Building Your Own CNC Router/milling Machine

Already when I was little I was thinking of making a machine which could make things! A machine which
would give me the opportunity to create products for in and around the house. Years later I stumbled on
the words 'Computer Numerical Control' or more specifically the CNC milling machine. After I found out
people were able to build one themselves in their own shed, I knew it!
For three months I tried to find the proper parts (A dremeltool, drawer slides, pieces of wood, etc.), but I
didn't really know how to build a CNC. The idea fell into oblivion.

Hace un tiempo, cuando era mas joven, pensaba en fabricar una maquina que pudiera crear cosas. Una
máquina que me diera la oportunidad de productos para mi casa. Años después me introduje en el mundo del
“Control Numérico Computarizado” o mas específicamente fresadoras CNC. Luego de enterarme de
personas que lograron construirlas en su propio garaje, supe que debía hacerla.
Por tres meses trate de conseguir todas las partes (un Dremel, correderas de cajón, placas de madera, etc),
pero realmente no sabia como construir una CNC. La idea quedo en el olvido.

In August 2013 the idea to build a CNC milling machine captivated me again. I just finished the first year of
my bachelor in Industrial Design, so I was confident enough to start a build. The real difference between
now and 5 years ago was, I learned to work with metal on manual milling machines and lathes and above all
I had the right tools to design a machine.

En Agosto de 2013 la idea de construer una fresadora cnc me cautivo de nuevo. Recién terminaba el primer
año de mi licenciatura en diseño industrial, asi que tenia la confianza suficiente para comenzar a construirla.
La verdadera diferencia entre ahora y 5 años atrás, es que sabia como mecanizar metales con maquinas
manuales y tornos, y sobre todo tenia las herramientas correctas para diseñar una amquina.

This Instructable will show you how I built my CNC milling machine. I know a lot of CNC dreamers do not
have the knowledge or tools to build a full metal machine. I still think and hope this Instructable inspires
you to make your own machine. I include all of the necessary steps I went through in designing and
building this CNC milling machine. All of the drawings I used to build my machine will be available.

Este instructivo les mostrara como yo construe mi fresadora CNC. Se que muchas personas sueñan con tener
su maquina CNC, pero no tienen las herramientas o el conocimiento para construir una maquina enteramente
de metal. Espero que este intructivo los inspire a construir su propia maquina. He incluido todos los pasos
necesarios por los que pasé a travez del diseño y construcción de mi maquina CNC. Todos los dibujos que
usea para construir mi maquina están disponibles.

Step 1: The Design and CAD Model

Paso 1: El diseño y modelado en CAD
It all started with a proper design, in my case a few sketches to get a good feeling for the dimensions and
shape. Quickly after the sketching phase came the CAD model. I created my model in SolidWorks. If you
plan to design your own machine I recommend a parametric CAD-modeling tool. Your machine will most
likely have a lot of parts which have to fit together neatly, sometimes with some strange dimensions (for
example pre-ordered parts). After all the parts were modeled, technical drawings were made. I used
these drawings to machine all of the custom parts on the manual lathe and milling machine.

Todo comenzo con un diseño apropiado, en mi caso algunos bosquejos para familiarizarme con la forma y el
tamaño. Rápidamente, luego de los bosquejos, pase al modelado en CAD. Yo cree mi modelo en
SolidWorks. Si planean diseñar su propia maquina les recomiendo un software de modelado CAD
paramétrico. La mayoría de las partes de tu maquina deberán alinearse correctamente, algunas veces con
mediciones particulares (de piezas preordenadas). Luego de modelar todas las piezas, se pasa a dibujar los
planos y plantillas. Luego utilize estos dibujos para mecanizar todas las piezas con una fresadora manual o
un torno.

Since I'm a lover of good designed tools, I tried to make maintenance and the possibility to adjust things on
the machine as easy as possible. Bearings could have been integrated in the machine, but I chose to place
them in separate bearing blocks (in case it needs to be replaced in the future). Keeping your machine clean
is very important too, so guiderails are all accessible (in case of the x-axis by detaching some cover plates)

Como soy partidario de piezas bien diseñadas, trate de facilitar el mantenimiento y la posibilidad de ajustar
las partes de la maquina lo más fácil posible. Si bien los rodamientos pudieron estar integrados en la
maquina, opte en hacerlos por separado en bloques que los contengan (en caso de necesitar moverlos en el
futuro). Mantener la maquina limpia también es importante por lo que decidi mantener las guias y rieles
separados y con fácil acceso (en caso del eje x retirando algunas placas de cobertura).

