# Just for fun - building a CNC Router in 100 seconds



## twehr (Mar 18, 2014)

It was a fun weekend building may new CNC Router. Thought some of you might enjoy seeing the process compressed into 100 seconds.


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## BCK (Feb 23, 2014)

thx for the video...


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Wow, you're really quick for an old guy. Good video.


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## 4DThinker (Feb 16, 2014)

I'd love to see a few photos of the CNC and controller now that it is finished. Also concerned you may have a bit of speed rash from zipping about so fast.  Too much coffee cause that?


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## twehr (Mar 18, 2014)

Yep! I am "pretty spry" for my age.

The main reason I made the video was to prove to my wife that I really am doing something with all my time in the shop. I warned her she would be a shop widow this week while I finish everything up.

I am preapring a couple more videos just to wrap up the build phase. One shows the completed assembly powered by hand. The second is the machine under power. Those will be up tonight or tomorrow. I'll try to remember to post here, or you can always keep up with everything I am doing over at SemiHomemadeTools.com or simply subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Glad you are enjoying it - I know I am enjoying what I am finding here at Router Forums.


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## Daikusan (Apr 12, 2013)

I would like to see it in action too. Thanks for posting


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## bkukyjt (Mar 6, 2014)

Good on ya Tim! That is a magnificent structure. Brian


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## Shop guy (Nov 22, 2012)

I would be careful about showing that video to my wife. She might get the idea I could be getting a whole lot more done. Great video. I enjoyed it.


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## 4DThinker (Feb 16, 2014)

I agree that the building of a CNC may end up being more fun than the routine of running jobs on one. Helps explain why CNC kits are so popular. I've had fun doing the design and building of tables to put my two CNCs as well as one and eventually two we'll have in the college shop I teach in. Always something I can improve on if I get another chance to design a table. I've concluded that a drawer to keep bits, clamps, and tools in should be mandatory. As close to the CNC as possible, if not under it. I also like it when the CNC ends up in the middle of a space rather than against a wall. Simpler to sweep around it after each job and access the bed from any side.


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## twehr (Mar 18, 2014)

4DThinker said:


> I agree that the building of a CNC may end up being more fun than the routine of running jobs on one. Helps explain why CNC kits are so popular.


A good friend of mine (bdring - originator of BuildLog.net) has a saying that I have stolen for my own use - "If you did not build it, you can never own it!"

The only way to truly understand and get the most out of a machine is to be intimately involved with it's creation. For me, that goes beyond simple assembly. The more time you spend preparing the parts before the assembly, the more time you have thinking about those parts and how they fit together and how their functions interact. That way, if you run into issues or find tweaks you would like to make, you are in a position to do so yourself. With simple kits, you have not yet had the chance to really understand the machine, so you end up calling the manufacturer. Sure, there will still be some of that with our system, but the end creator/builder will be in a much better position to make changes on their own. It's really all about empowerment.


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## twehr (Mar 18, 2014)

*In Action*



Daikusan said:


> I would like to see it in action too. Thanks for posting


Well, sort of. There are two build wrapup videos - first to show movement (by hand) and the second is under actual computer control.

Early next week, I hope to have some videos of test cuts.

Part 1





Part 2


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## Daikusan (Apr 12, 2013)

twehr said:


> Well, sort of. There are two build wrapup videos - first to show movement (by hand) and the second is under actual computer control.
> 
> Early next week, I hope to have some videos of test cuts.


Thanks
Looking forward to seeing the test cuts, just watch out for the whirly parts.
Steve


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## twehr (Mar 18, 2014)

*New CNC Router in Action*

It has been crazy the last couple of weeks - lots of exciting thing happening that we will tell everyone about later. For now, however, several people wanted to see the router in action, so yesterday I made a brief demo of pocketing and profiling with the machine. Enjoy!


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## twehr (Mar 18, 2014)

twehr said:


> It has been crazy the last couple of weeks - lots of exciting thing happening that we will tell everyone about later. For now, however, several people wanted to see the router in action, so yesterday I made a brief demo of pocketing and profiling with the machine. Enjoy!



I finally got the product pages up on the site (SemiHomemadeTools.com). I know I have had a ton of requests for that. Would have done it sooner, but was having too much fun using the router to stop and do the paperwork.


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## papercut (May 13, 2009)

Just wondering how long it really took you to build it.


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## twehr (Mar 18, 2014)

*Actual time was NOT 100 seconds...*



papercut said:


> Just wondering how long it really took you to build it.


papercut,

I don't have an exact figure, but,


I started at 8am.
I was done with everything you see in the video at 5pm.

However,

I spent a lot of time fiddling with cameras (30 minutes worth or more).
I was interrupted by family several time (probably a total of about 1 hour).
I did stop for lunch (30 minutes).
I made a trip to the hardware store to get some screws that I had ordered but did not arrive in time (30 minutes).

So, 9 hours - 2.5 hours = 6.5 hours.

I did have about 10 hours in part preparation (finish drilling, tapping, buffing) prior to actual construction. And, I had already built one with wood parts as a mach-up, so I had a pretty good understanding of what needed to be done when (will be covered in the documentation). 

So, with good printed directions, the average reasonably handy person should be able to have the basic construction done in one, pretty full day. 

I did spend most of a second day wiring the motors and setting up Mach3 to tune the motors, squaring the table, etc.

All of that is about what we were designing for - a weekend of prep work followed by a weekend of building to have a functioning mid-sized CNC router with all aluminum construction.

Limit switches, touch probes, waste boards, etc are all at the discretion of the builder. 

As you can see, when you work with materials that don't require layout (we do that for you), and the design is such that you really have to work at making mistakes, finishing the machining and building it are pretty straight forward. Believe me, with experience building from wood and hardware store parts, this is a whole new world - literally part of our "Tools to fall in love with" world.


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