2 years)

4. Chinese thing. and considering the comments of Warhog.

5. biy X-Carve/Shapeoko, or tryout building Cyclone myself. I have 2 righthands..

As warhog says, a bigger machine gives more poissibilities, and i can use it to cut bigger things such as panels.

Which CNC would you buy primaraly for PCB milling, secondary for panel making?

(and hope to be able to sell the CNC later when the cockpit is finished)

* X-carve, Shapeoko, Chinese 3020, Cyclone PCB, chemicals or... forget it.

meanwhile I'm gonna lookin into the chemical method.

Edited February 25, 2016 by pappavis

pappavis · February 25, 2016

$3,000 is waaaaaay beyond my pricerange. Ofcourse with a highclass router one can do a lot more.. but i wanna go for best of both worlds.

I'm not gonna make computerchips. Its for my MiG-21bis DCS cockpit build

Cutting good quality PCBs require good quality CNC machines.
A reasonable budget figure would be around $3000.00 not including tool bits and other nessary accessories. The mantra you need to keep repeating is "accuracy costs money".

I did sun digging. The Open Source alternatives;

* X-Carve, cost <>$950 with 1200w spindle and 750mx750mm workarea.

* Shapeoko 3 -- apparenely is an improved X-carve.

* Cyclone PCB Factory, another small Open Source thing-a-majing.

Cost estimated for 1x PCB, and about 4 iterations to perfection;

1. Home made, with cehmicals = €???

2. 4x€15 with DirtyPCBs = €60

3. DirtyPCBs cost for 12 panels x 3 iterations = €540 (and waiting time=2 years)

4. Chinese thing. and considering the comments of Warhog.

5. biy X-Carve/Shapeoko, or tryout building Cyclone myself. I have 2 righthands..

As warhog says, a bigger machine gives more possibilities, and i can use it to cut bigger things such as panels.

Which CNC would you buy primaraly for PCB milling, secondary for panel making?

(and hope to be able to sell the CNC later when the cockpit is finished)

* X-carve, Shapeoko, Chinese 3020, Cyclone PCB, chemicals or... forget it.

meanwhile I'm gonna lookin into the chemical method.

Warhog · February 25, 2016

As WarHog says, a bigger machine gives more possibilities

Actually, what I was intending to communicate is that,a well built, accurate CNC hobby mill will provide accurate cutting regardless of the material you are cutting into. That, in itself, allows greater possibilities. But size is not that important and in fact the larger it is the stronger it has to be. My mill has a table size of 4" x 12" and that is small by most standards. But it does the job quite well and has not limited me in making any single panel. A cheap machine with no major upgrading, no support and no one to help you figure out why its cutting 5 degree off the mark will only allow you to become frustrated and give up.

I'm not gonna make computerchips. Its for my MiG-21bis DCS cockpit build

Neither am I but I do want to make PCB's that work without shorting out. If you look carefully at how fine the traces can be on a PCB you will see the need for accuracy. I mean one can take a sharp hobby knife and scratch through the copper if you really want to make PCB but it won't be all that useable.:P

All I'm trying to do here is inform our members as to the very real issues that come with purchasing these type of machines. It's always best to be fully informed before making a large purchase upwards of $1000. But after getting all the facts and you still want to take the chance ...go for it. All I can say is buyer beware.

My dislike for these machines comes from seeing too many people totally frustrated with trying to make something it just can't make. I have seen it happen too many times and I feel bad when I see people quitting because of poor quality equipment.

In your situation I would think that making PCB's via chemical etching is probably the best way to proceed. I have never had an opportunity to try it myself though so I can't comment on how successful that route will be. Maybe in the future I'll give it a go when I have a need for super fine traces on a PCB.

Anyways, I wish you luck regardless of what direction you choose.

John

Brewnix · February 27, 2016

Actually, what I was intending to communicate is that,a well built, accurate CNC hobby mill will provide accurate cutting regardless of the material you are cutting into. That, in itself, allows greater possibilities. But size is not that important and in fact the larger it is the stronger it has to be. My mill has a table size of 4" x 12" and that is small by most standards. But it does the job quite well and has not limited me in making any single panel. A cheap machine with no major upgrading, no support and no one to help you figure out why its cutting 5 degree off the mark will only allow you to become frustrated and give up.

