Making a CNC milling machine with your own hands. How to make CNC links: step-by-step instructions
Complex processing of various materials has long ceased to be the province of factory floors. Twenty years ago, the most that home craftsmen could afford was figure cutting with a jigsaw.
Today, hand-held milling cutters and cutting lasers can easily be purchased at a household tool store. Various guides are provided for linear processing. What about cutting out complex shapes?
Basic tasks can be accomplished using a template. However this method has disadvantages: firstly, you need to make the template itself, and secondly, the mechanical pattern has limitations on the size of the curves. And finally, the error of such devices is too great.
A solution has long been found: a CNC machine allows you to cut out such complex shapes from plywood with your own hands that “jigsaw operators” can only dream of.
The device is a cutting tool coordinate positioning system controlled by a computer program. That is, the processing head moves along the workpiece in accordance with a given trajectory. Accuracy is limited only by the size of the cutting attachment (mill or laser beam). 
The possibilities of such machines are endless. There are models with two-dimensional and three-dimensional positioning. However, their cost is so high that the purchase can only be justified by commercial use. All that remains is to assemble the CNC machine with your own hands.
The principle of operation of the coordinate system
The basis of the machine is a powerful frame. The basis is a perfectly flat surface. It also serves as a work desk. The second basic element is the carriage on which the tool is mounted. This could be a Dremel, a hand router, a laser gun - in general, any device capable of processing a workpiece. The carriage must move strictly in the plane of the frame.
First, let's look at a two-dimensional setup
You can use the table surface as a frame (base) for a DIY CNC machine. The main thing is that after all the elements are adjusted, the structure no longer moves, remaining firmly screwed to the base.
To move in one direction (let's call it X), two guides are placed. They must be strictly parallel to each other. A bridge structure, also consisting of parallel guides, is installed across it. The second axis is Y. 
By specifying the movement vectors along the X and Y axes, you can accurately install the carriage (and with it the cutting tool) at any point on the desktop plane. By choosing the ratio of movement speeds along the axes, the program forces the tool to move continuously along any, even the most complex, trajectory.
The world of the Internet is developing rapidly and conquering new heights. Millions of sites, services and services are happy to welcome another user to their pages. A huge number of addresses have been created that are generated automatically. And it’s not always convenient to read and remember them. In addition, a meaningless set of characters ranks poorly in search engines. As a result, it became necessary to introduce the implementation of the code in such a way that it could appear in a more convenient and pleasing form to the user's eye.
Therefore, in the world of web development, the term CNC links appeared. What this is and how to implement it will be discussed in the article.
What are CNC links
In general, CNC is a slang word meaning a human-readable URL. URL - borrowing from the English URL, a uniform resource locator. Human-readable, in turn, means a set of characters in the address bar that is convenient and easy to understand. For example, the generated page address might look like this: http://example.com/index.php?page=name. It doesn’t look very clear and doesn’t show the structure of the site. There are signs that do not carry a semantic load and it is unclear what the page and name mean.
The following URL might look like this: http://example.com/products/new/boat. It is clear here that we are talking about products, and new ones at that, and specifically about a boat. This is a human-readable URL. It is much better indexed by search engines and is shown in search results above the rest. And a person who visits the site will be able to understand that he has entered exactly the right section.
However, CNC links have some limitations. For example, Russian characters cannot be used in the address. They are replaced with a numeric value and a percent sign. Therefore, domestic developers use transliteration of Russian words into Latin. For example, so - oborudovanie or produkcia. Also, an automatically generated CNC link can increase the overall length of the line.
To implement transliteration and conversion to human-readable URLs, special tools are used. They are available, as a rule, in content management systems - CMS. CNC links are created automatically, based on the name of the product, article or blog, as well as the section in which it is posted. As a result, when creating a new record or adding a product, a human-readable URL is formed, which is well perceived by both people and machines.
How to make CNC links in popular CMS
CMS is a content management system that, in a convenient and simple interface, allows you to create a full-fledged website in a short time. The functionality is expanded due to the presence of a large number of ready-made templates, modules and plugins. This allows a person who is far from the programming languages PHP, JavaScript, HTML and related ones to quickly create his own website or blog.
Almost all content management systems have an excellent set of tools in the form of plugins for creating CNC. It is worth taking a closer look at the most common of them.
- WordPress is the most popular content management system, according to statistics. It is installed on most famous blogs and websites. It is famous for its ease of learning and installation.
- Joomla is less popular, but is still actively used among developers. It has good functionality, a selection of components, plugins and modules.
- OpenCart is a separate project for creating online stores. Internally it resembles any CMS, but is “tailored” to solve a narrow range of tasks.
CNC Links in WordPress - Easy to Implement
WordPress is probably the simplest content management system out there. It can greatly simplify the creation of a website or blog from scratch in a short time.
Setting up CNC in WordPress is simple and basically involves downloading and installing the Cyr-To-Lat plugin. It is used to convert Cyrillic strings to Latin.
