build your own cnc machine.

When I first moved to Pittsburgh, I had a chance moment when I passed by a place called TechShop.
Many of you may have heard of it, but I have not heard of it, the staff are friendly and let me have a visit.
They told me that veterans can get a one year membership for free, which surprised me and made the pot sweeter!
I immediately took courses in wood and metal processing and welding.
However, it was the 3D printing and laser engraving class that made me most happy to be back.
I have done so much laser engraving/cutting almost every free weekend.
In fact, look at another note I was able to complete there (
Other than that, I haven\'t heard of structures.
If not for TechShop!
I have spent the year of the laser but once it\'s over I know I want to try and buy my own laser sculptor and 3D printer.
Ha ha ha, yyyeah.
This price tag, though. . .
So I want to build it myself.
I would like to go a step further with a laser diode, but I would also like to add this note to The Epilog contest, but the time is running out.
I hope that the information here and the information I actually have will encourage you to go to.
Vote for me, but B.
Please continue to follow the instructions.
I would like to share my experience with this Instructure, hopefully if you don\'t have much experience either (like me)
With ambition, you can achieve a very satisfactory thing!
My goal is to: keep the cost to a minimum & design a powerful CNC machine.
The problem is to get the knowledge to do this kind of thing.
But don\'t worry, just step by step.
We need an X, Y and Z axis with the motor, something that drives the motor, the circuit \"brain\", the surface of the project, the medium to complete the work (
Like a laser or 3D printer extruder, a simple pen can start in this case)
, Wiring and things that power things.
Finally, we need a whole program to control the machine and a ton of patience.
For my Instructure, I will number the standard steps for any build.
For the time related to my project, I will list it in paragraph form.
I like to have a numbering system so I can mark where I am in case I am distracted or leave and come back the next day.
I hope this will help those who share this.
I have a video that gives a general overview of what\'s going on in the future.
Scrapping and cleaning is the key to reducing costs and this is one of my key goals.
For big parts, I have an old PC to recycle the power and disc.
I also have an old printer and a spare laptop to run all the programs.
I bought a scanner from eBay for $44 from the e-waste recycling facility for $10 at a cheap price: simple driver-$2.
50/ea, laser driver-
$5, laser case with glass lens-
$9, $27 3D pen, $9 replacement 3D pen nozzle, spare-$7.
DuPont jumper 50, M to F$5, arduino -
$15, 830 point welded bread plate, too many jumpers from M to M
I purchased 5 packs of resistors from the electronics store for $1.
$5/ea and transistor $2.
22 Ad Hoc Working Group axes of $9.
Laser glasses for about $43 and I spent less than $200.
I think it would be great to eventually have my own draftsman, 3D printer and laser engraver.
I will make three awesome CNC machines myself! !
I often quote these instructions.
They helped a lot!
I also encourage you to see it.
Flat panel scanner, printer, CD-
Electronics: Arduino UNO, easy drive (x3)
, Prototype bread plate for various welding, CNC Media Supply, male-to-male jumper, various other wires :(1)
Draw ink pens, or (2)
3D printing pen, transistor, various resistors (
If you want to test a 3D pen hack), an LED (
Test for stepping motor
Wire and filament, or (3)(
I wish I could add more, but I will scratch the surface for the sake of time)Laser Diode (LD)
Wires, modules with focus lenses (
Glass is best)
, Laser driver, laser wavelength specific safety glass, 1N4001 diode (
4 for red laser, 6 for blue laser, for calibration of laser drive with \"virtual load), OR (
I won\'t show this here, but if you want)(4)
DC motor as a router (like 18V)
Tools: ruler, drill, File, rotary tool, screwdriver of various sizes (
Philips, Hex, etc)
, Soldering iron, stripping pliers, wire cutting machine, Multimeter, needle and nose pliers, punching, horizontal, square, hot glue gun, saw (
Like a hacksaw, or better, band saw)
Hardware: screw, wood or other flat material, zipper, welding, hot glue stick, radiator, bracket. Safety: goggles, dust shields, vents (for soldering)
Or fans, hearing protection, gloves, laser-specific goggles if this is what you\'re working on because the situation will be different for everyone, I just wanted to see what you will see in this manual I am using: Power-
From my old desktop, I ended the reverse loop. Printer -
Sorry, all I know is this is an HP printer. Scanner -
HP scanjet 5300 csecd rom-LITE-ON IT corp.
Dvd/cd r/rw model sohw-1633s.
Some specifications of the excavation show. . . dvd-
R laser diode: 6nm (red)3B class laser. (
Cd laser is an IR level 1 Laser if you want to know. )
The printer I lay down, the scanner I bought from eBay for $1.
$99 and $2 shipping and the CDR rom/power I got from my super old desktop.
