Sfm for aluminumsteel

I wonder how much rigidity is lost from that spindly y carriage. I feel like if they used a big chunk of aluminum (they’re leadscrew drives!) it would probably have enough rigidity to fit one of those 500W DC motors as a spindle and not be stuck with the gimped 50W spindle that every $200 3018 router ever uses.

Agreed on all counts. Though an enclosure of any sort heated or just a box really does cut down on trouble keeping all the air still, so I’d like to see that simple box on any printer in this price range, even more so when its a good idea (should be required) to have the laser safe box anyway…

For CNC milling half-step mode is as good as it gets… for small laser engravers or 3D printers, than smoothed micro-stepping becomes more useful.

Of course, when machining with the CNC head, the rigid leadscrews are a plus, even though the 50 W spindle isn’t going to replace a larger CNC machine. He was even able to machine some aluminum slowly. The laser head is modestly powered, but it does have a camera and low-tech air assist, although it isn’t a proper air system. Overall, [Stefan] felt like the machine was usable in all three phases. He did miss a prominent emergency stop button on the machine or even on the graphical user interface.

No heated chamber; Therefore nothing more than maker crap as a 3D printer. CNC? So cover everything in chips and oil then transition to laser?

Most of us have, or, would like to have a 3D printer, a laser engraver, and a CNC machine. However, if you think about it naively, these machines are not too different. You need some way to move in the XY plane and, usually, on the Z axis, as well.

Replaceable tool that clamps into a tool body, drill, mill or other cutter body designed to accommodate inserts. Most inserts are made of cemented carbide. Often they are coated with a hard material. Other insert materials are ceramic, cermet, polycrystalline cubic boron nitride and polycrystalline diamond. The insert is used until dull, then indexed, or turned, to expose a fresh cutting edge. When the entire insert is dull, it is usually discarded. Some inserts can be resharpened.

Sure, people mount extruders on CNCs, or even lasers or Dremel tools on 3D printers. However, each machine has its own peculiarities. CNCs need rigidity. 3D printers should be fast. Laser engravers and CNCs don’t typically need much Z motion. So common sense would tell you that it would be tough to make a machine to do all three functions work well in each use case. [Stefan] thought that, too, until he got his hands on a Snapmaker 2.0.

Poor rigidity, no cooling and toy spindle mean a crap CNC experience. Poor laser power, no air assist and no fume extraction (at least without the enclosure) and no axis encoders to get accurate bitmapping, mean a crap laser experience. At the 3D printer implementation doesn’t look too bad, but I bet it doesn’t have any auto-levelling functionality.

I’m the same, I like the noise, and knowing whether it’s doing arcs and curves. Just like I prefer mice that have a red LED underneath, rather than the “improved” IR LED tracker ones.

As you can see in the video below, the machine uses different tool heads for each function. The motion system stays the same and, curiously, there are three identical linear motion modules, one for each axis.

Though, I have seen plenty of professional fiber lasers have no protection for the people around other then at best a bit of a skirt. (usually not even that… Having operated laser cutters for some time, it does irk me a bit.)

But maybe it’s aimed for the beginner. Someone who would not be building such things themselves. Ok. But I think the lack of a laser proof enclosure and the lack of a kill switch are bad ideas even for a pro, doubly so for a beginner. Of course those things are available as add-ons. But wow! It’s expensive enough without add-ons! So sure. If I knew a beginner with all sorts of money to just throw around without a care that insisted on starting in all three at once. Then I would recommend it. That’s a pretty specific market!

A less pedantic concern is that these devices seem to give _no_ consideration to passive laser safety. They might provide goggles, but that is no help to your cat. A laser should be in an box and only enable the laser when the lid is shut.

Some laser goggles can take pulsed power in the few hundred watts, but will melt if faced with a CW source. And some goggles doesn’t block more than a watt or two. Laser goggles aren’t a magical protection device after all…

Overall, the Snapmaker looks like a good concept with some implementation problems, but no show stoppers. Like most amateur builds, the machine is basically a small CNC with accessories to do laser cutting and 3D printing. Could you build better? Maybe. But it wouldn’t be trivial to match the build quality and software integration of the device.

Even ABS can be printed without any enclosure at all if you take care to avoid drafts, otherwise you can always enclose it – even a non-heated enclosure gets sufficiently warm from the heated bed and extruder that you won’t have any issues with most common materials that a small shop is likely to print (ABS, ASA, nylon, PLA, etc.)