De drawing above gives an overview of the main mechanical parts I will cover in this Instructable. I will of
course also cover the electrical part of the machine. A PDF with the main dimensions is also attached.

El dibujo mencionado abajo nos da una vista general de las piezas principales de las cuales hablare en este
instructive. También incluiré, obviamente, la parte eléctrica de la maquina. Se adjunta también un PDF con
las dimensiones generales de la maquina. En la carpeta encontraran un PDF cpn las dimensiones generales.

CNC_main dimension.pdf
Step 2: The Frame
The frame provides the machine a rigid basis, not only to place it in your workshop but also for working on.
To the frame the gantry will be mounted on sliding rails and later on a work surface. It also houses the
stepper motor and spindle for the x-axis. I constructed my frame from 2 Maytec 40x80mm profiles, 2
endplates (both 10 mm thick aluminium), 4 corner pieces and a square structural piece.

El cuadro le provee a la maquina una base rígida, no solo para posicionar la maquina en tu taller sino
también para tener una base sobre la cual trabajar. Al marco se ajustaran las guias lineales (las cuales
sujetaran el puente), y luego sobre el la superficie de trabajo. También contiene el el motor PAP y el sinfín
para el eje X. El cuadro lo construi con 2 perfiles de aluminio Maytec de 40x80mm, las dos placas de los
extremos (ambas de aluminio de 10mm), 4 refuerzos para las esquinas y 4 barras estructurales cuadradas.
All of the profiles are sawed right-angled and afterward milled exactly square. With the corner pieces a
heavy (well relatively lightweight; it's all aluminium) frame was bolted together. The square frame made
from the smaller profiles were mounted with 4 milled blocks (aluminium) on the inside of the Maytec
profiles.

Todos los perfiles fueron cortados al Angulo correspondiente y luegos escuadrados. Con las 4 piezas de las
esquinas se ensamblo un robusto (pero liviano porque a q fin de cuenstas es todo aluminio) cuadro para la
maquina todo atornillado. El otro cuadro de estructurales mas pequeños fue montado junto con los refuerzos
de esquinas en la parte interior del cuadro de Maytec.

Since the frame sits beneath the worksurface dust could fall down on the guiderails (you want to keep them
clean, more about that in step 5). To prevent this, dust covers were made and mounted around the
guiderails. A angular profile mounted with brass milled t-nuts onto the may tech frame and 2mm
aluminium plates mounted in the milled pockets on the endplates.

Como el cuadro se encuentra debajo de la superficie de trabajo, el polvo podria caer en las guias lineales
(deben mantenerse limpias, mas sobre eso en el capitulo 5). Para prevenir esto, se fabricaron coberturas
(guardapaolvos) y se montaron alrededor de las guias lineales. Se hicieron con perfil en angulo de aluminio
asegurados con tuercas planas en los canales de los perfiles Maytec y placas de 2mm de aluminio para tapar
los extremos.

On both endplates bearing blocks are mounted for the spindle. They were hand milled and lathed to the
right tolerances. On the front endplate mounting slots for the stepper motor were milled

En ambas placas de extremos, se colocan bloques que alojaran los rodamientos del sinfin. Fueron
mecanizados a mano y luego torneados para llegar a la tolerancia adecuada. En la placa frontal también se
mecanizaron las aberturas correspondientes al agarre del motor.

All of the dimensions are documented in the technical drawings below.

Todas las dimensiones estan documentadas en los dibujos tecnicos aqui debajo.

Bearingblocks.pdf Dusprofile.pdf Dustplates.PDF Endplate-frame.pdf T-nut(dustprofile).pdf

Endplate-frame (motormount).pdf Framebeam 320mm.PDF Framebeam.pdf Maytec.pdf
Mountingblocks internal.pdf
 Step 3: The Gantry

The gantry is the bridge between the x-axis guiderails and supports your milling motor above the workpiece.
The higher you make it, the thicker the workpiece can be. There is however a disadvantage of high
gantries. They work as levers on the guiderails and on the other hand the side plates tend to bend more
easily by making them longer.