After a local look, many places where e-waste is recycled, and even some universities sell their stuff very cheaply.
I mean, they\'re going to recycle it anyway, right? !
Reduce work for them)
Bargaining is a good way to keep your wallet tight.
My local university has a lot of computers, printers and scanners, all waiting to disassemble the recycle bin.
I read from ian mcmill\'s Frankfurt laser instruction manual that you want to look for old printers and new scanners for better stepping motors.
They made a good note and you can refer to it.
Since everyone has different electronics, I won\'t spend a lot of time talking about demolition.
You can refer to my photo and see what I ended up getting.
Power supply: turn on the computer tower, disconnect the plug from the motherboard, unscrew the screw and remove the entire power supply.
Printer: you need to install the stand with Belt and step from the printer.
That beautiful square printer holder is not connected to the stepping motor on the drive belt, this is a straight DC motor, so I took one from the Epson printer, then put the drive gear on the DC motor there and fix it with some screws and it will work.
This is quite direct to the scanner.
Scanner: all you need is the bed.
Stepping motor should be seen in bed.
Keep it connected to the belt or any other rod it connects.
CD: all you want is to have the guide rail and all the stepping motor components.
Sometimes the face you put on the disc won\'t pop up.
Release it with a straight or paper clip so you can remove the disc.
Be careful when removing tiny parts from the laser assembly.
You don\'t want to spoil those delicate ld.
Note: If compatible, replace the short cable that comes with the arduino with a long printer USB cable.
Note: I am trying to take one apart from the old Brother typewriter in 1990s in order to get the printer stand from it. . .
I don\'t recommend it unless you have a heavy duty grinding wheel and not just Dremel.
The angle of that thing is very large, it is difficult to install on the scanner.
On the other hand, if you only want the stepping motor and the belt/bar, I\'m sure you can install it with some aluminum corners!
That\'s what Ian mcmill did with the Frankenstein laser.
Now could be a good checkpoint to see if the motor you are working hard on will work properly in software and Arduino.
You don\'t want to work hours to connect these parts together in order to find out why this thing was thrown away at the beginning with the printer walker you got.
To do this, we will now get the software for your computer and then connect all the wires to test it with the GRBL controller.
This is what I do in the video.
When I first did this project, I used a fried CDROM step component.
So after all this, I found that I wasted a lot of time adjusting the drilling and other equipment. . .
The program I use: Note: What do I do with Windows.
I\'m not sure what the following is different from MAC or Lenux! Arduino 1. 6. 7 (free)-
View your device and COM port number.
You can simply do this from the devices folder on computer hex file 0. 8 (free)-
Allows Arduino to read GRBL Gcode.
It\'s like a notepad. txt file. (free)-
Help load Hex Files on Aruino. Controller 3. 5. 1 (free)-
Allows Arduino to interpret Gcode and pass it to CNC. (
They have updated this since I downloaded it)9. 1 (free)-
Later used to make a vector image used as Gcode.
GRBL hex file and load it to Arduino on the appropriate COM port using Xloader.
Then let the GRBL controller run the CNC using the same COM port.
That\'s simple.
Note: If you want a Gcode memo for some commands, check this link: like a movie. . . but I digress. . .
Target, connection: Motor> respective Easydriver motor controller> Arduino> your computer.
I use the printer stand, scanner bed, and disc as X, Y, and Z, respectively. 1.
Weld on the pins that come with the easy drive. (
I just used 4 motors, 2 power supplies, 3 arduino)2.
Press the simple driver side by side on the bread board. (
Will be tight)3. (Pic 1)
Connect the motor to A & B on the corresponding pin of the bread board (
Remember, they follow a normal vertical path on the breadboard! )4.
Ground and 5 (GRD and M)12)
Voltage, need to be connected to the power supply.
I made 5 v on one side of the breadboard and 12 v on the other.
The two have a common stand. (
See Figure 3 for CPU power cord color code)5.
Finally, the easy driver is connected to the Arduino via the lower right corner of the GND, Step, and Dir boards.
The 3 axes share a ground on the breadboard and only one common wire is connected to the Arduino GND.
The steps of X, Y, and Z and Dir are 2/5, 3/6/4/7 pins on the Arduino, respectively (pic 2)6.
The arduino is then connected to the computer via USB. 7.
If you use computer power like I do, you have to jump the green line to the ground (black)wire (pic 4).
This can be done by unplugging the power! ! !
Jumping green and black will deceive the supply and make them think it is properly connected as a separate individual.
I\'m using an 18gw wire.
Note: Suppose your stepping motor has not only 4 connections but also 5 or 6 connections.
How do you know which two wires the coil A and A will be? or B+ and B-?
