3D Printed 500x400mm Router CNC

First of all, I really doesn't like fuss and feathers. Because of that I put the useful area size in the Instructable’s title. The real machine size is around 740x740mm. So, be conscious that you will need some space to place this machine.

In the 2018 I has wandering on the internet when I saw the Router CNC from the Brazilian YouTuber Rodrigo Conrado. His project is called "Revolution 2". I fell in love right away! Unfortunately, in those days I wasn't able to make the polymer parts, but those days are gone: I have a DIY 3d Printer!!! Now I'm the king of the hill!!! And more than this, I have a GREAT trainee, a real DIY guy: Diogo Vieri Bolzan. Making this real is all his credit.

The main goal of this Instructable is to describe the assembly of the machine, since all parts are available in the Conrado’s web site "Atividade Maker" (sorry, it's in Portuguese). BTW, we redesign ALL the polymer parts in Autodesk Fusion 360 to make the assembly guide, so, you can ask me and I can send you the whole thing!

You may be asking yourself: "Does a 3D Printed 740x74mm sized Router CNC works properly???". Come with me to discover it!!! (in the time this introduction was written the CNC have milling not yet.)

I hope you enjoy this Instructables as much as I did!!!

Tips:

• Most of the parts was printed in PETg. I strongly recommend it because of the mechanical stress.
• Use as much as possible lock nuts. The router machine use to shake so much and standard nuts just run away.
• Since in this project all the plates are 3D printed in PETg, we decide to use standard washers, but you should use lock washers if your plates are made from some harder material.
• For this project we've just saved the Conrado's SketchUp files into STL format, sliced in Ultimalker Cura and printed. All the animations are made from the real assembly sequence. Our Fusion 360 files have been redesigned to allocate the lock nuts, simplifying the assembly for future makers. Oh, yeah!

As you will see during this Instructables, Diogo did an excellent job in the assembly animations, so, there is no much to say buy the parts needed in this step:

Assembly order:

1. Brass nut in the brass nut support; (first animation)
   • Main parts: Brass nut support (3D printed), brass nut.
   • Small parts: 4x M3x25 screws, 4x M3 washers and 4x M3 lock nuts.
2. Brass nut support in the Z baseplate; (second animation)
   • Main parts: Z axis baseplate, brass nut support assembled.
   • Small parts: 2x M5x25 screw, 4x M5 washers, 2x M5 lock nuts.
3. Pillow blocks in the Z baseplate; (third animation)
   • Main parts: Z axis baseplate, 4x pillow blocks.
   • Small parts: 16x M5x25 screws, 16x M5 washers
4. Router supports in the Z baseplate; (forth animation)
   • Main parts: Z axis baseplate, 2x router supports.
   • Small parts: 4x M5x35 screws, 4x M5 washers, 4x M5 lock nuts.

Resume parts:

Main parts:

• 1x Z axis baseplate (3D printed part)
• 1x Brass nut support (3D printed part)
• 2x Router support (3D printed part)
• 4x Pillows blocks 16 mm SC16UU
• 1x Brass nut (T8, Pitch 2 mm, Lead 2 mm)

Screws:

• 4x M3X25 mm
• 18x M5x25 mm
• 4x M5x35 mm

Washers:

• 4x M3
• 24x M5

Nuts:

• 4x M3 lock nuts
• 6x M5 lock nuts

Assembly order:

Part 1:

1. Pillow blocks in the X baseplate; (first animation)
   • Main parts: X axis baseplate (3D printed part), 4x pillow blocks.
   • Small parts: 16x M5x25 screws, 16x M5 washers
2. X axis motor in the X baseplate; (second animation)
   • Main parts: X axis baseplate (3D printed part), NEMA 23 motor with GT2 20 teeth pulley attached, 2x motor spacer (3D printed).
   • Small parts: 1x GT2 20 teeth pulley, 4x M5x50 screws, 4x M5 washers and 4x M5 lock nuts.
3. GT2 belt guide with 608zz bearing; (third animation)
   • Main parts: X axis baseplate from anterior Part 1.2.
   • Small parts: 4x 608zz bearing, 2x M8x50 screws, 2x M8 washers (std), 2x M8 lock washer, 2x M8 lock nuts, 2x M8 nuts (std).

You will make a sandwich in M8 screw with: washer(std) - nut(std) - 608zz - lock washer - 608zz - lock nut. Pay attention to hold gently tight and not lock the bearings.

