DIY CNC Machine

Modified PrintNC

​My 4'x4' CNC is heavily influenced by the PrintNC open source project. However, while I was influenced by the PrintNC, I decided to design my version from the ground up so I could make some changes. Each red plastic piece on this machine is a component that I designed and 3D printed at home. I use LinuxCNC as the control software.

This CNC has rectangular steel tubing for the frame, which makes the machine much more rigid than my first CNC, described below. It also uses high-torque Nema 23 stepper motors, ball screws, and linear rails.

The most recent addition is a redone DIY electronics cabinet and a tool-setter switch at the back left corner.

Some further upgrades I want to complete include:

  • Replace some wooden and 3D printed pieces with aluminum pieces milled by my own machine

  • Clean up some of the wiring underneath the table

  • Add a 4th axis for rotary machining

1st DIY CNC - MPCNC

The first DIY CNC I made was a Mostly Printed CNC (MPCNC) in winter 2019 from a popular low-cost design published online. It uses timing belts, Nema 17 stepper motors, electrical conduit tubing for the frame, and 3D printed parts for many of the joints.

After I put it together and played with it a bit, I recognized that the design had some inherent disadvantages that made it less desirable for the types of cutting I wanted to do. I immediately started working on a new custom design, and went through several iterations while taking advice from other custom CNC creators online.