Well, I was confused by the fact that I had 6 wires in my printer Walker.
The way to go is to find a spare LED.
Connect the two wires of the LED and manually screw the motor.
If it\'s bright, it\'s a pair.
Now let\'s say that the first and second wires are lit, and then you go and test one and three and it\'s lit. . . now what?
The brightness of these two combinations is what you want.
Then do the same for the remaining wires.
My A is Line 1 & 2 and B is Line 5 & 6.
I found that the two outside are often 5 wires. (pic 8)8.
There is a potentiometer on Easydriver (pic 5)
To adjust the current of the stepping motor, you can adjust it appropriately if you can find the specifications of the specific stepping motor to understand the current rating.
Use a multimeter to find resistance Rs on pins 4 and 5 of the integrated circuit.
Then use the GND of 5 and TP1 to view the voltage and adjust the potentiometer until the correct voltage for the rated current of the stepping motor is obtained.
In this way, your motor will not overheat or \"Scream \". \" (
Last picture and show in video)
The formula is Vref = 8 (I/Rs)Example: I = 0. 2 Amps (
This seems to be common for disc motors, but don\'t quote me), Rs = 0.
6 ohm Vref = [(0. 2 Amps)(8)]/(0. 6 Ohms)= 2. 67 Volts.
Adjust the pot to 2.
67 I can\'t find my motor specification (
However, an ordinary 0.
When browsing interweb, the maximum current of the disc stepping motor is displayed as 2 amps)
The boy screamed when I first connected the scanner motor together, so I just lowered the current until it stopped. So far so good.
Just in case, though, I also added some radiators to easydrivers\' IC.
Not too careful. 9.
If you buy some, connect your radiator to the IC on the easy drive and let them solidify. 10.
After all the devices are connected, use the GRBL controller to power on the computer and start the computer, then turn on the appropriate COM port.
List of things like $1 = 500.
000 and such things should appear.
We can calibrate it all later. And you MUST! ). 11.
Set the steps in the GRBL controller (
In the lower right corner)
Just in case, from 10 to 1. 12.
Jog each motor shaft to ensure they move by hitting the arrows up or down (
Left or Right x axis). 13.
It would be great if they moved and the next step started.
If not, check the connection or pin on the Arduino (esp.
Because it is usually a compact disc).
Note: If they move but are in the wrong direction, go to Tools> Options and check the reversal of the axis \".
As I mentioned earlier, the disc gave me the most headache.
The connection, I mean welding, the four wires that jump to the breadboard are so tight that I keep getting the two solder joints to blend together effectively, making the two points the first.
This makes the motor very unhappy and it shakes when you test it with GRBL, not in a good way.
You go jogging your motor and feel very upset because it doesn\'t work.
If you want to take welding seriously or you have taken it seriously, buy a good, inexpensive soldering iron with good tips and some flux, especially when you
But when I found out that it was all and that the motor was actually working properly, boy, I got a good boost in moral and sense of achievement.
I ended up welding the pins to the end of the wire I connected to the motor, which also helped.
Now that you already have the courage to test and work on electronics, we need to \"connect\" all the axes together.
This may take the longest time in this project.
Depending on the part you use, your rough action will be determined.
I\'m just showing my point.
I disconnected all the wires for easy connection.
I used some of the wood paneling that I have laid and made a rough sketch of the scanner assembly that the stepping machine is connected.
I cut it into size so I can connect the printer holder to the scanner with some screws.
Next, we need to connect the z-axis CD rom to the x-axis.
The panel where the cartridge is located has great support for this.
I had to drill some holes on the side of it and then cut some old disc case to make the L bracket. (
Can you tell me that I really don\'t want to go to the hardware store for this? )
It would be better if you had some around you.
Or, comment if you come up with a better way to attach it.
I have used several screw holes on the disc drive and measured the holes to be drilled on my \"L\" stand.
\"I have attached the spare one.
I then used two more brackets in the position where the laser was placed to connect our medium.
I started testing Gcode and GRBL itself from a normal ink pen.
This pile should start looking like a CNC machine now!
The rest is that you reconnect your electrical connection on the breadboard and Arduino.
When you tell the GRBL Controller to move 10mm, it\'s time to make sure it does that.
Groover\'s structure says he used 53.
The step/mm on the CD drive motor is 3333 which is a good location so I went.
It works very well.
Let\'s turn on the GRBL controller.
To adjust the specification, Type $2 = 53.
333 in the Command Block and click Enter.
In that example, this will change the Z axis.
$0, $1, $2 are X, Y, Z, respectively.
My X & Y is all belt driven so I found this equation :[(
360/step of your motor)*(microsteps)]/ [(
Pulley spacing (mm)/(
Gear teeth with wheels)]Example: [(
360 degrees/200 steps/degrees {
In this example, this step/degree applies to a typical Nema17})*(8 microsteps)]/[(1 pitch/mm)/(16 teeth total)]= 230.