IMPORTANT: You must pay attention at the motor's GT2 pulley and 608ZZ bearing alignments. Perhaps will be necessary to move a little the pulley to guarantee a satisfied alignment.

Part 2:

1. 608zz bearing into Z guides supports; (fourth and fifth animations)
   • Main parts: lower and upper Z guide supports (3D printed parts)
   • Small parts: 2x 608zz supports
2. Z axis assembly into X baseplate; (sixth animation)
   • Main parts: Z axis from Step 1, X baseplate form Step 2, Part 1, upper and lower Z axis support with 608zz bearings.
   • Small parts: 2x M5x35 screw (lower), 2x M5x65 screw (upper), 4x M5 washers, 4x M5 lock nuts, 2x shaft Ø16 mm x 300 mm, 1x T8 trapezoidal lead screw (300 mm, Pitch 2 mm, Lead 2 mm).
3. Z axis motor; (seventh animation)
   1. Main parts: Anterior Part 2.2, NEMA 23 motor, 8x8mm shaft coupler, Z axis motor support (3D printed part)
   2. Small parts: 2x M5x65 screws, 2x M5 washer, 2x M5 lock nut

Resume parts:

Main parts:

• 1x X axis baseplate (3D printed part)
• 1x Upper Z axis support (3D printed part)
• 1x Lower Z axis support (3D printed part)
• 1x Z axis motor support (3D printed part)
• 4x Motor spacer (3D printed part)
• 1x Z axis fully assembled from Step 1
• 2x NEMA 23 motor (recommended 2A min). I bought mine from a scrap seller.
• 4x Pillows blocks 16 mm SC16UU

Small parts (or not so small...):

• 1x GT2 20 teeth pulley
• 6x 608zz bearing
• 2x shaft Ø16 mm x 300 mm
• 1x T8 trapezoidal lead screw (300 mm, Pitch 2 mm, Lead 2 mm)
• Shaft coupler 8mm to 8mm. Your can be different depending on your motor shaft. It's common to be 5mm shaft.

Screws:

• 2x M5X35 mm
• 16x M5x25 mm
• 4x M5x50 mm
• 4x M5x65 mm
• 2x M8x50 mm

Washers:

• 4x M3
• 26x M5
• 2x M8 std
• 2x M8 lock

Nuts:

• 4x M3 lock nuts
• 12x M5 lock nuts
• 2x M8 lock nuts
• 2x M8 nuts (standard)

Assembly order:

1. Pillow blocks;
   • Main parts: Left and right Y baseplates (3D printed part), 4x pillow blocks.
   • Small parts: 16x M5x25 screws, 16x M5 washers.
2. Y axis motors; (first animation)
   • Main parts: Left and right Y baseplates (3D printed part), 2x NEMA 23 motor, 4x motor spacer (3D printed part).
   • Small parts: 2x GT2 20 teeth pulley, 8x M5x50 screws, 8x M5 washers and 8x M5 lock nuts.
3. GT2 belt guide with 608zz bearing; (second animation)
   • Main parts: Left and right Y axis baseplates from item 2.
   • Small parts: 8x 608zz bearing, 4x M8x50 screws, 4x M8 washers (std), 4x M8 lock washer, 4x M8 lock nuts, 2x M8 nuts (std).
4. Shaft support; (third animation)
   • Main parts: Left and right Y axis baseplates from item 3.
   • Small parts: 4x SHF16 shaft support, 8x M5x25 screws, 8x M5 washers, 8x M5 lock nuts.
5. X axis assembly into Y baseplates; (fourth animation)
   • Main parts: X axis from Step 2, Left and right Y baseplate form item 4.
   • Small parts: 2x shaft Ø16 mm x 560 mm.
6. Y axis shafts; (fifth animation)
   • Main parts: The whole thing from item 5.
   • Small parts: 2x shaft Ø16 mm x 700 mm

Resume parts:

Main parts:

• Left and right Y baseplates (3D printed part)
• 4x motor spacers (3D printed part)
• 4x Pillows blocks 16 mm SC16UU
• 2x NEMA 23 motor (recommended 2A min). I bought mine from a scrap seller
• X axis from Step 2

Small parts:

• 2x GT2 20 teeth pulley
• 8x 608zz bearing
• 4x SHF16 shaft support
• 2x shaft Ø16 mm x 560 mm
• 2x shaft Ø16 mm x 700 mm

Screws:

• 24x M5x25 mm
• 8x M5x50 mm
• 4x M8x50 mm

Washers:

• 32x M5
• 4x M8 std
• 4x M8 lock washers

Nuts:

• 16x M5 lock nuts
• 4x M8 std
• 4x M8 lock nuts

Assembly order:

1. Frame assembly; (first assembly)
   • Main parts: 4x 560mm 4040 aluminum profile, 2x 700mm 4040 aluminum profile, 2x left base baseplate (3D printed part), 2x right base baseplate (3D printed parts).
   • Small parts: 8x L type brackets, 24x M5x16 screw, 24x M5 T hammer nut
   • IMPORTANT: Leave the base baseplates loose for the Y shaft assembly.
2. Shaft supports; (second animation)
   • Main parts: Frame from Item 2.
   • Small parts: 4x SHF16 shaft support, 8x M5x25 screws, 8x M5 washers, 8x M5 lock nuts.
3. Final assembly; (third animation)
   • Frame from Item 2, whole Y from Step 3.
4. One last thing: bean; (fourth animation)
   • Finally, you must install a bean to make the Y axis more rigid. In my case, I get 2x 1x2" wood batten and screw it directly in the Y baseplates (and one each other)

Yeah!!! Now you have the hardware!!!! Lets finish all mechanical with the belts and sacrifice plate.

Resume parts:

Main parts:

• 4x 560mm 4040 aluminum profile
• 2x 700mm 4040 aluminum profile
• 2x left base baseplate (3D printed part)
• 2x right base baseplate (3D printed parts)

Small parts:

• 8x L type brackets
• 4x SHF16 shaft support

Screws:

• 24x M5x16 mm
• 8x M5x25 mm

Washers:

• 8x M5

Nuts:

• 8x M5 lock nuts
• 24x M5 T hammer nut

Assembly order:

This is the beginning of fine-tuning the machine. Please, don't be sad if you have to disassembly one o more times some parts, it's very common to find the BEST alignment ever!!!! I used to say that "The more you assembly and reassembly your DIY machine, more confident you get for future repair and upgrades." If you got perfect in the first time, probably 6 months later repair will be a headache!

1. Measure the belts:
   • You will need a little less than 3 m of GT2 belt. You must measure the whole path the belt will go through, from one side passing through the belt guide - motor pulley - belt guide, to the other side, and add more 10 to 15 cm. As you can see in the pictures, some belt left over each side.
   • For me: 1x 90 cm (for X) and 2x 1 m (for Y)
2. Make sandwich: (first and second animations)
   • Main parts: 3m GT2 belt, 6x mobile belt clamps (blue 3D printed parts)
   • Small parts: 12x M3x20 screws, 12x M3 nuts.
3. Fasten the belt! The procedure is the same for all 3 belts: X axis and 2x Y axis
   • Main parts: 3x GT2 belt with sandwich, 3x steady belt clamps (green 3D printed parts),
   • Small parts: 6x M4x25 screws, 6x M4x35 screw, 14x M4 lock nuts, 6x M4 washers.
     1. Fasten the belt in one side with the green steady belt clamps and M4x25 screws
        • (it doesn't really matter which side you chose)
        • (PS: Thanks God I printed the "steady" and "mobile" clamps in different colors. Much easier to explain!)
     2. Assembly the mobile clamp with the M4x35 screws. Pay attention the belt should be short enough to the sandwich don't touch the Y baseplate and long enough for the screw M4x35 pass through it. Find the exact point could be challenger.
     3. Fast the belt by hold tight the M4x35 screws. Once again, you should be gentile in tightening to don't rip the belt. Believe me, it's better a little looser than tight too much.

Resume parts:

Main parts:

• Whole machine
• 3m GT2 belt
• 6x "mobile" belt clamp (3D printed parts - blue in pictures)
• 3x "steady" belt clamp (3D printed parts - green in pictures)

Screws:

• 12x M3x20 mm
• 6x M4x25 mm
• 6x M4x35 mm

Washers

• 6x M4

Nuts:

• 12x M3
• 14x M4 lock nuts

For the electronic we used around 30 meters of 24 AWG wires, several colors, to wire up all end stops and motors. Let's start!

Assembly order:

Part 1: End stops

• Main parts: 3x NO end stops (believe or not, scrap from an old microwave), 2x L type support (3D designed and printed part)
• Small parts: various screws to fix the end stops to the baseplates, soldering iron e it's stuff.

We decide to put our end stops at the minimum of each axis (perhaps because the expertise with 3D printers). I personally recommend putting in the maximum, but there are no right nor wrong.