First you need to find it and download it. It is better to do this from the official WordPress website. This way you can avoid the possibility of malicious or adware code getting into the plugin.
- After downloading the archive, you need to unpack it.
- Then you need to move this folder to the wp-content -> plugins section. This is usually done using any available FTP manager.
- Now you need to log into the WordPress admin panel by entering your username and password.
- In the “Plugins” section you need to find Cyr-To-Lat and activate it. The plugin is now installed on the system and enabled.
- To do this, go to “Options”, and there go to “Permanent Links”.
- In the general settings there are several templates that you can use to build the appearance of the link. It is recommended to use the “Custom” type, which allows you to configure everything as needed. The simplest design for such a template is /%category%/%postname%/. This means that the category will be displayed in the address bar, followed by the title of the post.
- And then Cyr-To-Lat converts all this into Latin. As a result, you will get a beautiful and understandable CNC link in WordPress.
In addition to Cyr-To-Lat, you can also use analogues that are available on the official website. For example, these are WP Translitera, ACF: Rus-To-Lat, Rus-To-Lat Advanced. Installing these plugins is similar, so it makes no sense to dwell on them separately.
CNC in Joomla, several options for creating
Joomla is a slightly more complex content management system. Just like WordPress, it has the ability to create websites and blogs in a short time. It has extensive functionality and flexibility. Next, you need to describe how to make CNC links in this CMS.
Joomla initially has built-in functionality for creating human-readable URLs. CNC links in Joomla 3 can be enabled on the general settings page in the “SEO Settings” section. The item “Enable SEF (CNC)” should be set to “Yes”. This way the links will be converted into a more understandable form.
Here you can additionally set up URL redirection by creating a CNC link in htaccess. This file acts as a configuration storage for the Apache web server. In it, you can use regular expressions and the RewriteRule directive to change the conversion of the link to the desired URL. The main difference between this approach is flexibility. You can give links to almost any type.
The “Add suffix to URL” item adds the document extension to the end of the line. For example, html. This extension is of little interest to the average website visitor, so the option can be left in the “No” position.
Aliases in Unicode - this item transliterates the name of the material into Latin. This is necessary so that instead of Russian letters or other symbols something awkward and unreadable is not displayed.
Alternative components for Joomla
You can also implement a CNC link generator in Joomla using various components. For example, one of the popular ones is JoomSEF. It is distributed free of charge and it is better to download it from the official Joomla website.
Its functionality, in addition to converting URLs into CNC, includes a set for generating metadata, search engines, keywords, as well as managing duplicate pages. It is worth noting the available support for UTF-8 encoding and customization of the 404 page at your discretion.
There are three installation methods available in Joomla 3: downloading directly from your computer, from the site directory, and by sending a link to it.
For the first option, you will have to download the file. Then select “Extensions” from the CMS administrative panel menu and go to “Extensions Manager”. Using the “Select file” button, you need to show the system the prepared archive and install it.
The second option is rarely used. But the third is the most convenient of them, since it does not require downloading. You just need to copy the link to JoomSEF and specify it in the “Install from URL” field on the tab of the same name. The system itself will check for its presence and install it if all parameters match.
It is worth noting that for the add-on to work fully, the “Enable SEF”, “URL Redirection” and “Add suffix to URL” items in the SEO settings must be set to “Yes”.
The installed component will immediately be integrated into the system in active mode and begin its work. Namely, it converts all existing links into a more aesthetic appearance.
JoomSEF has a large number of settings and options. With their help, you can very subtly bring all the site links to almost any necessary form.
JBZoo and a human-readable URL
The JBZoo component is a universal and powerful tool for creating online stores, catalogs, blogs and simply business card sites based on the Joomla content management system.
To install JBZoo in Joomla, it must already have the Zoo add-on.
Sometimes the standard SEF settings don't reach their components enough to perform the conversion. Therefore, it is recommended to use the sh404SEF component to create CNC links in JBZoo. This product is free and is a good tool for building links in JBZoo. settings, functions, support for various social networks and services.
Installation is done by copying the link to the archive, or by directly uploading a previously downloaded file to the server.
OpenCart and CNC setup
OpenCart is a platform that is not tied to any content management system. That is, it functions separately. Its main focus is the convenient creation of online stores of varying degrees of complexity. Although the product itself is free, many add-ons are distributed on a commercial basis. The latest stable version is 2.0.
You can start setting up the CNC in the first way by editing the htaccess configuration file of the Apache web server.
- To do this, you need to go to the site folder via FTP or the file manager available in the administrative memory.
- The root directory should contain the .htaccess.txt file. Since it has no effect on a system with a txt extension, the first thing to do is rename it to .htaccess. Now the web server will read its directives and execute them.
- Now you need to go to the site settings and on the “Server” tab enable the use of CNC.
- All changes must be saved.
- Now all links should change.