Try running this G-code. It plays “Daisy” in 3-part harmony on a 3-axis machine. https://github.com/LinuxCNC/linuxcnc/blob/master/nc_files/daisy.ngc

I think they could forego the welding gloves, but if the professor is pointing the laser at a reflective surface then the goggles are probably a good idea.

I actually really like the noise it makes when printing or lasering; you can hear the geometry of what it’s working on. The multiple motors will harmonize on and off and create weird rythems… Or maybe it’s that my partner has been playing with their synths a lot lately ?

Sfm for aluminumpdf

In addition to the interchangeable heads, you also have to swap out the beds for different functions. That means changing over quickly isn’t really an option. [Stefan] reports there are 22 bolts to attach the heated bed for 3D printing, for example.

As an aside, CNC is one are where there can be real confusion about whether the “router” is the machine itself or the device that connects it to your network. At least in the UK we pronounce them differently (The networking device is a “rooter”. The woodworking device is hard to spell unambiguously without using phonetics. “row” as in noise, not “row” as in “row a boat”)

It’s the equivalent of a bullet proof vest, it might “stop” a bullet, but the vest doesn’t typically cover one’s head. (And helmets aren’t really offering much protection either…) Not to mention, just like laser goggles, they have a peak energy and power rating…

Lasers have classes, laser pointers fall into class 3R which is under 5mw where the blink reflex can stop eye damage. Laser cutters are all class 4, any exposure can cause permanent damage. About the only laser cutting systems that dont have to be fully enclose when running are CO2 systems since the light cant even penetrate the retina.

Source. I work in a university physics department and we are making a CO2 laser, and the professor supervising the project is very familiar with laser safety.

Of course, you can buy a machine which does have it (e.g. some Zortraxes or Stratasys) – but then we are talking a totally different price range as well.

Cutting tool materials include cemented carbides, ceramics, cermets, polycrystalline diamond, polycrystalline cubic boron nitride, some grades of tool steels and high-speed steels. See HSS, high-speed steels; PCBN, polycrystalline cubic boron nitride; PCD, polycrystalline diamond.

SFM for aluminumwith carbide

A second misconception among operators is that any cutting tool material can cut aluminum. Technically, this may be true, but it would be a mistake to think that all cutting tool materials cut aluminum with equal efficiency in all situations. The fact is that facemilling a long run of aluminum parts with anything other than polycrystalline-diamond (PCD) tools is a waste of time and money. On a dollar-for-dollar basis, a PCD tool will produce more high-quality cuts than a tool of any other material. Typically, the cutting edge of a PCD insert chips because of a loose, broken, or improperly loaded part before it wears out. A shop should consider less expensive cutting tools, such as carbide tools, only if parts are often misloaded or if it is cutting poor-quality castings. The silicon or sand inclusions in these parts can rapidly damage PCD tools.

One common myth holds that it doesn’t take much power to machine aluminum at high speeds. This myth has persisted because, until quite recently, most high-speed milling of aluminum required machines that were little more than drilling machines. Even aerospace manufacturers milling giant spars used tools that were not much different from ordinary endmills. Endmills do not place significant axial and radial loads on the spindle, and they don’t require the horsepower that facemills might require.

Liquid used to improve workpiece machinability, enhance tool life, flush out chips and machining debris, and cool the workpiece and tool. Three basic types are: straight oils; soluble oils, which emulsify in water; and synthetic fluids, which are water-based chemical solutions having no oil. See coolant; semisynthetic cutting fluid; soluble-oil cutting fluid; synthetic cutting fluid.

Safety features as optional upgrades? Boeing offered optional extra AoA sensors on the 737 MAX, for a price. And we all know how that turned out.

Iptfor aluminum

I agree that these lasers are inherently dangerous, and sensible precautions should be taken, however, isn’t it more interesting that the newspapers aren’t filled with stories of nasty incidents involving laser engravers? I know absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, but where are the horror stories of laser engraving gone bad? Compare with hand guns in the US…

for many of us who are using this to learn of just for light hobby work. this can be the right product for the semi-right price. I agree with you even though I do not own one of these. To me this would be like people complaining about consumer drones not being professional because they can not bomb a foreign nation with them. Or early IBM saying no one would use a Computer in their home at the time that the professional machines took up entire buildings. I have numerous 3D printers that are crap compared to the large professional systems. I have 2 cheapo Chinese CNC’s. I have a laser engraver I made out of an old cd burner which really is pretty useless. But for me and my needs they work perfect. I do not plan to make anything I am selling on them. They are toys and learning environments and not much more. sometimes they go months without even being turned on.