Part 2: Arduino Uno + CNC Shield

• Main parts: Arduino Uno clone, CNC shield V1.3, 4x A4988 drivers, power supply 12V 10A, an old ATX for the housing.
• Small parts: various screws to fix the Arduino into it's housing, some jumpers

The Arduino + CNC shield + A4988 is a very very common and documented way to control this kind of machine. We've followed two Brazilian YouTubers in this task:

Rodrigo Conrado, our inspiration.

Marlon Nardi, a really inspiring Youtuber. (my first CNC was one of his projects)

Part 3: The case (from an old ATX)

Firs of all, we disassemble and trow out the ATX electronics. After that, we just position the Arduino, marked and made the holes to fit a M3 screw. We used some pneumatic tubes as spacers. There are nothing specials, and you can see more details in the picture.

As a cooling improvement, we drilled a huge hole (from several small ones) on the top of the ATX and installed a second cooler outside the case. One picture say more than a thousand of words.

Part 4: Relay Module

Finally, to control the router on/off we positioned, marked and made the holes for a relay module available in my workshop. Any model will work. Mine is this: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32845156725.html?s...

The module wiring as the CNC shield wiring can be found in the listed videos but you can find a thousand of better sources.

Part 5: The Router.

We decided to change the original router's power cable for a piece of standard power cable. So it's guiltless to me to cut and tie as much as necessary. PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS ONLY UNLESS YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE DOING. RISK OF DEATH!!!! I'm an electrical engineer and have more than 20 year of experience in these things.

After that, we just wire up the router according to the schematic available on the listed videos, and now our router is powered on/off though command lines!

Once more there are infinite sources on the internet for this step. some of the bests:

• GRBL version we choose: https://github.com/gnea/grbl/releases/tag/v1.1f.20...

• Configuration manual: https://github.com/gnea/grbl/wiki/Grbl-v1.1-Config...

We believe this little tips could help:

• Inside Config.h, be sure to comment VARIABLE_SPINDLE. It´s necessary to "enable" Zmin end stop. Why? Because the physical connection in the CNC shield V1.3 is the Uno digital pin 11, and when VARIABLE_SPINDLE are enabled the code change the pin to release a PWM pin (the 11) for control spindle rotation.

#ifdef VARIABLE_SPINDLE // Z Limit pin and spindle enabled swapped to access hardware PWM on Pin 11. <br>   #define Z_LIMIT_BIT	   4 // Uno Digital Pin 12 
#else 
   #define Z_LIMIT_BIT    3  // Uno Digital Pin 11 
#endif

• Below our Universal G-code Sender Machine->Firmware parameters:

$0	10
$1	25
$2	0
$3	0
$4	0
$5	0
$6	0
$10	19
$11	0.010
$12	0.002
$13	0
$20	0
$21	0
$22	1
$23	3
$24	1800.000
$25	1800.000
$26	250
$27	1.000
$100	20.000
$101	20.000
$102	400
$110	6000.00
$111	8000.00
$112	600
$120	40.000
$121	80.000
$122	10.000
$130	400.000
$131	500.000

My name is Guilherme Maximiliano Reichert Negri, I'm a 36 years old electrical engineer, with master degree in electromagnetic. I live in a very small town (25,000 population) in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Since 2018 I started to work with Arduino and 3D printers as a hobby. In this path I made one CNC (from YouTuber Marlon Nardi) and my #foreverlove Prusa-Mendel i2 (it's working right now to finish a 2,000 order COVID faceshield - designed by myself). I started a 3D Printer's shop called iMaginum3D - https://www.imaginum3d.com.br/ - during the pandemia, with no perspectives but instincts to help. Together with Winissius Luiz Janczeski - founding partner - we donate more than 1,300 Faceshields Prusa Style to hospitals and health professionals in our region.

Since the beginning of the year I was looking for a high school talent to teach as much as possible I know in order to grow up the tech in my region. My prayers were heard: Diogo Vieri Bolzan appears and starts to assembly this 2 years old CNC project, with almost every part bough or printed but all in a box. The most incredible, he doesn't know Fusion 360 until one month ago!!!! (today, 09.14.2020) I just show him one our class of the software and ALL the rest he did by himself. The animations, all his merit! Unbelievable and very satisfying!!! It's my pleasure to say he knows more Fusion 360 than I do!

This is our first Instructables and, as I said in the very begging, I really doesn't like fuss and feathers. I'd like to share our story as inspiration for other makers like Diogo and me.