Screw bar 4 steps/mmFor, use :[(
360/step of your motor)*(microsteps)]/[(TPI)*(25. 4)]
Example calc is the same, just use 25.
Conversion from inches to millimeters
These are good starting points.
If you need to adjust it further to make it more precise (
You might)
, Divide what you calculate by what you see, multiplied by that number.
For example: suppose you calculate that the y-axis is 100mm, but it actually moves 94mm.
Your machine is off 6mm.
100mm/94mm = 1. 0638. 100*1. 0638=106. 38. Input $1 106.
38 in the command, use it to compensate your axis for 100mm.
I have to be my Y (scanner)
Because I believe there may be some gear mechanisms that will reduce this ratio.
Now it moves when I say move 10mm.
You can also try to go here: the first three$0, $1 & $2)
What is your main focus, and use this link if you want to change/learn about other settings: might want to make a cool design for your test, huh? !
So do I, but don\'t know how to use Inkscape.
I will try to bridge this gap with a very basic tutorial that will allow you to see an image.
There are a lot of great videos on YouTube that can help you get to know more after that.
So, keep looking for the image you like.
Note: I \'ve heard that if you search for images on Google try to get one from the \"transparent\" tab.
It will be easier to convert to bitmap.
Note: When I test it on my CNC draftsman, it runs backwards (
More content for the next step).
So I need to \"mirror\" My image!
After you download Inkscape for free from their website, please do the following: Note: my Inkscape version already comes with the gcode tool plugin
But please let me know if you have difficulties and I will update. 1.
Open Inkscape> File> New> default t2.
Click document properties and select a custom size boundary for your bed. (
I like mm. 3.
Click layer> new layer \".
I named the first layer \"boundary\" and the second layer \"work \".
Highlight the boundary layer and click \"draw the Besel curve on the left toolbar (
Looks like ink pen with curved lines)5.
Click the top left corner, then click the bottom left corner, and finally click the bottom right corner of the bounding box> right-click outside the bounding box.
You should now see the dotted line on your bounding box. 6.
Go back to the left toolbar and select general cursor> Click extension> Gcodetools> point 7 in direction.
Select 3 point mode, Z depth-18.
Select File> Import> select Picture 9.
Click and drag to highlight the image> make sure the image is in the bounding box> click path> track bitmap10.
Select \"color quantification\"> in the color, select 2 (
Only black and white)>Click Update.
You may also have to click the box that reverses the image. 11.
Click View> Display mode> outline \".
You should now have a good image outline and a red box with X.
This is the original image and you should delete it. 11 1/2. (
If you need to mirror your image, highlight it and then flip horizontally)
Now that you have your vector image, you can use it with a draftsman or laser. 12.
Now you want to click the image and cut> highlight the work layer and paste it to work 13.
Lock the \"border\" by clicking on the small lock next to the eye in layer box 14 \".
Click the image> click the path to the extension> gcodetols> Gcode. 15.
In the Preferences tab, you want to make sure it is in the preferred unit (mine was mm)
And then set your Z height to something safe and what your machine can do (like 2 mm)
So it won\'t run into the work you \'ve done, and in the directory, save any folder or whatever you want.
Click the Options tab and set it to 0 in the Z direction.
1. the minimum arc radius is (
As far as I know)
To what extent the media will go deep.
For example, with a ink pen, I keep it at 1.
If you have a router, you will want it to be inserted into wood or plastic etc to cut your object.
Then set it up for that medium. 17.
Click the path to the Gcode tab and make sure the cut order is subpath by subpath, click the image to highlight it and click OK \".
The pop-up will say things like \"no cutting tools defined.
If you are using a pen, click OK. 18.
In the boundary layer, it will spit out a path box.
Go to the folder you saved to find the image title. 19.
Open all the text above> G21 with notepad and you can delete something that needs to be looked for: Your gcode should say something at the top about the cutting tool and the next line should be oneor G00)
There is a Z number behind it (i. e. Z2. 0).
This should be the safety height you set above the job.
Make sure it is correct positive or negative according to your CNC.
Then it will go to X & Y and Z will start to put into your work (i. e. Z-0. 1).
Again, make sure it\'s the right pos or neg, depending on your machine. 20. Save your work.
The Z of my machine went up so I had to check this again.
I had to mirror my image again.
Make sure you proofread your Gcode.
I \'ve never had a problem, but I \'ve heard that GRBL has 50-
Limit 70 characters per line.
Therefore, you may want to select \"round all values to 4 bits\" in the preferred tab \".
