Then you finally get out into the shed and you mostly stand watching the machine (you can’t leave it unlike 3DPrinter). I think if I had a larger workspace, I would prefer a table saw/router table/big workbench setup instead of the CNC – maybe. Perhaps have a 60W laser engraver too.
I'd disagree with that to some extent. I have a mid range CNC and that can be left happily. I've got a webcam on it but its generally pretty reliable. I also quite like that I can do something else in the workshop so effectively getting two jobs for the time of one. Occasionally I'll get the power feed going on the lathe too, so three jobs at once. In terms of actual doing stuff its a lot less work. With outlines, slots and bolt holes all cut true the assembly stage is super quick. A track saw pretty much removes the need for a table saw, too. I would like a proper laser cutter for metal plates but that is a whole of another level.
You can definitely do something else in the same space, but my CNC is my workbench, so then I've just got a couple of sqm floor space for track sawing. All a bit tight, plus the vacuum is always being used on the cnc.
Neeeeeeed Mooooooor Spaaaaasss
appreciate it's probably out-of-budget for hobby use (although in the same ballpark as a top of the range Santa Cruz or eBike! so maybe not!) but I've been eyeing up a Yeti Smart Bench CNC for work use as we're pretty short on space - approx £5k, does 8' x 4' sheets and can be packed away very easily. The price is not bad at all considering the above, don't think there's actually anything else comparable - it's quite new though so I'm still trying to filter through all the info/opinions (some people seem to have had great success with it, others no end of trouble!) Manufacturer seems very responsive on the FB group tho.
AlexSimon
Full MemberNeeeeeeed Mooooooor Spaaaaasss
It's always the way.
In our old house, we had a large-ish shed & no garage. It was cramped for bikes, garden stuff & camping kit, but worked OK.
When we moved to this house, one of the stipulations was that it had to have a garage - preferably a double, but that was pushing it a bit so was happy to settle on a single.
Now the garage is stuffed to the gills and I look at my mate's double garage with envy 🙂
I fitted stepper dampers on the X & Y axis of my 3-D printer last week - I can't believe the difference in noise levels. I also swapped the hotend fan for a Gelid 4 silent fan which I was a bit concerned wouldn't be strong enough and lead to heat-creep but I've done a few prints since & have had no issue.
To further reduce noise, I've since bought:
- 60mm fan (Gelid 6 Silent) for the PSU and am planning on removing the poorly designed grilles on the PSU case & bottom of the control box.
- 50mm fan (Gelid 5 Silent) as a direct swap for the control board one
- 50mm fan (same as above) to replace the 40mm one that exhaust the control box. This will need a bit of dremelling. I have also made a fluted duct to stick on the back to try & soften the airflow. I don't think it will make any difference in reality, but it looks nice.
- I bought some 2mm adhesive foam that I am going to line the control box with to stop it vibrating
- Finally I got some conical anti-vibration feet that I am going to mount on a thick piece of MDF (18mm, I think). I'm tempted to double up on the thickness by gluing 2 pieces together to add some mass.
I can't help but feel I'm going OTT with this 🙂 but given the fact my printer is in my "office" and I often want to print while working, I see making it as quiet as possible a sensible (and relatively simple) thing to do.
stumpy01 - I guess it depends on whether you enjoy the process or not. I changed my fans for quiet ones, but then it's in the shed, so doesn't really matter (especially when I added the CNC which is crazy noisy at times).
@zilog6128 Interesting CNC design. Looks like Trend have rebranded it too, so hopefully that will get it noticed. Seems very clever. In about 10mins of research I've only heard good things. Price is about right probably. I always thought an Avid CNC would be my next move, but you end up at 3-5k with those too.
@AlexSimon yeah think Trend are the main distributor, I've been chatting with them about it. If you join the FB group there are a few moans, mainly about the extraction system which can be prone to clogging (although there are some workarounds and apparently an improved design is on the way). Likewise there's people consistently doing some great stuff with it!
If you're looking for a cheap CNC router which can cut 4x8s then Maslow might be worth a look, certainly a lot cheaper than Yeti.
@turboferret just googled that, props to the ingenious design, but it looks terrible tbh 🤣 very slow and not accurate. Plus a lot of users describe it as "scary", I guess if one of those chains comes off mid-cut you're gonna know about it 😂😂 Although I guess if you absolutely MUST roughly cut some full sheets on a shoestring budget and/or very tight space...
whilst googling though I discovered the Lowrider CNC which people were suggesting as an alternative, looks kind of like a ghetto version of the Yeti, with 3D printed parts - sounds a bit more sensible!
https://www.v1engineering.com/lowrider-cnc/
@zilog6128 I wasn't necessarily endorsing it, certainly looks a bit iffy!
Nice one! Fusion 360 is generally great to use & you can achieve complicated things relatively easily.