Neither am I but I do want to make PCB's that work without shorting out. If you look carefully at how fine the traces can be on a PCB you will see the need for accuracy. I mean one can take a sharp hobby knife and scratch through the copper if you really want to make PCB but it won't be all that useable.:P

All I'm trying to do here is inform our members as to the very real issues that come with purchasing these type of machines. It's always best to be fully informed before making a large purchase upwards of $1000. But after getting all the facts and you still want to take the chance ...go for it. All I can say is buyer beware.

My dislike for these machines comes from seeing too many people totally frustrated with trying to make something it just can't make. I have seen it happen too many times and I feel bad when I see people quitting because of poor quality equipment.

In your situation I would think that making PCB's via chemical etching is probably the best way to proceed. I have never had an opportunity to try it myself though so I can't comment on how successful that route will be. Maybe in the future I'll give it a go when I have a need for super fine traces on a PCB.

Anyways, I wish you luck regardless of what direction you choose.

John

Hi Warhog, I like Pappavis has been looking at building my own cnc machine. I ran across this kit on ebay was wondering if you have heard of anyone that has any experiences with it. I thought even if the power box and controller board are junk there still Nema23 motors. http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/261814829330?ul_noapp=true&chn=ps&lpid=82

And then I kind of like this site the have alot parts. And motors are not that expensive either.

http://www.openbuilds.com/

I thinking of building a setup to do cnc machining and maybe away to convert to a 3d printer. I have been trolling the web a lot for DIY cnc machines. Like Openbuilds there are forums out there that are all about the DIY. With people tons of knowledge in the diy cnc.

Anyways I wanted to share a few links I knew of and thanks for your expertise and time.

pappavis · February 27, 2016

Hi Warhog, I like Pappavis has been looking at building my own cnc machine

I thought of buyng a kit such as X-carve or Shapeoko which are Open Source. Hoever its quite a complication to build those. In 1 of the threads John advised against building yourown.. unless you are experienced. My preference goes to a kit which is sorta assmbled.

I watched sum youtube vids about chinese 3020's and they come pretty much assemebled, sum ppl swear that the Chinese stuff are good, others prefer more prof CNCs.

Considering my budget.. Its either a X-Carve, or a Chinese 3020-machine.

John, whats your opinion on a X-carve & Shapeoko 3?

Mr_Burns · February 28, 2016

I built a homemade, just bought the Texus Instruments and steppers and stuff off of ebay and used a dremel.

Was good fun to build in MDF and free plans, learned a lot and had fun building it. Decided to re-engineer and design my own which has taken over from cockpit building because DIY (depending on your requirement) are just not that accurate unless you are some super builder!

I have no idea about the chinese stuff on ebay, but if you need <1mm accuracy, you aint going to get it with a diy (IMO).

Brewnix · February 28, 2016

I built a homemade, just bought the Texus Instruments and steppers and stuff off of ebay and used a dremel.

Was good fun to build in MDF and free plans, learned a lot and had fun building it. Decided to re-engineer and design my own which has taken over from cockpit building because DIY (depending on your requirement) are just not that accurate unless you are some super builder!

I have no idea about the chinese stuff on ebay, but if you need <1mm accuracy, you aint going to get it with a diy (IMO).

Nice I think its doable. But you learned and that's the idea. Re-engineer I like that word. So I can see the point of I have no time to research and figure out what the best design for me is, I need this now I can earn a living or get my project done next week. That makes sense too. Its what works for you. I am just in to learning why. And like you said re-engineer to make it better. Thanks

Brewnix · February 28, 2016

I thought of buyng a kit such as X-carve or Shapeoko which are Open Source. Hoever its quite a complication to build those. In 1 of the threads John advised against building yourown.. unless you are experienced. My preference goes to a kit which is sorta assmbled.

I watched sum youtube vids about chinese 3020's and they come pretty much assemebled, sum ppl swear that the Chinese stuff are good, others prefer more prof CNCs.

Considering my budget.. Its either a X-Carve, or a Chinese 3020-machine.

John, whats your opinion on a X-carve & Shapeoko 3?