Now that you \'ve saved your Gcode, let\'s draw it for God\'s sake!
At this point you may just want to test the unit and move on.
That\'s why my pen drawing machine is rather rough, but it works for the sake of progress. . . eventually.
You only need to do the following: 1.
Make sure the laptop is powered and cnc2 is powered.
Turn on GRBL controller 3.
Open your COM port 4.
After loading, select the file for image 5.
The image will be in the visualization tool tab on the right.
Prove the boundary again. 6.
Click to start, my first good plot is after multiple failures.
Here\'s a review: * as I mentioned in prev.
Step, I didn\'t mirror my image, so my CNC runs \"out of range\" because I didn\'t add the end station \".
CNC does not know its ability to try to surpass it.
* I didn\'t double check my working surface in Inkscape and tried to draw it out at about 500 and sent my CNC out of the border.
This increases my need for the end point.
* Sometimes, if anyone knows why please leave a comment, CNC will run Gcode over and over again.
This threw it out again.
Maybe there is a command in gcode to restart the file? ?
* My wood surface area causes rough spots in the image, which makes it far from the smooth plot.
* The first failure was the interweb image I converted, but I don\'t know about the mirroring problem.
I want to see what the draftsman is doing so I know what to do.
For this, I drew it manually (
Within the appropriate scope, remember you)
A rectangle and a small circle.
When it draws them, I know this is the image that is actually shown in Inkscape.
I will show you how to remove the laser carefully, but again, look for an update to the laser on this CNC. 1.
You will want to locate the DVDr laser on the laser diode (LD)
The component you removed earlier.
I was lucky to have the CD IR laser tag (pic 6)
But I can also search for specs on the brand (pic 1, 2 & 3). 2.
Cut Ribbon Cable (pic 7)
And fix it on the vise (pic 9)
Or something strong.
You don\'t want to crush the LD because it\'s very delicate. 3.
However, when I initially fixed it on the vise, my front panel was broken.
It was a pleasant accident so please be carefulpic 10)! ! 4.
Remove the rear of the radiator by using a hacksaw and run carefully along the top and switch to the bottom.
I do this a little bit back and forth until I can separate it with my hands (pic 11). 5.
Buy laser goggles with LD working wavelength! ! ! ! ! ! !
The laser operates in the visible spectrum, and we humans can see red at 6 nm.
Because this laser is Class 3B, it burns your eyes! !
Please keep this in mind and filter this wavelength using special laser glasses.
Expensive though, you only have one pair of eyes!
So spend some money to protect them.
I saved this laser and added it to CNC as another attachment for later projects.
But 3D printing is! !
I will take some steps from gigafide\'s Instructure (
Which rock, by the way. Check it out)
Use a 3D print pen as our medium.
He has a reliable way to remove the pen and figure out how to get your pen to work with arduino.
Let me briefly summarize it and add some points: 1.
2 After screwing.
Disconnect motor and power jack 3.
Unscrew the power jack (
Be careful, it\'s a bit difficult and requires some tips to avoid snapping labels.
However, I did break a tag and it still has no problem. )4.
Remove the slide and slide button bar (
Push it out)5.
Screw down the plastic filament pipe and take out 6.
Remove nozzle 7.
Slide out the circuit board 8.
Slide back the pin of the nozzle and reconnect the motor and power jack 9.
Plug in the Jack and heat your pen. 10.
Find out two of the four welding leads of the forward extrusion button, which will power on the pen using arduino.
Touch the two leads at both ends of the 1 k ohm resistor to determine which leads will start the extruder. 11.
Weld two leads with wires, be careful not to use a lot of welding.
I drilled a hole in the back box in order to get the wire out. (
To be honest, I should get my hole closer to the power jack end)12.
I had to use my red line for a longer length as I had to manipulate it around the tube and outside the hole.
The first time I was going to put everything back together, my solder joints were untied, even if it was held down with hot glue due to the pressure of its position.
The second attempt, I pre-bent the wire into U-shape, welded, then hot sticky, and then removed from the hole.
The result is very good. 13.
For ease of use with the breadboard, weld the pin or male jumper pin on the wire of the pen (
Unless you are going to make your own circuit board). 14.
When the pen is powered on, test the wire of the pen with a resistor to ensure that the extruder motor is still operating properly. 15.
Reassemble the pen in reverse order.
I followed the steps of gigafied\'s arduino switch circuit and it worked very well.
I don\'t remember the instructions for what kind of transistor he used, but I ended up using a 2N222A type transistor and a 100 K ohm resistor.
The plan is to find a resistor that is high enough, so when you don\'t want the pen to power, it doesn\'t allow grounding, but low enough, so when applying current, when you want it, this pen will power on.
Making circuit: 1.