Sometimes, due to some reasons, many addresses still do not change and remain unclear. To implement this task, you can use the SeoPro component. True, before installing it you will first have to implement OCMOD Multiline Fix. To do this, you need to manually change the code of one file. It is located at admin/controller/extension/modification.php. To edit it, it is recommended to use the Notepad++ utility to avoid problems with encodings.
You only need to add one line of code to the block after the $limit variable. It looks like this:
- $quote = $operation->getElementsByTagName("search")->item(0)->getAttribute("quote");
- if (!$limit) (
- $limit = -1;
and after it add:
- if ($quote == "true") (
- $search = preg_quote($search);
Then you need to actually install the SeoPro module itself. The downloaded archive must be unpacked on the server. Then run a couple of database queries using phpmyadmin:
- ALTER TABLE `oc_product_to_category` ADD `main_category` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT "0"; ALTER TABLE `oc_product_to_category` ADD INDEX `main_category` (`main_category`);
Now we need to edit the main index.php file. The line you are interested in is:
- $controller->addPreAction(new Action("common/seo_url"));
which is replaced by:
- if (!$seo_type = $config->get("config_seo_url_type")) (
- $seo_type = "seo_url";
- $controller->addPreAction(new Action("common/" . $seo_type));
Next, there is a set of procedures related to settings inside the admin panel. In the menu you need to find “Modules”, go to “Modifiers” and click on updates. While here, you need to go to the “Modules” list and install SeoPro in it. Then, by clicking the “Edit” button, go into it and save. After all the manipulations, everything should work; if not, then you need to try reinstalling the module again. Or seek help from specialized forums.
Implementation of CNC functionality in PHP language
Most sites on the Internet are written in PHP. It is quite powerful, convenient and easy to learn. Its work is invisible to the user, since the PHP code is processed on the server side and a ready-made HTML page that is understandable to the browser is sent to the browser.
You can show the implementation of CNC links in PHP using a small code example. However, to bring address lines in real multi-page projects to a human-readable form, you will have to tinker.
Any website starts its work with the index.php file. It also generates hits to other pages of the site. But first you need to change the htaccess configuration file a little. In it you need to specify or uncomment several directives, as shown in the photo.
The first line allows you to resolve the URL using the server. The second one sets the base address. The next two lines check for the presence of the file and folder. The latter transfers control to index.php if lines 3 and 4 are implemented without errors.
To store the correspondence between the page id and its converted value, a table is needed. Therefore it must be created. In particular, you can create a simple one to understand the process. It will contain two fields: SEF and page_id. SEF stores the name and is of type varchar. And page_id are page numbers of type int.
Now it remains to correct the index.php file itself. This is just an example and in practice for a specific project everything may be slightly different: $result = $_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"]. In this line, the requested URL is transferred to the $result variable.
- if (preg_match ("/([^a-zA-Z0-9\.\/\-\_\#])/", $result)) ( header("HTTP/1.0 404 Not Found"); echo " Invalid characters in URL"; exit; )
This block checks for the presence of symbols, numbers and some signs. If there is something other than those listed, then a 404 page is displayed.
- $array_url = preg_split("/(\/|\..*$)/", $result,-1, PREG_SPLIT_NO_EMPTY);
An array $array_url is declared here, into which, using the preg_split function, elements that do not have anything extra in the CNC are placed.
- if (!$array_url) ( $ID_page = 1; )else( $sef_value = $array_url;
Here the request is processed in the case when the request was made not to a specific page, but to a domain. Therefore, you need to respond with id = 1. Also at this point there is a query to the project database, which finds out whether it has a value from the $sef_value variable in the SEF field. If nothing is found, send the user a 404 page. At the end, the resulting address code is processed and the corresponding materials or elements are returned.
Pros and cons of using CNC
The advantages of using human-readable URLs can be listed as follows:
- the link visually looks more aesthetically pleasing than a set of incomprehensible symbols, especially on unfamiliar sites;
- remembering the address is much easier;
- the entire path and structure of the site becomes clear;
- GET parameters transmitted in the usual way use variables in the address line, which is not the case in the CNC, which means that security is not violated;
- improving site navigation;
- SEO optimization improves significantly and search robots index such a site better.
There are far fewer disadvantages. And the most significant of them is setting. It is not always possible to bring page addresses to a human-understandable form using standard or third-party solutions. Sometimes you have to delve into the code and edit it yourself, which requires knowledge and time. The second drawback is not so significant and concerns sites with high traffic. Due to the formation of links on the fly, the load on the site increases. But since the cost of network equipment is steadily decreasing, few people consider such costs for server resources. In general, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages, so although human-readable URLs are difficult to implement, they are worth using.
Conclusion
The article discusses which links are CNC and which are not. The simplest and fastest solutions to the problem were described in detail. As well as several of the most affordable options for complex approaches. In any case, using a CMS when developing a website significantly reduces labor and time costs when optimizing page addresses. Therefore, a combination of CMS and CNC should be used as the most effective alternative to manual development.
