DIYLILCNC

Before you Begin

Taylor — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 18:33:07 +0000

For this section you’ll need:

X Rail Panels
5mm bolts, washers and nuts
8mm bolts, washers and nuts
1 Stepper motor
2 shaft couplers, 2 belt pulleys
Drill rod, aluminum angle
Timing belt

Before you Begin

Taylor — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 18:31:19 +0000

For this section you’ll need:

Z Cart Panels
Z Sled Panels
8mm bolts, washers and nuts
Skate bearings
2 Stepper motors
ACME rod/nut
Aluminum angle

What It Takes

Taylor — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 15:07:53 +0000

In order to build your own functioning DIYLILCNCv2 you’ll need the following:

A week of evenings and a full weekend (depending on skill level)
Basic shop skills/tools
Basic electronics skills/tools
Between $500-$1000 dollars for parts (prices vary by source, desired features)
Plywood panel kit (plans are free, CNC fees vary widely)

testPost

Chris — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 05:49:50 +0000

Metal Fabrication

Taylor — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 19:13:51 +0000

Some of the metal stock from the BOM must be cut to length. The following measurements assume a standard build (no change to axis length):

2 x aluminum angle @ 28.75″ | 730mm (X-axis)
4 x aluminum angle @ 24″ | 610mm (Y-axis)
2 x steel rod @ 9″ | 230mm (Y-axis)
1 x AMCE/trapezoidal @ 9″ | 230mm (Z-axis)

Run Stepconfig

Taylor — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 17:07:27 +0000

From the OS desktop, run APPLICATIONS > CNC > Stepconf Wizard. See this link for a page-by-page walk-through of all EMC2 Stepconfig settings.

Most of the settings in Stepconfig are determined by the HobbyCNC controller board and the motors it ships with. One key setting, however, called “leadscrew pitch”, is determined by the hardware that you happened to purchase with your build.

X/Y: The pulleys on the DIYLILCNC are mounted directly on the motor shaft, so the system will travel a linear distance equal to the outer diameter of the pulley for each turn of the motor. Thus, LEADSCREW PITCH = 1 / CIRCUMFERENCE.

Z: Figuring Z-axis ratios is a little more challenging. Start with the following equation:

LEAD = PITCH x STARTS
Lead: The axial distance the nut advances in one revolution of the screw
Pitch: The axial distance between threads
Starts: The number of independent threads on the screw shaft

…and then calculate LEADSCREW PITCH = 1 / LEAD.

“Stock” Specs

Taylor — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 21:13:23 +0000

DIYLILCNCv2 is designed to be as user-hackable as possible. All specs are flexible, and may change depending on how you construct your specific build.

Footprint: (H)18″ x (W)32″ x (D)26″ | 456mm x 809mm x 654mm
Working area: (X)12″ x (Y)13″ x (Z)4″ | 310mm x 340mm x 110mm
Table travel (cutting): depends on spindle, bit, and material to be cut
Tool: 1/4″ | 6.23mm collet whip-Dremel
Can cut: wood, plastic, foam, light metals and more

Open Source

Taylor — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 21:47:47 +0000

DIYLILCNC is an open source initiative tasked with increasing the accessibility of CNC tooling/education for the broadest possible audience. As such, all of the intellectual property generated by the project is free to download, remix and redistribute, even for commercial gain (details). All we ask is that credit be maintained in all derivative works, and that these works carry the same license. If you’re not sure what this means, feel free to get in touch.

PS: For this and many other open source projects, we like to rely on the “smell test” when in doubt. Not too long ago, an enterprising web denizen copied our entire DIYLILCNC v1 design document and submitted it to an online contest. In some ways, this was not explicitly in conflict with the letter of our Creative Commons license. After all, this individual did credit our authorship (even if they did move the details from the first to the last page of their submission). Naturally, we felt that this violated the spirit of our license and had the contest entry taken down.

Credit and Thanks

Taylor — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 21:40:46 +0000

Although Taylor Hokanson and Chris Reilly are the principle researchers on the project, DIYLILCNC would not have been possible without the help and support of many individuals and institutions. Much of the DIYLILCNCv1 design was derived directly from two instructables posts (one, two) by oomlout. We improved upon the design with funding from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, with particular help from Chad Gerth, Brian Stansbury and all the fantastic faculty and staff in the AIADO department.

The development of the DIYLILCNCv2 design was made possible by a successful Kickstarter campaign, followed by a generous prototyping grant from the Art + Design department at Columbia College Chicago. Extra thanks go out to Christopher Furman, Chris Kerr, Jay Wolke and Jim Zimpel.

Kickstarter 2011 Contributors: Edward Ford, Jakamoto, David Landry, shaji, blacketj, Mark A. Matthews, Chad Gerth, James Tippett, Andrew Laughton, EFFALO, Joe Murphy, ramy daghstani, Alexander C. Yao, Ash Kalb, Adam, Simon Benoit, Mark WallstrÃ¶m, Todd Masco, mdornseif, Jose Hevia, Szymon Kobalczyk, Andrew Ehret, machina ex, Isaac, christian, Dustyn Roberts, WeFab.it, John Mayo-Smith, draugluin, Gabriel Haffey, Martin Eliasson, Travis, Good, Doug Wilson, j. faceless user

Options for motor controller

Chris — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 05:43:14 +0000

Please read the instructions that come with your HobbyCNC controller/motor kit very carefully. Here are a couple of gotchas that we found through trial and error:

Watch your jumper settings, especially when setting Vref. These must match the software settings in EMC2.
Install a bleed resistor on the big capacitor, and do not touch any part of the electrical system unless this cap is fully discharged.
Install a power LED/1k resistor (not included) between 5V pad and ground on your board. This also shows you the status of the big cap.
Use consistent motor wire coloring.
Do not plug/unplug wires until the system has been powered down for a couple of minutes.
Take the time to build a case. Good airflow for cooling is critical.
The included power switch is meant for much smaller wires. Purchase a beefier one and throw the stock part out
Solder all three drive chips to the board, then hold up the heat sink to mark all 6 drill holes at once. If you lay these out with a square beforehand you’ll never get the alignment right.