The new CNC router features a 1250x650x150 work surface, an all-aluminum design, a water-cooled spindle, and an industrial-grade CNC controller and VFD.
From the beginning of my CNC journey, I helped design and build many CNC routers for my friends, from plasma cutters with a 2400x1200x100mm work area to desktop CNC routers.
My last CNC router was a little desktop machine with a small work area that could fit nicely inside a small storage room in my old apartment.
Some of the earlier projects:
All those projects were small, cheap CNC routers with small work areas and few possibilities.
My last CNC was made from composite materials and had a small 1050W router motor.
It was time to design a new one. This time I wanted something bigger, better, stiffer, and much more powerful.
My key criteria were:
- Work Area 1250x650x150mm
- Aluminum Extrusion Profiles
- Ballscrews
- Closed Loop Stepper Motors with Encoder Feedback
- 2.2kW Water-Cooled Spindle Motor with VFD
- Better Controller
- Metal Case for Electronics
The design of this took me some time, as it is my hobby and I only worked on it in my spare time.
I used SolidWorks to design this machine.
The finished project was like this:
I first made production drawings of aluminum parts, which I sent to China for production.
Oh, BTW, if you look at the drawing, the parts I designed were not using 6061 aluminum but 2017A, which is an aerospace-grade aluminum alloy.
The accuracy and quality the Chinese manufacturer achieved were amazing.
The picture tells everything.
After receiving all the necessary parts, I started to assemble my new CNC router.
When the mechanics were almost done, it was time for the electronics.
I used a metal case with a size of 800x800x300mm.
This is how the finished electronics case looks. It took me 80-100 hours to finish, but I am very happy with the result.
Here is how the case fits inside the table.
This was a very fun project where I could use many of my 3D design & modeling, soldering, electronics design & configuration skills.
The new CNC router looks awesome and works fantastic.