Connect a wire of the 3D pen to the transmitter (E)
And another collector (C)(
Which is okay)2.
Connect the arduino GND on the transistor to the C and connect the resistor on the connection to the base (B)
The pin of the transistor. 3.
Turn on the pen and leave arduino off4.
The other end of the resistor will be connected to the GND on the arduino. (Pic 1)
Start with 1 k ohm resistor. (
We have seen from the previous steps that when connected to the ground, the 1 k ohm resistor supplies power to the pen.
This is just a reference point)5.
If it opens the pen, use the 10 k ohm resistor and try again. 6.
If opened, use 100 K Ohm etc before the pen is not opened. 7.
Now that you have a resistor that keeps the pen off when connected to the ground, you need to see which resistor will allow it to turn on when the current flows. (
Therefore, this means that if the resistance blocking current is too high during normal power-on, the pen will not be able to run. )8.
Power on the arduino. 9.
Connect the wire from the ground to the resistor to the 5 v pin on the arduino. (
In addition to the yellow line from GND to 5 v pin, pic1 is set the same)10.
If the pen does not open, the resistance is too high.
Move to a lower resistor, I. e. 47K ohm. 11.
If the pen is still not open, use 22 k Ohm etc.
Quick Review: Gnd/Gnd-
1 K on, 10 K on, 100 K off, complete. Gnd/5V -
100 K off, 47 K off, 22 K on, complete.
22 k is your resistor.
You want to make a big jump, find the grounding resistance, and then gradually reduce it between these levels when the arduino is powered on.
So why, in this example, we go from 10 k to 100 K (
Ground, big jump)
And then from 100 K to 47 K to 22 K (
Apply the current, the jump is small but higher than the 10 k Ohm value).
If you are on Gnd/5 v, you will return to 10 k (
I don\'t know why)
There is a problem, check your contact.
When I read about gigafied\'s Instructure, I thought, \"Yes, I understand,\" but I was a little confused when I actually did that.
I hope that between this and me, I have explained it well enough.
Hope the photos can help.
Now we have the pen to communicate with arduino (
We load arduino with GRBL in software steps)
When the GRBL controller program communicates, we need to make sure everything is groovy.
I have enough space at the end of my breadboard to turn on the transistor switch circuit and connect it to the arduino. (pic 1)
Connect the pen line to the collector and transmitter as before, and make sure the Arduino is connected to GND and pin 12.
Turn on the power of the 3D pen, power, computer and run the GRBL controller.
Open the COM port with which arduino is communicating.
Two things you should try to test this pen. 1.
Click on the box that says \"spindle\" above.
\"The pen motor should start the extrusion process. (
You will notice in the Big command window that M3 pops up when opened and M5 pops up when closed)
Uncheck the box to close it. 2.
Type M3 manually in the command box, then press Enter to open the pen and M5 to close the pen. That is G-
Whether it\'s a pen extruder, a laser diode, or the spindle of the router, the code can turn on/off the external media.
Great if it works! ! !
If not, don\'t worry.
I didn\'t have it for the first time.
As it turns out, the pins I welded on the wire protruding from the pen have been loose from dis/connecting and I have to parse them.
I did this and then used the hot glue of relative trash between the pins, the exposed wires and the protective plastic can keep it stiff and strong, this way I can connect and disconnect the Pen frequently.
Getting the pen on the z axis and being as straight as possible takes more Labor than I originally thought.
The two brackets I had the Z bed stand out as guides.
Then I drilled some holes in two pieces of waste wood.
I first stick the pen heat to the wood on one side, and then when the second piece is in a stand-off state, I pull the pen straight as much as possible, and the heat sticks to the second side. Two things (pic 1): 1.
The disc is too high.
The 3D pen is too low, which makes my small disc motor too stressed when trying to \"pull\" the pen while sending the up GRBL command.
The shaft will move down no problem, just like rolling the log down the hill, fine, but pushing it up the hill, rough.
Because there was no upward movement, all the plastic flooded the nozzle and solidified, so this destroyed my first nozzle.
There will be more later.
Learn from my mistakes
View vids involved in trouble shooting in the last step).
Corresponding plan (pic 2).
I had to drill two more horizontal holes.
Put the pen on the wood and stick it hot.
I also raised the bed by 1 cm.
There is only 1, because the Y drive will hit it anywhere higher. . . bad news. (Pic 3)
It\'s the last hook.
I used Makercam to test 3D printing. com. 1.
Open webpage2. (optional)
In the upper right corner, change \"inch\" to \"cm\" 3.
Click hand in the upper left corner and use it to drag the grid to display the 0,0 axis.
You can also use \'or \'-
If you choose 4.
Click Insert and select the shape (
The hexagonal radius shown in Figure 4 is 1. 5cm)5.
