"New" cheap CNC concept: MASLOW CNC

[DKchris]

Have you guys seen THIS!

http://www.maslowcnc.com/

I cannot be the only one to whom the combination of this basic concept and DKJ4Linux's needle foam cutter in a "2.5-axis" setup, perhaps with some simple servo based solution to lift the needle unit just off the surface, and sized down to fit handle cutting a sheet of foam or DTF, just seems to jump right out at me??!!

1) It'll be fairly cheap; ought to be possible with just a pair of NEMA17's on the corners of a sheet of plywood, and their chain drive can probably be exchanged for a cord setup or something. Looks to be simple to build as well.

2) The vertical/plate shaped solution means it'll take up far less space in your Hobby space than pretty much all other solutions I've seen so far, both in use and storage.

3) There's a full open source project behind it, and they actually state the concept is scalable, so I've got a strong hunch both the arduino firmware and the "Ground Control" interface they are using/providing will be directly usable. They use this "Ground Control" interface to setup all the dimensíons of the construction, so it might not even be neccesary to do much in the shape of code modification to get going. Neat if true.(Does look like a servo based Z-axis isn't supported though....there might be other good solutions for this....)

(I've called it "New" in the title because I've seen this mechanical concept used before; But not supported like this!)

Right now I'm honestly bordering on being bugged I've already got another CNC project coming! I will however have to finish that before I consider any other CNC project....I'm just too far in by now.

 

[Balu]

I have looked into plotters with this design to draw on foamboard. The problem is that the deviation get's a lot bigger the closer you get to the edges of the board. It's a fun thing itself, but I wouldn't trust it with precise work.

 

[rockyboy]

a) That's a good reason to build it bigger than the expected work surface size.

b) I don't think there is anything about foam board airplanes that's terribly precise

 

[DKchris]

Very true on b); Once you have printed out the plans, taped them together more or less flat/straight (Usually less), transferred the outlines to the foam with needles/markers/whatever and gouged them out with a halfdull knife and shaking hands, they still seem to go together fairly nicely (with a bit of pursuasion) and end up flying surpricingly well...? Well, the ones I've made have, anyway.

You actually dont need to make the board bigger to improve accuracy....you just have to move the motors out and up. Maybe hang them from the ceiling and then just have a separate board to be set up for the foam and router unit to rest on. As long as the positions can be refound accurately enough, this should work ok.

 

[Balu]

This just appeared in my subscription feed:

 

[DKchris]

They deserve the attention.

 

[FoamBored]

Yes! Please someone try this!

I saw the Maslow demo and instantly thought of DTFB cutting!

Please someone, try this and report back here, or better yet, publish an article on FT so we can try it too!