When promoting and optimizing websites, you need to take into account absolutely everything, even every little thing, if it can somehow improve the position of your website. Novice optimizers very often wonder what CNC is, and for good reason. HPU stands for human readable URL. I recommend using such addresses on absolutely all websites. After all, they are understandable and convenient for visitors, which means they are taken into account by search engines.
See for yourself which URL will be more clear to you. This:
Http://site/?p=3
Or this one:
I think everyone, without exception, will say that the second option is more understandable and readable. What can we say about the content of a page if it has an address like the one in the first example? Almost nothing. But at the second address you can immediately conclude that we will talk about installing social networking buttons on the site.
This is just one possible example. Some engines for creating websites automatically generate such page addresses that, as they say, you can’t figure it out without a bottle. Urls are sometimes so cumbersome that even the address bar is not enough for them. CNCs are easy to understand, they can be remembered, written down, dictated. But that is not all. As mentioned above, what is convenient for Internet users cannot be ignored by search engines. I will not say about the influence of CNC on the positions of sites in search results, since I have not conducted such experiments, but there are opinions that they do. But the fact that with the help of CNC you can increase the number of transitions from search engines is a fact. Why? See for yourself:
Thanks to this simple search query, you can see that Yandex highlights keywords in URLs in bold. Agree, it attracts attention. And there is a greater chance that the user will go to the site where the keywords will be highlighted in bold not only in the title and description, but also in the web page address.
Setting up CNC on websites made using any cms is usually easy. Most often, they can be enabled directly in the site’s admin area; sometimes you still have to install add-ons to do this. I'll show you how to make CNC using WordPress as an example.
How to set up CNC on WordPress
It will only take you a few minutes to set up CNC on WordPress. First of all, log in to the site’s admin panel and go to the settings-permalinks.
You will see these simple settings. Initially, you will select the “default” option; naturally, it is unacceptable from an optimization point of view. You need to select the option whose example contains the inscription “sample-post”. On all my sites and blogs created on Wordpress, I select “post title”, since I believe that there is no need to indicate dates in the URL. You can also select the “random” option and enter /%postname%/ in the field, the same thing will happen.
After these three simple steps, your website will be CNC enabled. On other engines, there is also nothing complicated in setting up the CNC, although there are exceptions.
The trouble is that novice webmasters think too late about all the intricacies of website optimization. This is certainly not their fault. After all, it is impossible to think about something that is not even known yet. To avoid unpleasant moments, be sure to read about. Awareness of what CNC is and what they are needed for most often comes too late. Sometimes several dozen articles have already been written on the site by this time, and then the webmaster is faced with a difficult choice: leave everything as is, or switch to CNC. If your site does not yet have many external links, and its position in the search results is not yet so high, then I still recommend setting up the CNC. After all, website optimization essentially consists of many points, and the more of them are completed, the better.
And so, as part of this instructional article, I want you, together with the author of the project, a 21-year-old mechanic and designer, to make your own. The narration will be conducted in the first person, but know that, to my great regret, I am not sharing my experience, but only freely retelling the author of this project.
There will be quite a lot of drawings in this article., the notes to them are made in English, but I am sure that a real techie will understand everything without further ado. For ease of understanding, I will break the story into “steps”.
Preface from the author
Already at the age of 12, I dreamed of building a machine that would be capable of creating various things. A machine that will give me the ability to make any household item. Two years later I came across the phrase CNC or to be more precise, the phrase "CNC milling machine". After I found out that there are people who can make such a machine on their own for their own needs, in their own garage, I realized that I could do it too. I must do it! For three months I tried to collect suitable parts, but did not budge. So my obsession gradually faded.
In August 2013, the idea of building a CNC milling machine captured me again. I had just graduated from a bachelor's degree in industrial design at university, so I was quite confident in my abilities. Now I clearly understood the difference between me today and me five years ago. I learned how to work with metal, mastered techniques for working with manual metalworking machines, but most importantly, I learned how to use development tools. I hope this tutorial inspires you to build your own CNC machine!
Step 1: Design and CAD model
It all starts with thoughtful design. I made several sketches to get a better feel for the size and shape of the future machine. After that I created a CAD model using SolidWorks. After I modeled all the parts and components of the machine, I prepared technical drawings. I used these drawings to make parts on manual metalworking machines: and.
Frankly speaking, I love good, convenient tools. That is why I tried to make the maintenance and adjustment operations of the machine as simple as possible. I placed the bearings in special blocks in order to be able to quickly replace them. The guides are accessible for maintenance, so my car will always be clean when the work is completed.
Files for downloading “Step 1”
dimensions
Step 2: Bed
The bed provides the machine with the necessary rigidity. A movable portal, stepper motors, a Z axis and a spindle, and later a working surface will be installed on it. To create the supporting frame I used two 40x80mm Maytec aluminum profiles and two 10mm thick aluminum end plates. I connected all the elements together using aluminum corners. To strengthen the structure inside the main frame, I made an additional square frame from profiles of a smaller section.
In order to avoid dust getting on the guides in the future, I installed protective aluminum corners. The angle is mounted using T-nuts, which are installed in one of the profile grooves.
