MY CNC Project

Huh... Ok, this entry i put it in english so that all people around the world could read and get benefit from reading it. For Bahasa, maybe i put another entry if i'm not lazy la...

Fuhh... ok, for starter, CNC is computer numerical control which you can control the position of a work piece/cutting tool automatically. There are many type of CNC equipment and mostly know is cnc milling and turning(lathe) and a lot of DIY (Do it yourself) instruction over the internet. I love CNC so much because my first job was CNC engineer!!! and I enjoy Programming subject the most.

Actually, there are a lot of CNC equipment in the market nowadays but the price cost thousands RM5-6 k (for mini CNC mill)..click here (Malaysian Product) in RM but according to my friend (Mr. Google), there are a lot of backyard DIY instruction saying the total cost is less than hundreds USD..huh...very interesting... and i thought that i can produce one DIY CNC lathe below than RM1k and let see the results later on. The problem is, some of the equipment not available/manufactured in Malaysia such as stepper Motor and special bearings.
In this post, i'm going to share my experience on my own DIY project for CNC lathe (2 axis only). There are three parts:

1. Mechanical Parts.
2. Electrical Parts.
3. Software Parts.

Mechanical Part

X-Y mini side table (the cheaper on), around (USD 140-210 ) + shipping (USD40-80) + Money transfer cost (Moneygram/Western Union/Paypal)+ custom taxes OR you can try to find it in Malaysia which is difficult to obtain...If you can do so, put some comment below

 expensive

 cheaper

or by DIY X-Y slide table/cross table but you need the following things

1. Linear bearing (cheap one, RM15-30, expensive RM 35-50) depend on size and grade..maybe not required... depend on your sliding design)
2. Radial bearing ( cheap one RM 2-4, expensive RM 10-20) depend on size and grade
3. flexible coupling (using just rubber hose and hose clip) - cheap. less than RM10... good one is expensive (RM 20-50)
4. full thread rod (cheapest), lead screw (cheaper), ball screw ( expensive)
5. The table structure ( Maybe RM 100 or more )
6. Guide shaft, solid rod difficult to find in regular hardware store... (Maybe RM 50)
7. Bolt and Nuts (a lot) (RM30)
8. The cutter, chuck, tool post, clamp (lathe equipment),etc (RM 200-300), DIY or find any used parts.
9. Machine and expertise
10. Patience and Passion..

(Bearings i bought from SLS bearings (any branch in Malaysia), for Lead screw and linear bearing, I bought from SLS bearings, Petaling Jaya. I did not buy any leadscrew (RM80-100++, depend on size and length, from my survey at SLS @ball screw), but full thread screw from Central Bolt and Nuts, Kuantan (because i live here) and allen key bolt as well (allen key bolt also difficult to find in any regular hardware store)

I shall update my sliding table later on once it is finished. Still gathering the materials though.

The Electrical part

1. Stepper motor (cheaper but some said no feedback) or Servo motor ( expensive but with feed back)... But for me, due to money constraint, i buy steepper 0.9 Nm (enough for mini) 56mm size from myduino.com  for RM150 and including the driver (Easydriver) for RM50... but i think i can get cheaper one but i was so hasty (Sekarang dah jumpa yang murah..mintak maaplah incik myduino)

2. The power supply (adjustable is better), Around Rm 200-400, depend on the brand and capability.. cheap one also can be bought but for fixed current only. Refer to the motor specification first before buying these power supplies. (Actually adapter 12V pon ok, cari kat kedai hardware dan kalau korang asal KUANTAN, COWBOY sesuai cari, RM11Jer)

3. Arduino Uno R3 ( Because i want to use Arduino to control the CNC lathe) or any controller available in the market. (The brain of CNC)

4. DC motor for spindle turning or sewing machine motor (controllable)

Some of the parts in CNC

The software part

My case using arduino software

or any CAD/CAM software for example

1. before machining, you must know the model. There are a lot of software for product design such as AutoCad, Solidworks, Unigraphics, etc but these are non free software (CAD software), if you want freeware, you might want to try google sketchup or any software you already know.
2. Once the model finished, using CAM software such as MasterCAM, CAM BAM,, to translate into G codes ( i love this) or FREEMILL (Free software - CAD and CAM)
3. CNC control software, control using computer or ARDUINO

Method 1&2, you can do it using conventional method if the part to be milled/lathed is very easy (old school method)

Thats it for now... once finished, i shall upload my project