February 2008
Note – I have produced a publication based on the development of this machine, entitled To err is almost human.
It is one thing to make things, but another to make something that itself makes other things. That is what I have tried to do here. Inspired by the amazing achievements of the RepRap project, I built my own three-dimensional CNC positioning system, mainly. using parts from old typewriters and inkjet printers.
I was very impressed with the electronics and firmware used by the RepRap printer, which make use of the Arduino experiment board to interface to the computer. The Arduino has an on-board microcontroller which means a lot of the timing and control can be done by the machine, rather than the computer. I have made use of the same electronics as RepRap (including PCB’s purchased from the RepRap Research Foundation (RRRF) Store).
This project has been ongoing for a while now, and has progressed quite well. It can draw very effectively, and I have recently started some experiments carving Styrofoam. The next step will be wood and possibly aluminium, although this would really be testing the strength of the thing.
As well as this, I have learned a lot though the process of building this machine. I intend to use this knowledge in the future to continue building similar, better machines. In fact, it should be possible to use this (version 1) machine to make some of the parts for the next generation.
Of course hardware is not so much use without an appropriate control program, so I have also written some software to control it. This can be found at my G-code for RepRap page.
Carving cube man
Three-axis CNC robot drawing test