Both end plates have bearing blocks for mounting the drive screw.
Support frame assembly
Corners for protecting guides
Files for downloading “Step 2”
Drawings of the main elements of the frame
Step 3: Portal
The movable portal is the executive element of your machine; it moves along the X axis and carries the milling spindle and Z axis support. The higher the portal, the thicker the workpiece that you can process. However, a high portal is less resistant to the loads that arise during processing. The high side posts of the portal act as levers relative to the linear rolling bearings.
The main task that I planned to solve on my CNC milling machine was the processing of aluminum parts. Since the maximum thickness of the aluminum blanks that suit me is 60 mm, I decided to make the portal clearance (the distance from the working surface to the upper cross beam) equal to 125 mm. I converted all my measurements into a model and technical drawings in SolidWorks. Due to the complexity of the parts, I processed them on an industrial CNC machining center; this additionally allowed me to process chamfers, which would be very difficult to do on a manual metal milling machine.
Files for downloading “Step 3”
Step 4: Z Axis Caliper
For the Z axis design, I used a front panel that attaches to the Y axis motion bearings, two plates to reinforce the assembly, a plate to mount the stepper motor, and a panel to mount the milling spindle. On the front panel I installed two profile guides along which the spindle will move along the Z axis. Please note that the Z axis screw does not have a counter support at the bottom.
Downloads “Step 4”
Step 5: Guides
Guides provide the ability to move in all directions, ensuring smooth and precise movements. Any play in one direction can cause inaccuracy in the processing of your products. I chose the most expensive option - profiled hardened steel rails. This will allow the structure to withstand high loads and provide the positioning accuracy I need. To ensure the guides were parallel, I used a special indicator while installing them. The maximum deviation relative to each other was no more than 0.01 mm.
Step 6: Screws and Pulleys
Screws convert rotary motion from stepper motors into linear motion. When designing your machine, you can choose several options for this unit: a screw-nut pair or a ball screw pair (ball screw). The screw-nut, as a rule, is subjected to more frictional forces during operation, and is also less accurate relative to the ball screw. If you need increased accuracy, then you definitely need to opt for a ball screw. But you should know that ball screws are quite expensive.
A kit with which you can assemble your own CNC milling machine.
Ready-made machines are sold in China; a review of one of them has already been published on Muska. We will assemble the machine ourselves. Welcome…
UPD: links to files
I will still provide a link to a review of the finished machine from AndyBig. I won’t repeat myself, I won’t quote his text, we’ll write everything from scratch. The title only indicates a set with engines and a driver, there will be more parts, I will try to provide links to everything.
And this... I apologize in advance to the readers, I didn’t take any photos during the process on purpose, because... I didn’t intend to do a review at that moment, but I’ll take as many photos of the process as possible and try to give a detailed description of all the components.
The purpose of the review is not so much to brag as to show the opportunity to make an assistant for yourself. I hope with this review to give someone an idea, and perhaps not only repeat it, but also make it even better. Go…
How the idea was born:
It so happened that I have been involved with drawings for a long time. Those. my professional activity is closely connected with them. But it’s one thing when you make a drawing, and then completely different people bring the design object to life, and quite another thing when you bring the design object to life yourself. And if I seem to be doing okay with construction things, then not so much with modeling and other applied arts.
So, for a long time I had a dream of making a zhzhik out of an image drawn in AutoCAD - and it’s in real life in front of you, you can use it. This idea popped up from time to time, but it couldn’t take shape into anything concrete until...
Until I saw REP-RAP three or four years ago. Well, a 3D printer was a very interesting thing, and the idea of assembling it took me a long time to formulate; I collected information about different models, the pros and cons of different options. At one point, following one of the links, I ended up on a forum where people were sitting and discussing not 3D printers, but CNC milling machines. And from here, perhaps, passion begins its journey.
Instead of theory
In a nutshell about CNC milling machines (I write in my own words intentionally, without copying articles, textbooks and manuals).
A milling machine works exactly the opposite of a 3D printer. In the printer, step by step, layer by layer, the model is built up by fusing polymers; in a milling machine, with the help of a cutter, “everything unnecessary” is removed from the workpiece and the required model is obtained.
To operate such a machine, the required minimum is required.
1. Base (case) with linear guides and transmission mechanism (can be a screw or belt)
2. Spindle (I see someone smiled, but that’s what it’s called) - the actual engine with a collet into which the working tool - a milling cutter - is installed.
3. Stepper motors - motors that allow controlled angular movements.
4. Controller - a control board that transmits voltages to the motors in accordance with signals received from the control program.
5. Computer with installed control program.
6. Basic drawing skills, patience, desire and good mood.))
The points:
1. Base.
by configuration:
I will divide it into 2 types, there are more exotic options, but there are 2 main ones:
With movable portal:
Actually, the design I chose, it has a base on which the X-axis guides are fixed. The portal on which the Y-axis guides are located moves along the X-axis guides, and the Z-axis node moves along it.
