3D printed CNC Mill

So you have made a 3D printer and I would guess fallen in love with making things.

why not trying to make this 3D printed CNC?

So what do you print with your new printer , well I suppose once you have made all the plastic parts that made up your 3d printer and you are happy with the quality of the spares you want to move on to something different , and here it is a 3D printed CNC Mill in which you can engrave all sorts of things like acrylic , wood , and maybe engrave your own pcb’s , now that has got to be a great addition to your workshop.

So where do you start – Well a lot of searching about brought me to the item below.

This mill is designed that most of the parts  can be 3D printed. Its design to be modular so you can easily change the size of the machine by changing either the sides or the front and back plates. Its accurate enough to cut and drill circuit boards, and small enough to fit in the boot of your car.

Almost any good CNC software can be used, but for a beginner I would recommend Easel it is very easy to use and is plug in an play.

I used an UP printer using ABS plastic, and there is a common problem with most printers is that they print holes around 1-2% undersize, so the the holes for the bearings, bolts and nut has been drawn little oversize to compensate. I cant predict how they will fit with other types of printers or materials.

The sides and back are made with 2 layers of 3mm acrylic which can be laser cut if you have access to a laser cutter. Alternatively you could print the DXF files full size and cut and drill the material by hand.

• The finished sizes of the machine are Z axis (up down) 50mm X axis (left right) 275mm Y axis (forward back) 170mm

• Outside dimensions are 400mm wide, 400mm deep and 300mm high.

• What you need to make this
• The 3D printed parts

I use core electronics for most of the electrical items as they provide a very quick service, but Ebay or your local jaycar or radioshack should also have most of these items. The fastens from core come in packs of 10 with nuts. Some of the parts, such as the threaded rod and bright steel rod is just easier and cheaper to go to local hardware or engineering supply than to find them on the internet.

Just a note on the rods, You could use “bright” “ground” “stainless” or “chrome” rod there is a big difference in price with bright begin the cheapest and the most likely to be delivered bent, rusty and damaged, so check before you hand over you cash. If your like me and pull things apart you may be able to scavenge some of the parts to keep the cost down, chrome rod is commonly used in printers and photo copiers, and old laptop charger and a cordless drill motor also found new life in this project. In addition you will need around 520 grams of abs filament to print all of the parts

No Laser cutter ?

If you are in the US you can purchase a kit from AlexCphoto. He has redesigned the 3D printed parts so they look a little different but the fit on the laser cut sides without modification. So have a look at his work on step 30 and Look out for his helpful tips and advise in the comment section.

Alex now has an Ebay shop so 3D printed parts are available here.

If you are in the UK I can help you get everything you need

Neon Green 3D parts

Black 3D parts

Links to the parts
10 Pcs 40 Pin Headers – Straight
40 Pin Break Away Male Header- Right Angle-10 Pcs
Breadboard-friendly 2.1mm DC barrel jack
Arduino Uno R3
Dupont Wire 20cm Female / Female 100pcs Pack
Stepper motor – 200 steps/rev, 12V 350mA
Stripboard – Large
10 sets M3 * 30 hexagonal standoffs mounting kit
10 sets M3x16 screw low profile hex head cap screw
10 sets M3x20 screw low profile hex head cap screw
10 sets M3x25 screw low profile hex head cap screw
10 sets M3x30 screw low profile hex head cap screw

10 sets M3 * 6 nylon screws

Fly nuts

Heat Shrink Pack

Mesh cable guide

DC motor You can also get these from a cordless drill or photo copier

This hardware was from ebay.
linear bearings 8mm
linear bearings 12m
Mini chuck
CNC-5mm-x-8mm-Stepper-Motor-Jaw-Shaft-Coupler

Easy driver board

608 bearings

5V 2-Channel Relay Module 10A

List of fastens. I’ve try to be as accurate as possible… I’m not that good at counting, But the list should be very close to the amount you need.

Some Instructable members have reported that the 3mm and 8mm brass nuts don’t fit. You need to also have the correct spanner size nuts. The 3mm has a 6mm spanner size and the 8mm has a 13mm spanner size. (as measured across the flats)

• M8x1.25 Brass Nuts X 6

• M8x1.25 Steel Nuts X 62
• M8 Flat Washes X 24
• M8x1.25 Threaded rod 420mm long X6
• M8x1.25 Stainless Threaded rod 420mm long X2
• M8x1.25 Stainless Threaded rod 130mm long X1
• M3 6mm nylon stand-offs X14
• M3 10mm stand-offs X6
• M3 30mm stand-offs X18
• M3 Nuts X192
• M3 Washes X85
• M3 6mm bolts X8
• M3 10mm bolts X24
• M3 15mm bolts X44
• M3 20mm bolts X38
• M3 25mm bolts X20
• M3 30mm bolts X20
• You will also need
  • 12mm bright or ground bar 400mm long X4
• 8mm bright or ground bar 110mm long X2
• Laptop charger at least 4 amps again ebay can help this one works well19V 6.3A FOR TOSHIBA PA-1121-04 LAPTOP AC ADAPTER SUPPLY CHARGER
• 10x10x10x1.6mm U channel aluminium 400mm X4
• 0.8mm x 8mm sheet metal 400mm X4
• Some members have reported that the STL files are not working correctly, they seem to be corrupt form some servers. Try downloading the mill zip folder or getting the files from thingiverse
  • There is a very long and exhaustive build document here , complete with lots of pictures including the arduino files and grbl setup.
  • If you have any problems building this let me know and I will try to help.
  • Download Files
  • See you next time