[SchweppesParticipant]

I love the entire concept of this. And I want to make this machine to build custom parts for other projects….however. I think a big problem for me, is I want to be able to CNC metal, rather than wood and acrylics.

So, now I think this drives an issue which I’m not sure what a better solution would be. To simply slow down all of the motors driving the machine and raise the torque to compensate for it’s lack of ease to grind/cut through the material, Or do I replace everything with much more powerful motors. (and thus most of the other parts to handle the new torque)

Aswell, I was considering replacing the dremel with a pneumatic die grinder or some other similar tool. Does emc2 control the rev of the dremel? or do you guys just have it set to max revs on the tool itself?

[TaylorKeymaster]

Schweppes,

The largest motors available as part of the hobbyCNC controller kit have more than enough torque to help beef up your build. However, another limiting factor to consider (when it comes to what you can cut and how fast) is the way that the bearings attach to the gantry. X and Z are pretty rigid, but the design for Y travel is still somewhat informal (allowing the rig to simply sit and engage the rails with a gravity/friction fit). We’ve considered designing more of a wrap-around bearing for Y, which should reduce the stock’s ability to push back and cause the DIYLILCNC to lose steps. If you decide to alter the gantry design, post your sketches and we can make suggestions.

I’ll have to get back to you on EMC rev control. I imagine it can, but I’ll check.

[ChrisKeymaster]

Yes, EMC can definitely control spindle speed!

I think a stronger cutting tool is the big issue as opposed to motor/gantry strength (though those are still really important).

See this post for some other tool options that we are going to test out.

[Author]

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