With a static portal
This design is also a body, which is also a portal on which the Y-axis guides are located, and the Z-axis unit moving along it, and the X-axis is already moving relative to the portal.
According to the material:
the body can be made of different materials, the most common are:
- duralumin - has a good ratio of weight and rigidity, but the price (especially for a hobby homemade product) is still depressing, although if the machine is intended to seriously earn money, then there are no options.
- plywood - good rigidity with sufficient thickness, light weight, the ability to process anything :), and the actual price, sheet of plywood 17 is now quite inexpensive.
- steel - often used on machines with a large processing area. Such a machine, of course, must be static (not mobile) and heavy.
- MFD, plexiglass and monolithic polycarbonate, even chipboard - I also saw such options.
As you can see, the design of the machine itself is very similar to both a 3D printer and laser engravers.
I deliberately do not write about the designs of 4, 5 and 6-axis milling machines, because... A homemade hobby machine is on the agenda.
2. Spindle.
Actually, spindles come with air and water cooling.
Air-cooled ones end up being cheaper because... for them there is no need to fence an additional water circuit; they operate a little louder than water ones. Cooling is provided by a rear-mounted impeller, which at high speeds creates a noticeable air flow that cools the engine housing. The more powerful the engine, the more severe the cooling and the greater the air flow, which may well blow in all directions
dust (shavings, sawdust) of the processed product.
Water cooled. Such a spindle works almost silently, but in the end, you still cannot hear the difference between them during the work process, since the sound of the material being processed by the cutter will be covered up. In this case, of course, there is no draft from the impeller, but there is an additional hydraulic circuit. Such a circuit must contain pipelines, a pump pumping liquid, as well as a cooling place (radiator with airflow). This circuit is usually filled not with water, but with either antifreeze or ethylene glycol.
There are also spindles of different powers, and if low-power ones can be connected directly to the control board, then motors with a power of 1 kW or more must already be connected through the control unit, but this is no longer about us.))
Yes, straight grinders or milling cutters with a removable base are often installed in homemade machines. Such a decision may be justified, especially when performing work of short duration.
In my case, an air-cooled spindle with a power of 300W was selected.
3. Stepper motors.
The most common engines are of 3 sizes
NEMA17, NEMA23, NEMA 32
they differ in size, power and operating torque
NEMA17 is usually used in 3D printers; they are too small for a milling machine, because... you have to carry a heavy portal, to which additional lateral load is applied during processing.
NEMA32 is unnecessary for such a craft, and besides, you would have to take another control board.
my choice fell on NEMA23 with the maximum power for this board - 3A.
People also use steppers from printers, but... I didn’t have them either and still had to buy them and chose everything in the kit.
4. Controller
A control board that receives signals from the computer and transmits voltage to stepper motors that move the axes of the machine.
5. Computer
You need a separate computer (possibly a very old one) and there are probably two reasons for this:
1. It is unlikely that you will decide to place a milling machine next to the place where you are used to reading the Internet, playing with toys, doing accounting, etc. Simply because a milling machine is loud and dusty. Usually the machine is either in a workshop or in a garage (preferably heated). My machine is in the garage; in winter it mostly sits idle, because... no heating.
2. For economic reasons, computers are usually used that are no longer relevant for home life - very used :)
The requirements for the car are basically nothing:
- from Pentium 4
- presence of a discrete video card
- RAM from 512MB
- the presence of an LPT connector (I won’t say anything about USB; I haven’t looked into the new product yet due to the presence of a driver that works via LPT)
such a computer is either taken out of the closet, or, as in my case, bought for next to nothing.
Due to the low power of the machine, we try not to install additional software, i.e. only the axis and control program.
Then there are two options:
- install windows XP (the computer is weak, remember, right?) and the MATCH3 control program (there are others, but this is the most popular)
- install Nixes and Linux CNC (they say that everything is also very good, but I haven’t mastered Nixes)
I’ll add, perhaps, so as not to offend overly wealthy people, that it’s quite possible to install not just a fourth stump, but some kind of i7 - please, if you like it and can afford it.
6. Basic drawing skills, patience, desire and good mood.
Here in a nutshell.
To operate the machine, you need a control program (essentially a text file containing movement coordinates, movement speed and acceleration), which in turn is prepared in a CAM application - usually ArtCam, in this application the model itself is prepared, its dimensions are set, and the cutting tool is selected.
I usually take a slightly longer route, make a drawing, and then save AutoCad *.dxf into ArtCam and prepare the UE there.
Well, let’s begin the process of creating your own.
Before designing a machine, we take several points as starting points:
- The axle shafts will be made from construction studs with M10 threads. Of course, there are undoubtedly more technologically advanced options: a shaft with a trapezoidal thread, a ball screw, but you need to understand that the price of the issue leaves much to be desired, and for a hobby machine the price is absolutely astronomical. However, over time I plan to upgrade and replace the pin with a trapeze.