El Puente unifica las guias del eje Y, contiene las guias del eje X y soporta el husillo sobre tu pieza de
trabajo. Cuanto mas alto sea el puente, mas gruesa puede ser tu pieza. Pero sin embargo existe una
desventaja con los puentes de gran altura. Se gueneras esfuerzos de palanca en las guias lineales sobre las
que trabaja, y por otro lado los paneles laterales largos son mas propensos a doblarse y perder su escuadra.

Most of the work I planned to do with the CNC involved milling aluminium parts. An average vise for the
machine would be 60 mm high. Since the thickest blocks of aluminium easily available for me would be
60 mm high as well, I chose to space between the work surface and the piece of metal, which could hit the
workpiece first, to be 125 mm. This gave me a starting point for the side plates. Since I wanted the
center of an end mill hovering over the center of the runnigblocks (from the machines side view), the side
plates had to be placed at an angle. Solidworks helped me to convert all of the measurements into the final
parts. Because of all the complex dimensions I decided to mill these parts on an industrial CNC mill, this
also gave me the opportunity to round all of the corners (would have been very hard to mill on a manual
mill).

The part which supports the y-axis guiderails is formed out of an 5mm thick U-profile. It is mounted
between the side plate with the help of two simple mounting blocks. On the inside the U-profile houses
the y-axis spindle. Which is again supported by the same bearing blocks used for the x-axis. They are
mounted on the outside of the side plates.

Beneath the main frame a plate was mounted on the underside of the gantry's side plates, giving a mounting
point for the x-axis spindle nut.

All of the dimensions are provided in the drawings below.

Gantry spindlenut-plate.pdf Sideplate Gantry.pdf U-profile Gantry.pdf.pdf U-profile support.pdf.pdf

Y-axis motormount.pdf

Step 4: Last Movement

The last movement is what I call the Stepermotorhousing for the z-axis (plus the z-axis itself of course). It
is constructed out of a frontplate mounted on the y-axis linear guiderails, 2 reinforcement plates, a motor
mount and a backplate. On the front plate 2 linear guiderails were mounted for the z-axis onto which the
Mountingplate for the milling motor was placed with the runner blocks.

The motor mount has the bearing for the z-axis spindle fitted into it. So I didn't use a bearing block for this
spindle and is only supported on the top. he lower end is floating behind the mounting plate for the milling
motor. The spindle nut for the Z-axis was directly bolted on the mounting plate for the milling motor.
The backplate provides a spot for the y-axis spindle nut to be mounted; it is mounted on the inside.

All of the custom mechanics are now ready. The CNC is assembled with the guiderails, spindles and a lot of
bolts ;-)

De drawings are again provided below.

KRESS-mount.pdf Y-axis nutplate.pdf Z-axis backplate.pdf Z-axis crossbeam.pdf

Z-axis guiderailplate.pdf Z-axis motorplate.pdf Z-plate (Kress).pdf
 Step 5: Guide Rails

Since your endmills need to move in 3 directions, the machine guides them with its guide rails. The guide
rails provides the machine its rigidity in all directions except the one it moves in. You want them to let
the machine only move in the preferred direction. Any backlash in other directions results in inaccuracies
in your workpieces.
On my machine I wanted to use guideways supported on the full length of the rail, reducing the risk for
deflections on the longer axes.
In my opinion some kitchen drawer slides are preferred above the hardened steel rods which are supported
on the end (yes! they will deflect). Since you are constantly fighting the forces from the endmills against
the material of the workpiece, a lot of support is recommended.
I chose the most expensive option; profiled linear guide rails with runner blocks. The are designed to
receive forces in all directions. In the third picture you can see the looping bearing balls, they are
positioned on both sides of the profile. All with a tangent 45 degree relative to each other, giving it the
ability to handle high loads.