I still struggle a bit with bodies/components/assemblies & constraints so tend to just ignore them. I don’t need to worry about it too much for what I use it for, but it would be nice to have a better understanding of it all. Fusion360 works quite a lot different to the other 3-D CAD packages I have used for work & I can’t really be arsed to learn yet another way of putting things together 🙂
Yep, I found that because I'm used to modelling parts and assemblies the 'proper' way, not with multiple bodies in a single part file, that initially it did my nut!
You can actually do separate parts and assemblies, but the workflow is a bit clunky IMO, and of course if you're using F360 personal licence each part can help gobble up your allowance of 10 files (you can make things read only to help)...
I tend to only use F360 for stuff that's going to be printed now anyway so I have done a couple of parts with multiple bodies in, but I prefer to constrain each body from the datums only and drive related (mating) part dims by formula as it's neater than referencing another body's geometry in a sketch (IMO).
I still prefer to export each body to its own *.STL and arrange them on the bed in cuts, but you can export the lot, and even model things like sprues in, so there are benefits, it's just not the way I was taught to use parametric CAD packages...
@zilog6128 Yeah - I never understood the hype over the Maslow either. It cuts full sheets, but only if your machine is much much larger than a full sheet and it gets less accurate as it moves towards the edges. Then it's held down by bricks 🙂
The latest version looks a lot better, but I'm still not tempted and it's now trebled the price too.
The Lowrider is pretty decent but compared to the Yeti, it's always going to take up the full sheets sized area in your workshop (or whatever size you decide on). Very cheap though. I never got as far as seeing how good that Yeti was at the corners of a full sheet.
In the end I just decided that a full sheet cutter just wasn't available to me - my work area is 720x500mm, but the x-axis is along the long side, so I've done several projects that were 720xlots by moving the material down - I think it's called tiling.
If I were doing it again, I might be tempted by the Workbee or Scienci Longmill, but they are more than double what I paid for mine and maybe manage another 20-30% speed increase. But then there's a Root 4 CNC now (based on 40mm extrusions) which would probably do the same.
The problem with full sheet CNC cutting is you need full sheets to cut. That means a much bigger material store and space to move sheets around. Its not just the footprint of the machine. Don't get me wrong I'd have one in a heartbeat if I had the space but you do need a lot more space, and to keep that space clear, and probably someone to help you load the machine.
I recently upgraded to a magnetic print bed on my Ender 3, the advantages being eliminating the bulldog clips to hold the old bed which could potentially be hit by the nozzle and quicker and easier to remove prints with the flexible bed. Unfortunately the quality of my prints deteriorated massively immediately after. I played around with bed temperature as there are more layers between heater and bed, but to no avail. Adhesion of the first layer was fine though.
Suface finish was terrible
Also flatness
I realised that the issue was that the bed itself was lifting from the magnetic layer below, so despite the print being flush with the print surface, as it cooled and contracted, it wasn't staying flat. Corresponding layers would pay the price as the print surface was higher than the printer was expecting. This is why the quality was worst around the perimeter.
Went back to my old bed and running the same code gave me the near perfect results that I had become accustomed to.
Surface finish and flatness
Just goes to show that an upgrade can actually be a downgrade!
In case anyone was wondering, this is a base for my router to assist with cutting slots for lamello biscuits
Octoprint now running successfully too - no more fiddling about with micro-SD cards between printer and computer 🙂
I'm downloading Fusion 360.
I have bought some small sections of carbon fibre tube and I'm going to 3D print some tips and ends to make them into ultralight tent pegs. Ideally I'd have a CNC machined tip but a 3D printer is what I have.
I've bought some PETG filament to make weatherproof parts, but I've not actually tried it yet.
You don't really need PETG parts although they will be fine.
PLA would also be fine in all likelihood.
If you've not printed with PETG before it might be worth looking at some online guides before going ahead with it.
You need slightly different settings and less first layer squish.
I've known people print it with zero issues and other people who have found it a real ballache.
I've only ever printed in PLA. I should really give PETG a try at some point.
Yeah read some about PETG. Fortunately I have a popular and well supported printer which helps as there are lots of settings and profiles available.
I mainly print in PETG. Slightly less clean prints than PLA maybe but never had a problem. Personally I never bother to adjust the first layer squish! I prefer it for functional prints as it has slightly more flex so a bit less inclined to snap.
I wonder if some metal infused filament would work for the tips of these tent pegs? Of course it's never going to be as hard as a machined metal bit but you know, might be a laugh trying it out. But I got the PETG for a range of uses for example on the bike where I want weather resistance.
Re PETG, I've heard it sticks to the glass. I'm using 3D lac - there's a suggestion that as well as helping PLA stick to the glass it'll help PETG break free...?
As I understand it, the metal infused filaments can wear nozzles at an alarming rate.
I wouldn't bother.
Some thought about the design will see you with a perfectly suitable part that will easily be strong enough.
I really should give PETG a go.