- Machine body material – 16mm plywood. Why plywood? Available, cheap, cheerful. There are actually a lot of options, some make them from duralumin, others from plexiglass. It's easier for me to use plywood.
Making a 3D model: 
Scan: 
Then I did this, there was no picture left, but I think it will be clear. I printed the scan on transparent sheets, cut them out and glued them onto a sheet of plywood.
I cut out the parts and drilled the holes. Tools include a jigsaw and a screwdriver.
There is one more little trick that will make life easier in the future: before drilling holes, squeeze all paired parts with a clamp and drill through, this way you will get holes equally located on each part. Even if there is a slight deviation during drilling, the internal parts of the connected parts will coincide, and the hole can be drilled out a little.
At the same time, we make specifications and start ordering everything.
what happened to me:
1. The set specified in this review includes: stepper motor control board (driver), NEMA23 stepper motors – 3 pcs., 12V power supply, LPT cord and cooler.
2. Spindle (this is the simplest, but nevertheless it does the job), fasteners and a 12V power supply.
3. Used Pentium 4 computer, most importantly, the motherboard has an LPT and a discrete video card + CRT monitor. I bought it on Avito for 1000 rubles.
4. Steel shaft: f20mm – L=500mm – 2 pcs., f16mm – L=500mm – 2 pcs., f12mm – L=300mm – 2 pcs.
I bought it here, at that time it was more expensive to buy in St. Petersburg. It arrived within 2 weeks.
5. Linear bearings: f20 – 4 pcs., f16 – 4 pcs., f12 – 4 pcs.
20
16
12
6. Mounts for shafts: f20 – 4 pcs., f16 – 4 pcs., f12 – 2 pcs.
20
16
12
7. Caprolon nuts with M10 thread – 3 pcs.
Took along with the shafts on duxe.ru
8. Rotation bearings, closed – 6 pcs.
Same place, but the Chinese have plenty of them too
9. PVA wire 4x2.5
this is offline
10. Screws, dowels, nuts, clamps - a bunch.
This is also offline, in hardware.
11. A set of cutters was also purchased
So, we order, wait, cut and assemble. 
Initially, the driver and power supply for it were installed in the case with the computer together. 
Later, it was decided to place the driver in a separate case; it just appeared. 
Well, the old monitor somehow changed to a more modern one. 
As I said at the beginning, I never thought that I would write a review, so I am attaching photos of the components and will try to give an explanation of the assembly process.
First, we assemble three axles without screws in order to align the shafts as accurately as possible.
We take the front and rear walls of the housing and attach the flanges for the shafts. We string 2 linear bearings on the X-axis and insert them into the flanges. 
We attach the bottom of the portal to the linear bearings and try to roll the base of the portal back and forth. We make sure of the curvature of our hands, take everything apart and drill out the holes a little.
This way we get some freedom of movement of the shafts. Now we attach the flanges, insert the shafts into them and move the base of the portal back and forth to achieve smooth sliding. Tighten the flanges.
At this stage, it is necessary to check the horizontality of the shafts, as well as their coaxiality along the Z axis (in short, so that the distance from the assembly table to the shafts is the same) so as not to overwhelm the future working plane.
We've sorted out the X axis.
We attach the portal posts to the base; I used furniture barrels for this. 
We attach the flanges for the Y axis to the posts, this time from the outside: 
We insert shafts with linear bearings.
We attach the rear wall of the Z axis.
We repeat the process of adjusting the parallelism of the shafts and secure the flanges.
We repeat the same process with the Z axis.
We get a rather funny design that can be moved with one hand in three coordinates.
An important point: all axes must move easily, i.e. Having slightly tilted the structure, the portal itself should move freely, without any creaks or resistance.
Next we attach the lead screws.
We cut the M10 construction stud to the required length, screw the caprolon nut approximately in the middle, and 2 M10 nuts on each side. It is convenient to do this by tightening the nuts a little, clamping the stud into the screwdriver and holding the nuts and tightening them.
We insert the bearings into the sockets and push the pins into them from the inside. After this, we fix the studs to the bearing with nuts on each side and tighten them with a second one so that they do not come loose.
We attach the caprolon nut to the base of the axle.
We clamp the end of the pin into a screwdriver and try to move the axle from beginning to end and return it.
A couple more joys await us here:
1. The distance from the nut axis to the base in the center (and most likely at the time of assembly the base will be in the middle) may not coincide with the distance in the extreme positions, because shafts may bend under the weight of the structure. I had to place cardboard along the X axis.
2. The shaft movement may be very tight. If you have eliminated all distortions, then tension may play a role; here you need to catch the moment of tightening the fixation with nuts to the installed bearing.
Having dealt with the problems and having obtained free rotation from start to finish, we move on to installing the remaining screws.
We attach stepper motors to the screws:
In general, when using special screws, be it a trapezoid or a ball screw, the ends are processed on them and then the connection to the engine is very conveniently made with a special coupling. 
But we have a construction pin and had to think about how to fasten it. At that moment I came across a piece of gas pipe and used it. It “screws” directly onto the stud, onto the engine, it goes into lapping, tightened it with clamps - it holds quite well. 