Click the arrow in the upper left corner, then click and drag to highlight the shape.
It should turn into a red orange.
Drag the shape to the 0,0 mark on axis 7.
Make sure your bed can hold the size of the shape 8.
Click \"cam\"> \"follow path action\" 9.
Change your name if you want.
\"Target depth\" is the height of the completed object.
Change it to what you want. (I set mine to -
1, it may not be a good idea to move in increments of 0.
33 because the room between 0 is very small.
However, 99 and 1 are still running well)
The safety height and inventory surface are set to 0.
\"Stepping Down\" is the height of each layer of fine silk.
I set my to 0. 33mm.
I set the \"feed rate\" and the \"drop rate\" to 100 per.
They are the speed at which your pen is squeezed out and moved.
After my first nozzle was blocked, I set the 3D pen speed knob to the slowest setting! ! 10.
Click cam> Calculate settings and it should outline the path. 11.
Click \"cam\"> \"export gcode\" and it will save your shape. 12.
Open the file with notepad, we need to make some changes to the gcode. 13.
Remove it for each line that says \"0dz0\" and replace it with \"M5\" which will prevent the nozzle from pushing into the bed (
Finally your print)
And stop the pen extrusion motor. 14.
There is a line at the top that says \"G17\" and below is \"M3\" to delete M3.
Start squeezing too early.
Instead, place a \"M3\" in the next line after \"F100\" 15 \".
After the last \"M5\", place a new line that says \"o2o Z-
I told it to say Z-
Because this will make the pen move up and away from the print after the print is done. 16.
To remove the whole thing from the print, please at \"0 Z-2\" line.
Or you can zero things to zero and use \"0X0 Y0\" depending on you.
Note: similar to my pen chart, I have to change all my \"Z\" coordinates from negative to positive based on that axis.
My first picture went into the bed all the time and made a large piece of plastic.
After changing all my Z coordinates to positive numbers, everything is fine.
So please note that you may have to do the same. 17.
Save the code and open GRBL controller 18.
Make sure all your devices are powered on.
Open the COM port, after loading, click Select File and load the shape file.
The Axis control tab changes to the image in the visualization tab and displays its path.
Note: check your work carefully to make sure your boundary is correct and your motor will not go beyond the boundary. 20.
Click Start to watch the magic happen!
If you have a gcode memo and you are curious, you will notice that M6, M30 and G17 are not there.
Want to know what it means?
M6 = tool replacement, no need to worry about it here.
G17 = select the XY plane, which will do this for your print. (
Note that G18 = Tibet, G19 = YZ)
M30 = end the program, in short.
The program starts and starts the extruder, selects the XY plane, prints the layer, moves up, prints the second layer, etc. , stops, leaves and terminates the program. While Makercam.
Com is cool for basic stuff, I am looking for a program (Preferably free)
Generate my own 3D object and convert it to the available Gcode.
123D design is cool but no Gcode. . .
Please leave a comment if anyone knows.
I think there must be a forum or something else that will help with this.
If you don\'t care about my troubleshoot/unfortunate and how I deal with these issues, that\'s it.
This step is to help the first aid staff to see how I tried and failed (A LOT)
Planning, construction, testing and printing.
Many instructures show the direct path to the end, no detours, which is good.
It\'s not that dry for me, and I think it might be useful to see how I bump on the road, though I \'d love to, without giving up. . .
My problem/solution along the way: * find out the electronics/architecture--
I know I want to make a CNC Machine & I have rubbish everywhere and my wife doesn\'t like messy stuff. Solution: Here!
There are some talented people posting projects and tips, etc. Use them.
They know a lot more about planning, architecture, electronics and programming than I do.
I just wanted to clarify the fact that I succeeded with little knowledge, just to get me to build a 3D printer myself!
You can, too!
I hope to give another angle here to help anyone in future production.
Take away: read something you are interested in and gain confidence.
* Actual start--
> This may sound silly, but due to all the scrap and the idea of the final product, I was quickly overwhelmed by how to start.
Solution: It took me about 8 months to finish the parts I removed and worked out a game plan and all the electronics.
And juggling work schedules.
I am trying to bargain for most of the things I need to buy.
It\'s great in most cases, but at other times I need to pay some cash to get something good.
Planning is the key.
Mainly how do I install the x-axis bracket on the Y scanner.
I had to find a good old printer carriage.
That\'s why there are gouge marks and dremeled on the edge of the scanner bed plastic.
But once I did, I left!
I\'m still waiting for a Christmas sale. . .
Take away: plan, check it carefully, and plan some more.
Oh, then check again. *. . .
Decide what 3D pen to actually use-
> I would really like to do this project with 3 Doodler 2. 0.