Pappavis, that looks like a stout base the Chinese 3040. I would say the problem would be is how much play it would have once it started moving. I think the idea everyone getting at is for precision once it started moving in different direction where it held a square 90degree turn or alittle slop and it kind of blown out corners. Like this guy. Looks like he built it out of run of the mill angle pieces at the shop.he talks about the slop in his drawing the first 3 mins I think.

[ame]

[/ame]

pappavis · February 29, 2016

appareneltey also important;

* Ball screw, limit switches, <=1mm accuracy,

if 1mm = 1mm stepper on the CNC.

More Q's

1. How much actual workarea does a 300mm x 300mm give?

2. Does any1 have experience with bCNC vs Mach3?

3. Would a UC100 Parallel-USB adapter work with bCNC?

4. Could i use a €15 Parallel-USB adapter with bCNC, or in Mach3 on a chinese CNC with bCNC?

Condsider that i wanna make, and my budget is <=€1,000 all inclusive.

Yesterday i watched a youtube vid on assembling the X-crve. OMG its gonna be tough.. And received notice from dirtyPCBs: my MiG-21bis pcb has been sent. Hopefully, whith my own CNC i wont have to wait 4 weeks.

Edited February 29, 2016 by pappavis

Warhog · February 29, 2016

With respect to all the inexpensive machines on the market, all I can say is you get what you pay for. There are no shortcuts. And building one yourself is something worth considering but only after you have some experience under your belt or if you are extremely adept at mechanics. Do you know what runout is? What is backlash,why does it occur, how is it measured and how is it controlled. Where does a gantry type mill have the most flex and why? How much flex is acceptable.? Are you even familiar with the term gantry mill? Do you need 2 flute cutters or three or even four and why? When the ads say the machine has repeatability of 0.5mm, is that under load and if so what kind. Probably no load othwise that figure would be higher. It may be that this machine can only make cuts to a depth of .003" in acrylic without undue flex so yes under these conditions it's accurate but it will take 2 days to cut a part at those feeds and speeds.

I know how easy it looks and it really isn't that difficult providing you have something good to start with. But how do you reengineer something you know so little about because if you did you would have already passed by these machines long ago.

If you want to go cheap then I suggest you spend ALOT of time reading at CNCZone. Become completely familiar with the problems, solutions and limitations these machines have. At least you go into it armed with enough knowledge to know what to watch out for. You should also notice that most of these machines are used for milling wood. Wood is incredibly soft by comparison to most other materials and the tolerances you need for wood parts are like night and day compared with using materials such acrylic or aluminum or copper clad PCboard.

i read the ad that was at the beginning of this thread and it was filled with statements about how strong, how accurate it is but it lists no actual specs. So how do you know how strong or accurate or precise or anything without specifications...minimum performance specs that you yourself can measure and verify. But the ad has lots of really pretty pictures. Even I considered buying one of these machines based on the great pictures. They are really nice looking machines. But after further investigation... Also note that all the examples pics they posted, not one was actually made with the machine in question. They couldn't even fit on the table.

As to all the questions that will now start, I suggest you do not ask them here as this is not a CNC forum. Go to the CZnCZone... http://www.cnczone.com/forums/. This is the worlds largest, most comprehensive forum for CNC. Every possible machine has some discussion somewhere. That is the place to post questions.

Good luck guys. CNC is a wonderful and deeply satisfying discipline. There is a moderately steep learning curve but it's not that difficult especially if you remember your high school machine shop. Just don't cut corners and always know what you buying before you buy it.

pappavis · February 29, 2016

Good luck guys. CNC is a wonderful and deeply satisfying discipline. There is a moderately steep learning curve but it's not that difficult especially if you remember your high school machine shop. Just don't cut corners and always know what you buying before you buy it.

TX John, and yes i have a loada questions now. Like which flutes to use etc etc.

The past months i've discovred that specialist skills & experitse is scarce. If i wanna lknow about cooking the perfect lemon chicken, then every1 in my street knows/can do it.

Ask about sumthing like CNC machining and u get blank :noexpression: stares .

I'll head over to CNCzone, and report back on this thread l8er on.

regards,

Michiel

Edited February 29, 2016 by pappavis

metalnwood · February 29, 2016

I built a homemade, just bought the Texus Instruments and steppers and stuff off of ebay and used a dremel.

