CNC

Computer Numerical Control.

The Holy Grail for hobby machinists. Or not, if you actually enjoy sitting around for hours turning a crank.

This page serves as a hub for all things CNC-related.

Current Event!!

Cardinal Engineering in Galesburg, IL is hosting the first second and small shop owners, june 15-21 2006. This is the _only_ show in town for hobby/DIY CNC enthusiasts. Be there or else you're gonna miss it!!!
http://www.cnc-workshop.com/ (official site)

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CNC Theory

steppers
servos

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Mechanical designs:

hexapod - machine tool of the future
127K9720 motor mounts
roller_screws - backlash-free, high efficiency, DIY ballscrew substitute

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Electrical/optical designs:

oldcrap_bus - use one parallel port to control 16 devices - deprecated. see motherchip instead
iskewb modular servo motor driver
PWM h-bridge circuit, suitable for up to 36V and 10A or so brushed DC servos.

encoders - homebrew encoders and recommendations on commercial units

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Software related:

EMC is a very nice, free, linux machine control software suite that is used by hobbyists and industrialists alike.
http://www.linuxcnc.org

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CNC Projects:

What do I do with a CNC machine once I build it?

make some lostfoam castings
cut some circuit boards
brag to your friends
take pictures and send it to me fenn

Links:

If you are one of the poor souls who bought the very nice sanyo denki brushless servos from surplus center, you should have a look at the board icee designed to control them...
http://www.lyle.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ServoController

modular, open-source motor driver/controller PCB designs and artwork:
http://pminmo.com/

EMC website's links page:
http://linuxcnc.org/links.html

Tim Goldsteins' page - converting a Shoptask to CNC, homebrew ballscrew, emc specific info, and other good info.
http://www.ktmarketing.com/CNC.html

A Yahoo group that has been suggested elsewhere.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO/

A big mess of CNC-related links, very outdated & busted.
http://www.mendonet.com/cnclinks/