It is great to watch CNC machines perform different types of complicated tasks on their own, yet it is totally another thing to make such a machine by yourself. Learn about CNC DIY in this article
Introduction
The very mention of the word CNC machine or Computerized Numerical Control machine brings to mind very sophisticated images, and why not? Just take a look at pictures of some modern CNC machines which are used for various purposes in industry. Having thought of all this, the next thing that comes to your mind is that how can such a machine be made at home? Well believe me when I say that you can build your own CNC machine at home from simple, inexpensive parts which will just cost you a fraction of the real thing (the flip side is that it will also do a fraction of the work done by sophisticated CNCs available in the market). Yet that should not stop you from making your own dream machine at home and this is how you should proceed.
Modern CNC Machines
Why do I need one?
Don’t expect a home made machine to be anywhere near to what can be achieved using expensive commercial machines manufactured by big engineering companies; but if you are the adventurous type and like to do things by yourself, there is not reason you should not build this machine. Since CNC machines are used to perform any number of tasks, you need to ask yourself what your home made machine would be capable of doing.
Obviously you have to set simple goals e.g. you cannot say that my home made CNC should do all the household work, fix all mechanical problems in the house or go to pay your bills. I mean you could dream that big, but that would certainly require a much more knowledge that I could give you. As for the rest of the humbler folks feel free to read ahead.
We all like to engrave things on wood, plastic or metal and so one of things that you can expect your home made CNC machine is to do some simple two dimensional etching for you on such materials like plastic or wood.
Budget Consideration
Budget is one of the biggest restraints while making such household equipment. I think one main reason for this is that though we do not hesitate to spend big sums of money on equipment made by branded companies; we suddenly become misers and want that home made stuff should be appearing out of thin air. Of course I cannot teach you this magic but surely the machine I am suggesting should not cost you more than a couple of hundred dollars depending on how much stuff can you gather from your storehouse and how much do you need to procure from the second hand or first hand market.
So after having learnt so much about CNC and self made CNC machines, it is time that we take a look at a simple home CNC machine in the next article.
Image Credits
American Packaging Company Ltd
http://www.hasansoyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/cnc_milling_machine.jpg
Blue Melon Ltd