Was good fun to build in MDF and free plans, learned a lot and had fun building it. Decided to re-engineer and design my own which has taken over from cockpit building because DIY (depending on your requirement) are just not that accurate unless you are some super builder!

I have no idea about the chinese stuff on ebay, but if you need <1mm accuracy, you aint going to get it with a diy (IMO).

Mr Burns, you and I will have to disagree on your last sentence :)

One CNC I built, using ballscrews on all axis was able to reposition to 0.01mm, or 0.0004". Thats all I bothered calibrating it to because thats what my dial indicator had.

Under load, < 0.1mm. Usually better to cut .1mm oversize and do a clean up cut to size around the profile .

If your machine is not rigid enough to give you the accuracy then the above step might help. If you cannot position with no load <1mm then something else is wrong :)

I met a guy who has something like the one the OP is looking at on ebay. It was using ballscrews and if they are your average ballsscres coming out of china then they should be OK for doing PCB's.

For myself, if the price was right I could get one for PCB only work knowing that the machine under the light load of doing a pcb would be ok. It would be similar to something I would build myself if it was for only that purpose. This guy who has one, when he puts it under load it vibrates like nothing and the piece of aluminium plate on the front of the gantry turns in to a soundboard amplifying everything. Not good to be around for a long time.

Edit, last sentence should read heavy load. IT can cut away lightly all day somewhat quietly but as an example, he cut a piece of aluminium for a motor mount and it took three hours, hard on the ears. I am now cutting all the parts for his new CNC machine, that three hour part is about 4 minutes on my larger machine.

Edited February 29, 2016 by metalnwood

Patriot · February 29, 2016

pappavis,

"умный, спортсмен, комсомолетс"

Do you speak Russian? I few months ago build CNC, can share knowledge, but I bad speak English.

Gadroc · February 29, 2016

appareneltey also important;
* Ball screw, limit switches, <=1mm accuracy,
if 1mm = 1mm stepper on the CNC.

More Q's
1. How much actual workarea does a 300mm x 300mm give?
2. Does any1 have experience with bCNC vs Mach3?
3. Would a UC100 Parallel-USB adapter work with bCNC?
4. Could i use a €15 Parallel-USB adapter with bCNC, or in Mach3 on a chinese CNC with bCNC?

Condsider that i wanna make, and my budget is <=€1,000 all inclusive.
Yesterday i watched a youtube vid on assembling the X-crve. OMG its gonna be tough.. And received notice from dirtyPCBs: my MiG-21bis pcb has been sent. Hopefully, whith my own CNC i wont have to wait 4 weeks.

Work area depends on the machine design. The gantry design, plate design, dust shoe, etc... all can affect how close the cutting bit can get to the extremes of the machine. My machine (OpenBuilds OX) I have a 800mm X axis linear rail but only have about 620mm travel on it. This is because the plates that the motor mounts to are far wider than the cutting tool ;). On the Y axis mine is 1500mm rail with about 1255 travel, as this dimension has to account for the X linear rail and the spindle itself.

I have a UC100 coupled with a Gecko G540 to drive my machine. I used it with Mach3 but have switched to UCCNC. I would not recommend Mach3 anymore, it's very long in the tooth and may or may not work on current hardware. Mach4 doesn't seem to be as stable and there are a very small number of motion controllers which are all expensive. UC100 + UCCNC is about $200 where Mach4 + Motion Controller is about $400-$500.

I have not tried linuxCNC. I wanted to have a hardware based motion controller vs PC based and I have not researched what hardware is available for linuxCNC.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Gadroc

Warhog · February 29, 2016

TX John, and yes i have a loada questions now. Like which flutes to use etc etc.
The past months i've discovred that specialist skills & experitse is scarce. If i wanna lknow about cooking the perfect lemon chicken, then every1 in my street knows/can do it.
Ask about sumthing like CNC machining and u get blank stares .

Michiel, if you read through those two threads I linked at the beginning of this thread (yes they are rather long:music_whistling: but) you will find answers to many of the basic questions that beginners always have. Both Tores and Clay started into CNC last year. I spent a good amount of time with both of them to get them moving in the right direction. I tried to list out all of the basics such as software, g-code conversion software, cutting tools, their diameters, feeds and speed, how to hold you work down onto the table etc. I would have a quick read through them and make a list of all the points I covered. That should help a bit and save you some time.

