I haven't worked out a lot of the design factors yet, still sorting through all the articles I've read so far.
My real goal is to make a small tabletop mill for making PCBs and to just get the experience from it. After that I might leave it together or scrap it for another project..
I know for sure I'll be using 6-wire nema 17 steppers, sparkfun stepper drivers and a pro-mini (that I might replace with a simple atmega8l once I can make a pcb for it :D)
Preferably a 1ft x 1ft working area (might increase it depending on the parts I find)
Will be using Mac so I might need to figure out something to do about running it...
Would be nice if later I could add an SD card slot to load the board data on instead of having it connected to the computer
@Joe0 so far i can find all kinds of ways to build the mechanical parts, its the communication to the electronics i want to use which are scarce to find info about -_-
@pe1br; the Zen 7x7 looks like my mental image for what id want mine to look like, it would probably be cheaper for me to cut my own frame....
Im just trying to find a lead on software now while i wait for the ordered hardware to ship (steppers, drivers, ftdi chip, etc)
if i wanted to attach an extruder like rewrap later on
Well not a lot of room on the Proxxon Miller for that.
It is big enough for PCBs but a bit small for a RepRap. I am in the process of making a RepRap at the moment and you do need a heated bed which the tiny MF70 will not accommodate.
well i wasn't exactly going to use the miller the guy used in that article, it just gave me a better idea of how to accomplish this with an arduino... to be honest theres a good portion of that setup i wouldn't exactly use that he has -_-
I just wanted to try and get an idea of if i can build the thing like a hybrid where it could in time be able to cut AND print
I have gone for the Mendel Prussa, with the universal mini extruder. It's all finished but the extruder is not quite calibrated yet. I haven't used a heated bed and I might have to get one. I tried to use ABS plastic but I think I should switch to PLA. I used the Teacup firmware and built a system using a ATmega 664 (not the 664P).
Ok i have most of the hardware already ordered and on the way
My next question is a good (free?) CAD/CAM software to run on the Mac thats somewhat easy to use, if that even fits with that kind of software which can be converted to g-code
Free well it depends om what you are doing.
Inkscape for 2D, engraving and preparing shapes. There are Gcode extensions.
OpenScad for 3D stuff, then that needs to be converted into gcode.
I think I'm sold on building a full fledge desktop CNC machine first and keep in mind that it will also take the parts to print parts too.
So i got the MyDIYCNC plans and will tweak the z axis to have room for a bed and extruder, then it'll be up to me and the internet to decide which direction to try with the controller....
Wouldn't happen to know the highest (z axis) the prusa mendal can make?? i've looked on the wiki but I'm still unsure (i know its whatever i really want it to be but i want to make sure I'm at least comparable to the prusa)
In APP there is a window of "Help and documentation" with more links and with more APPs that can you use like a little guide .... if you have a Android tablet or Android mobile.