Is there any problem? It is lighter (
50g contrast 63.
My picture is 5g, a difference of 24%)
, It is smooth, it has an interchanging nozzle.
The problem is to find the photos inside and see if I can crack it as gigafied shows.
I don\'t want to waste $100 (
$80 if you wait for a sale at a craft store)
On a pen that I might not be able to crack successfully, especially
No pictures
Solution: I use the cheaper one ,(and potential)sure thing.
Take away: Do what you have on your budget, do it.
* Z Easydriver does not have power when X & Y is on the breadboard--
> This is explained in the steps of electrical connection pictures 5 and 8.
I don\'t know that those long Breadboards have a partition on the edge of the two power cords.
Solution: I used a longer jumper for power connection.
Confused me for about an hour until I noticed the longer gap I saw in the title of pic 5.
Take away: check the power flow in the breadboard and any partitions.
* The Drawing Machine is faulty--
> My inkscape limit setting error, gcode is printed over and over again and the image is mirrored.
Solution: This limitation is easy to solve, I don\'t know the gcode is printed over and over again.
Please leave a comment if you know what\'s wrong with me.
I also don\'t know why my CNC defaults to this.
I read from Frankenstein\'s laser instructions that he also wrote down the mirror image. . . hmmm.
Take away: do a thorough test image to see if what you do is mirrored first. * The Z axis. . .
Disaster from my project-
> CD rom stepping motors have a very high maintenance date and they will not hesitate to give up if they are unhappy.
I had to deal with more precise welding, installation and terrible swings (
No move)problems.
Solution: deal with personal problems when they arise. Bad solder? Replaced. Bad wires? Replaced.
Too High?
Drill new holes and reinstall them.
Take Away: All the little things add up to upset me, I just deal with them alone.
* The 3D pen on my first mount is not straight--
> Symmetrical 3D printing is not good. Solution?
Do it again.
NBD take away: use a level. * First 3D test!
It\'s working, it\'s actually working. . .
The nozzle was clogged with filament, and I received the error code on the pen.
The nozzle cools and the plastic cools. --
Now the nozzle is basically useless.
Solution: order a new nozzle, like a surgeon, carefully remove the clogged nozzle and solidified filament without destroying the hard work and time of the current pen circuit
Take away: Start the extrusion test slowly and adjust accordingly.
Thankfully the new is working fine with no error code! !
: D * I stuck the wood holder on the pen too low-
> This leads to Z (CD rom)
The motor and it did a stupid swing shake where the shaft did not move up and down.
Solution: This is too heavy for the Z axis to \"drag\" up \".
I tested it without opening the pen and the Z motor moved well causing me to want to reinstall the bracket. * So. . .
I stuck the pen holder higher. -
> When the z-axis is in a completely down position, the bed is now too low to touch the bed and nozzle. Solution: re-
Drill the disc drive so that it is installed in a lower position & raise the bed 0. 5 cm. (
The y-axis will hit the bed anywhere higher, it\'s not bueno)
Take away: plan again.
Measured twice before you promised to rearrange, drill, or cut * After reinstalling the z axis and pen, I went to retest.
You may ask this question. . .
My CD rom stepping motor again-
> With what I think is better set up, the swing is uncertain, which is after I checked the motor motion without load, everything is OK.
So I remove the pen again to make sure the motor is OK.
This is where I think the motor died because it just twisted and didn\'t move up and down and there was no load!
Check the resistance continuity of the wire and the current of the Easydriver, everything looks good.
Solution: After going through such a stressful test, I decided that although I didn\'t want to do it, I had to disconnect the entire z axis and start wiring from scratch.
My homemade jumper from motor welding to breadboard failed miserably.
I replaced all of this with a larger 22gw wire, welded the pins and worked fine.
Wiggletake away: it\'s a strange thing to wiggle the CD rom.
I searched a lot of forums on the Internet, sometimes a few months apart, with a lot of good information. (
Check resistance continuity, high enough voltage, easy to drive, easy to drive potentiometer current adjustment, pin output to arduino, pin output from the motor itself, LED test)
However, in my case, none of them helped my motor.
I can probably say that the problem with 100% is my welding.
The motor pin should be avoided if possible. Soldering (carefully)
Extended PIN helps.
If you splice a jumper to a wire in order to extend those wires, don\'t do so unless you really know what you\'re doing.
I thought I did it, I just did more heartache for myself.
I cut a short paragraph and paid for it.
I should start by buying a 22gw wire and do this instead of connecting my own longer jumper from male to male.
So I like to take one. . . yeah.
That\'s all.
I am very happy that everything is pen and 3D pen.
I look forward to getting the rest of my laser supplies and in (hopefully)near future.
I hope this helps those who make their own CNC! !