![]() I've also frequently mocked up styrofoam stock material and run the entire toolpath through that, which can be very helpful, but again, not definitive. There can often be errors such as defaults that are bad in some situation that create a lead-in/out that tries to clear the tool, but actually digs the full length of it into the solid material, and this might not be noticed in the simulation. Most decent CAM software has at least some simulation routines, which is helpful, but definitely not definitive. Probing routines and careful selection of Work Coordinate Systems can help verify/eliminate some of these unknowns at runtime, but it's still no guarantee that the part will come out right. If there's a bug in your post-processor that generates gcode or if it doesn't perfectly match your machine configuration, you're going to crash.Įven if you use a simulation tool like Vericut or NCSIMUL, which both simulate using the actual gcode, the physical machine settings may be out of sync, or there could be a wrong piece of stock material loaded or some foreign object (a wrench) that causes a crash. There's a lot that can go wrong, and it's too much work & tech integration for most shops to make the investment.Įven if you have the 3D models for everything involved: tooling, tool holders, stock material, fixtures, CNC machine, along with the instructions for the movement of all of it, there are still many opportunities for both configuration errors and runtime crashes.įor instance, CAM tools usually simulation axis movements only, before they've been converted to gcode/NC. The Maslow project is especially clever and very useful, since it can make furniture-sized wood parts on a low-cost machine. There are some far better open source CNC wood router designs. Trying to make a machine tool from low-end 3D printer parts does not work very well. ![]() Absolute minimum is a Shop-Vac sucking dust from the cutting area. Any CNC router doing useful work generates sawdust in huge quantities, much more dust than hand woodworking. If the stepper motors are not dust-tight, they also need dust protection. Also, enclose the electronics in something that will keep the dust out. You can take off the handles, leaving a motor cylinder that can easily be clamped. ![]() A Bosch router from Home Depot works much better. The bearings can't take side loads for long, either. ![]() The motor isn't constant speed, slows way down under load, and can overheat. Using a Dremel tool as a CNC router never works very well. This article is about very low end CNC, just 2D routing. ![]()
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March 2023
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