XYZ Carve - Aussie version of an X-Carve

[BeJay]

So it begins...





Started construction of the 1000mm2 baby, will update when I get some time to finish it

[parkview]

Awesome, I will be following your posts!

[BeJay]

Cheers Paul

[seaton]

nice one, will be following the build in anticipation

[BeJay]

Had some time today to wire up the steppers and move it. It's alive-ish. Need to finish the 240 wiring and fit a breaker etc. Such a lot of wiring to go and testing / calibration. Progress though.

[parkview]

Keep them coming! Love the over head camera shot. Is that a RPi camera?

[BeJay]

Hey Paul, yes it sure is. The same PiLapseCam I used at robofair Today I managed motion!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiDYDhFJEls

[parkview]

Nice one there BeJay!

[BeJay]

Here is a timelapse of opening the box to doing a test carve

https://youtu.be/d8slG_Lr_ms

[Jubbp]

Too cool!!

[parkview]

Loved the video there BeJay, well done. Great music track too

Early days yet, but any thoughts on adding a laser head to it?

[seaton]

Looking at the video you posted I'm impressed by the size of it. Might have to look at one when I eventually get my workshop.

[seaton]

Just think how much easier it would have been to make your PiCade

[parkview]

and how thick a sheet of wood can it cut? Say MDF or pine?

[BeJay]

Sorry I haven't got back to your comments, I've been flat out again.

Yes this is a big girl. I was going to get a 300x300mm but thought this would be much more versatile than just for doing PCBs (which is what I wanted it for). This is 1000x1000mm and can cut 790x790mm. The clearance is 50mm to the Z axis, but you need longer router bits (or extenders) to cut that far. The average cutting depth is around 18-20mm on a standard 1/8" bit. It cuts just about everything! I've tried Ply, Pine, Acrylic, MDF, but no metal yet as it does eat through the tools (bits). 400W is pretty good but I think you'd want to go up to 1.2kW if cutting anything harder than Aluminium.

Tools:


I also 3D printed a dust extractor tip:


So now I've been fiddling with the "workflow" for this beast. It is so different to 3D printing, as you basically draw things in 2D with something vectorish like inkscape, and then add the 0.5D or Z depth by setting each cut or drill in a CAM program like makerCAM. So still a lot of experimentation to go before it's as easy as slicing in 3D printing! So once I've had more time to play with this (it's quite loud when carving, so no night use!), I'll post some more updates. Yes it would have been perfect to make the PiCade with, so now I have to think up more things to make!

[parkview]

Thanks for the feedback BeJay. Sounds like it's quite flexible. Love the vac attachment. Well done.

[BeJay]

Cheers Paul,

Here is my Vacuum adapter in action!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYwOtjnbP6k

[seaton]

Cheers Paul,

Here is my Vacuum adapter in action!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYwOtjnbP6k

Nice one! Dust and Noise are the only downside to CNC, especially when living in a built up area, which is why mine is currently in storage...sigh

[BeJay]

Sure is noisy, but worth the risk when you can make pretty cool stuff out of everyday materials!

[seaton]

Sure is noisy, but worth the risk when you can make pretty cool stuff out of everyday materials!

Oh Yeah!!!