Gadroc, I just spent a few minutes looking over UCCNC at their web site. Interesting. It looks like Mach3 with a new front end. Virtually all of the same commands, just reorganized. Its also half the price of Mach3. I'm curious now...did you notice any immediate differences between UCCNC and Mach3 that would favor one over the other. I haven't bothered to investigate new software for my CNC operation in many years only because "if it aint broke don't fix it". Also, Mach 3 has been an industry standard for a long time now. The only issue I have is that damned dependence on parallel ports. However with that said., even if "it ain't broke" I'm open to new software if it provides a possible savings in time, or ease of use, better features etc.

metalnwood · February 29, 2016

John, I think that device that Gadroc talked about, the UC100 gets you away from the parallel port.

It takes USB and then hooks in to the parallel port of your BOB. At that point the parallel port is just wiring and doesnt use the parallel port interface.

I use something similar called the ethernet smoothstepper on one of my machines. So mach3 has a plugin and talks to the cnc via ethernet. It also gives me the total output of 3 parallel ports if I want to do a lot of extra stuff.

Like you, if it aint broke. With my machine setup I dont want to change it unless there is a good reason to.

Gadroc · March 1, 2016

Yes, the UC100 is an alternative to ESS SmoothStepper. It was cheaper than SmoothStepper at the time I was putting together the shapeoko. UCCNC is supposed to have a better trajectory planner for constant velocity mode than the older Mach3. Saw some videos of the same machine running Mach3 and UCCNC and it was much better. Upgrading to Mach4 was going to cost me $$$ so I gave UCCNC a try. So far I'm really happy.

Never got the shapeoko dialed in as it's mechanical problems showed up to soon, just got the ox dialed in and I'm likely to slip into ain't broke mode. At least till I get into tinker mode again.... always have ideas on upgrading. That being said getting the spindle squared to the gantry is pain in the #$!@%.

ClayM · March 1, 2016

Pappavis

After considering price and size I decided to take a chance on a 3040 cnc. I also had a tight budget which, in the end, was the deciding factor.

I don't know how many versions of this machine are for sale on the net. So my opinions are based on the machine that I received. As always buyer beware. My opinions may not apply to a machine you may purchase.

I had no experience with CAD/CAM/CNC. After lots of help from members of this forum especially John(Warhog) I now have a little CNC machine that I can cut all my panels, buttons, brackets and whatever else I can come up with.

My setup is 3040 cnc with BALLSCREWs! I would not recommend a trapazodial machine. I use Mach3 and CamBam installed on a old Windows XP Pro computer with a good old parallel port. No other software installed and no internet/ethernet connection. Totally stand alone. Works great and never crashes.

I did have to make a few adjustments to the support ends of the ballscrews. The preload nuts were too loose resulting in excessive backlash. This was an easy fix that only requires a wrench but it took me awhile to figure out that it was causing me problems.

One thing I did do was install limit switches on all axis. For someone new to cnc it is a must have in my opinion. I just hot glued some tactile switches in the right spots and wired them in. They have saved me from stupid mistakes more often then I can remember.

I do not have a shop or a garage. My pit space is tucked behind the couch in our family room. I have the 3040 in a corner behind my pit. Its quiet enough that I can cut plastic whenever I want and not make the wife too mad. It makes a mess but I always have a vacuum cleaner near by.

I am close to +/- .025 mm (0.001") tolerance with my current setup can achieve. With a .125" endmill and considering the thickness of my limit switches cutting bed is 360 mm by 280 mm or about 14" by 11". I just take my time and cut slow trying to avoid to much stress to flex the frame.

Sorry about the cel phone pics. I cant afford better camera because I blew all my money on the cnc.

UHF is work in progress. Still need to make lightplate.

UHF face plate was 6890 lines of G-code and cut time was 35 minutes.

All credit goes to Warhog for the PCB!

The "PIN 1" text is bad because I was too lazy to change to engraving cutter. It was all cut with .03125" endmill and holes with .030" drill.

I would definitely purchase again. Well worth the money in my opinion.

Clay

Edited March 1, 2016 by ClayM
credit where credit is due!

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