To secure the engines, I took an aluminum tube and cut it. Adjusted with washers.
To connect the motors I took the following connectors: 
Sorry, I don’t remember what they are called, I hope someone can tell you in the comments.
GX16-4 connector (thanks Jager). I asked a colleague to buy electronics from a store; he just lives nearby, and it was very inconvenient for me to get there. I am very pleased with them: they hold securely, are designed for higher current, and can always be disconnected.
We set up a working field, also known as a sacrificial table.
We connect all the motors to the control board from the review, connect it to a 12V power supply, connect it to the computer with an LPT cable.
Install MACH3 on your PC, make the settings and try it out!
I probably won’t write about the setup separately. This could take a couple more pages.
I'm so happy that I still have a video of the first launch of the machine:
Yes, when in this video there was a movement along the X axis there was a terrible rattling noise, unfortunately, I don’t remember exactly, but in the end I found either a loose washer or something else, in general it was solved without problems.
Next, you need to install the spindle, while ensuring that it is perpendicular (simultaneously in X and Y) to the working plane. The essence of the procedure is this: we attach a pencil to the spindle with electrical tape, thus creating an offset from the axis. As the pencil is lowered smoothly, it begins to draw a circle on the board. If the spindle is full, then the result is not a circle, but an arc. Accordingly, it is necessary to achieve the drawing of a circle by alignment. I have saved a photo from the process, the pencil is out of focus, and the angle is not the same, but I think the essence is clear: 
We find a ready-made model (in my case, the coat of arms of the Russian Federation), prepare the UE, feed it to MACH and off we go!
Machine operation:
Photos in progress:
Well, of course we go through initiation))
The situation is both funny and generally understandable. We dream of building a machine and immediately cutting out something super cool, but in the end we realize that this will take a lot of time.
In a nutshell:
During 2D processing (simply sawing), a contour is specified, which is cut out in several passes.
During 3D processing (here you can plunge into holivar, some argue that this is not 3D but 2.5D, since the workpiece is processed only from above), a complex surface is specified. And the higher the accuracy of the required result, the thinner the cutter is used, the more passes of this cutter are necessary.
To speed up the process, roughing is used. Those. First, the main volume is sampled with a large cutter, then finishing processing is started with a thin cutter.
Next, we try, configure, experiment, etc. The 10,000 hour rule applies here too ;)
Perhaps I won’t bore you any more with stories about construction, adjustment, etc. It’s time to show the results of using the machine - the product. 
As you can see, these are basically sawn contours or 2D processing. Processing three-dimensional figures takes a lot of time, the machine is in the garage, and I go there for a short time.
Here they will rightly remark to me - how about... building such a bandura if you can cut out the figure with a U-shaped jigsaw or an electric jigsaw?
It is possible, but this is not our method. As you remember at the beginning of the text, I wrote that it was the idea of making a drawing on a computer and turning this drawing into a product that served as the impetus for the creation of this beast.
Writing a review finally pushed me to upgrade the machine. Those. The upgrade was planned earlier, but “never got around to it.” The last change before this was the organization of the machine house: 
Thus, when the machine is operating in the garage, it has become much quieter and there is much less dust flying around.
The last upgrade was the installation of a new spindle, or rather, now I have two replaceable bases:
1. With Chinese 300W spindle for small work: 
2. With a domestic, but no less Chinese milling cutter “Enkor”... 
With the new milling cutter new possibilities have appeared.
Faster processing, more dust.
Here is the result of using a semicircular groove cutter: 
Well, especially for MYSKU
Simple straight groove cutter: 
Process video:
This is where I will wrap things up, but according to the rules, it would be necessary to sum up the results.
Minuses:
- Expensive.
- For a long time.
- From time to time we have to solve new problems (lights turned off, interference, something went wrong, etc.)
Pros:
- The process of creation itself. This alone justifies the creation of the machine. Finding solutions to emerging problems and implementing them is what, instead of sitting on your butt, you get up and go do something.
- Joy at the moment of giving gifts made with your own hands. Here it should be added that the machine does not do all the work itself :) in addition to milling, it still needs to be processed, sanded, painted, etc.
Thank you very much if you are still reading. I hope that my post, although it won’t encourage you to create such (or another) machine, will somehow broaden your horizons and give you food for thought. I also want to say thank you to those who persuaded me to write this opus; without it, I apparently didn’t even have an upgrade, so everything is a plus.
I apologize for any inaccuracies in wording and any lyrical digressions. A lot had to be cut, otherwise the text would have turned out simply immense. Clarifications and additions are naturally possible, write in the comments - I will try to answer everyone.
Good luck to you in your endeavors!
Promised links to files:
- drawing of the machine,
- sweep,
format - dxf. This means that you can open the file with any vector editor.
The 3D model is 85-90 percent detailed, many things were done either at the time of preparing the scan, or on site. I ask you to “understand and forgive.”)