To get all guiderails perpendicular and parallel to each other they were all aligned with a dial indicator (with
a maximum difference of 0,01 mm). If you spent your time on this part, the machine will perform very
well in accuracy!
Step 6: Spindles and Pulleys
The spindles translate the rotational movement from the stepper motors into a linear movement. When
building your machine, you can choose between three different version; leadscrews or ball screws, either in
metric or Imperial configuration. The main difference between leadscrews and ball screws is the accuracy
and friction. Leadscrews tend to have a lot more friction and are less precise than ball screws. If your
looking for a very accurate machine without any backlash, you should definitely consider ball screws.
However, they are relatively expensive!
I chose to use leadscrews with a special plastic drivenut which reduce friction and are approach a backlash
free system. You can order the drive nuts here: http://www.mixware.de/index.html\

Both the ends of the x- and y-axis have to be turned to size to fit the bearings, pulleys and clamping nuts.
Since the z-axis spindle is only supported on one and with a bearing, it is turned on only one side.

The pulleys are drilled to the turned shaft size (in my case 8 mm) and provided with a M4 setscrew
perpendicular to the shafthole.

The drawings below show the dimensions

LeadscrewX.pdf LeadscrewY.pdf LeadscrewZ.pdf

Step 7: Worksurface

The work surface is the place you will clamp your pieces of material on. On a lot of professional machine a
T-slotted bed is used, giving you the option the use T-nuts and bolts to clamp your materials or vices. I chose
to use a square piece of 18 mm birch-plywood on which a screw the materials and replace it when needed.
An affordable work surface! You could also use Mdf with anchor nuts and bolts. Try to avoid screws and
nails in Mdf, it doesn't grip them as good as a plywood board.

The work surface could be milled flat by the machine itself after you've completed it. Your first project :-)

Step 8: Electrical System

The main components in the electrical system are:

-Stepper motors

-Stepper drivers

-Powersupply (or 2)

-Breakoutboard

-Computer

-And last but not least: Safety first; a emergency stop ;-)

I chose to buy a complete set on Ebay with 3 Nema 23 stepper motors, 3 suitable drivers, a breakout board
and a 36 V power supply. I use a step down converter to convert the 36 volt DC into 5 Volt DC. You can
of course also put together your own set. Since I could not wait to sartup the machine I temporarily
mounted all the drivers and power supply on a open board. The enclosure is in the making.

Since a few years it is also possible to connect a CNC very easily via USB. The UBS-breakout boards on
the market generally come with their own software. I chose to use the parallel printer port found on most
older PC's. I do not intend to use a new computer in a room full of dust, oil and aluminium chips

Since I had a lot of difficulties in finding a proper scheme with the needed components, I tried to make
everything clear in the infographic above (you can also download the PDF and zoom in on the different
parts)
 Step 9: The Milling Motor

Since we want to remove material from the piece we clamp to the work surface, we need something that
drives the cutting bits; i.e. the endmills. The milling motor will spin the cutters at low or high speeds.
From a simple Dremeltool to a High frequency Spindle of several kWatts. For our machine size a Kress
spindle is very convenient to start with. If you want to improve your machine, a reliable Hf spindle will
please you. It all depents on the amount of money you can afford to spent on it.

Try to find something with the ability to use different sized collets.

Electric system.pdf
 Step 10: CNC Software

In the topic CNC software I'll discuss not only the program me that controls the machine, but also the
software which produces code the machine will understand.

When we make a workpiece on our computer, either flat or a 3D CAD (Computer Aided Design) model, we
need to convert it into something the machine will understand. With CAM (Computer Aided Machining)
we can read vectors and 3D models and create an output suitable (Gcode) for the software which controls the
machine. I'm allowed to use the professional software offered by my University

The software that controls the machine is a Gcode interpreter. When you use a USB-hub, as discussed in
Electrical system), it will have it's own software. If you use the parallel printer port on a older computer,
you can choose your own. I chose to use Mach3 since it it used by most hobbyists. You can find a lot
about it on forums and google. Since Mach3 has many options and functions, I won't explain them. Just
play with it and you'll discover its secrets :-)
Step 11: It's Alive!!!
Ones connected properly, hookup the power supply, it just works!! Start with some pieces of wood or
foam and you'll get used to the speeds and properties of your machine. The work above shows some of
the pieces I'm working on in aluminium. As you can see the machine is able to work very intricately.

Search for proper parts and take your time. I could have build the machine in a month, but because I had to
search for parts on Ebay etc., it took me half a year. This keeps the costs down of course, I was able to
build the machine for less then €1000,-

I hope the story encourages you to build your own CNC milling machine. Please feel free to contact me or
give a comment if you think something is missing.