Could one build, a separate, optimized for task 3d printer, cnc router and laser cutter? Well, no. But I wouldn’t call an open-framed diode powered device a laser cutter. I would call it a “budget” (although this one is expensive) laser engraver. And I think one could definitely build a similarly sized 3d printer, cnc router and open framed laser retina engraver for that price.

Ideally, operators should know how fast they can rotate their tools without causing components to move out of place. One manufacturer tests the speed potential of its high-speed cutters by rotating them at increasingly faster rates. The test is halted at the point where centrifugal forces cause a properly installed insert to move 0.0005". The maximum operational speed of the cutter is then calculated as the speed it takes to generate 33% of this force. This maximum speed is permanently etched into each cutter body. The reason the maximum operational speed is so much less than the maximum tested speed is that the test speed is gaged with a tool under no load. In an actual cut, cutters are subjected to impacts and vibrations that increase the forces trying to move the insert out of place.

So long as it has servo control, it is an CNC machine. Which is quite a huge catagory consider many of its sub types. And that’s about it, it is not a proper laser cutter nor a 3D printer, it is just a CNC platform with questionable reliability.

In fact my comments about laser safety were aimed at all of the machines that seem to think that bolting a laser diode to an axis system is all that you need to make a laser cutter.

If you’re thinking of getting one of these, you may wish to check out their Facebook page with 17K members – ‘Snapmaker Support’, and also ‘Snapmaker Enthusiasts & Users Group’ with 6.1K. Some people say it’s the best thing since sliced bread, but quite a few people are having problems with quality control on the linear modules. I wan’t one, but the complaints on the Support page are putting me off at the moment, you might have a different opinion.

Save your money, as even studies proving micro-stepping is silly for CNC will never convince some people they wasted their money at best, or bought a problematic machine at worst. Klipper does do its best to mitigate some of these problems in 3D FFF printers, but YMMV for the reasons already stated… ;-)

Cutting fluid can be used to flush away the chips, but it must be applied correctly. When cutting fluid is applied to a cutter rotating at a high speed, it will probably be atomized before it can flush away the chips. Not only is the atomized coolant ineffective at controlling chips, it also poses a health hazard as the misting fluid hangs in the air.

What youre implying is that students should put on a laser glasses and welding gloves every time prof. uses a laser pointer on a displayboard?

You can get their enclosure which uses clear plastic walls which filters out the light. Also has LED lighting and an exhaust fan. Minimizes the risk for your cat (and yes, they use sensors to disable the laser if you open the enclosure while in use)

But spindle speed isn’t the only concern. True productivity gains can best be achieved by raising the feed rate. All else being equal, an increase in the feed rate results in a more efficient metal-removal rate than the rate an equal change in any other cutting parameter will yield. These increases cost less in terms of horsepower than changes in other parameters cost, because the relationship between horsepower and feed rate is nonlinear. In other words, once the machine is expending enough force to cut the material, it takes a decreasing amount of power to cut a thicker chip.

Though, there is hand held 3D printers. (“3D pens”, really lack luster to try to use in 3 dimensions, though some people do wonderful artwork with it that is damn impressive.)

Fluid that reduces temperature buildup at the tool/workpiece interface during machining. Normally takes the form of a liquid such as soluble or chemical mixtures (semisynthetic, synthetic) but can be pressurized air or other gas. Because of water’s ability to absorb great quantities of heat, it is widely used as a coolant and vehicle for various cutting compounds, with the water-to-compound ratio varying with the machining task. See cutting fluid; semisynthetic cutting fluid; soluble-oil cutting fluid; synthetic cutting fluid.

I would love to know the back stories that lead to regulations like this. What sequence of seemingly logical steps were followed that lead to such a strange result?

“CNCs don’t typically need much Z motion” Try telling that to my CNC lathe. CNC _routers_ might not need much Z motion, but “CNC” is a much wider category than that.

As for the concept of changeable powered CNC/print/laser heads, there used to be the excellent little EMCO Unimat lathe. It had a removeable and repositionable motor (from the lathe bed to a milling column) to allow it to do a range of machine operations. However (according to the shop I used to buy Unimat attachments from) it fell foul of newer European regulations prohibiting tools with removable motors, and new versions of the machine did not have this feature anymore.

SFM for aluminum6061

Not to mention pulsed lasers that go into the MW or higher. Though, the energy here is fairly small in comparison to a CW laser source.

The small plasma cutters like the Hypertherm 30 have a pretty tiny power supply. But you would never want to use something like a plasma in a desktop machine. They are incredibly messy and need major ventilation.

If your cat tries to outmuscle the spindle spinning at 12k rpm, it’s going to have a bad day as well. Keep your cat out of your workshop, is probably a better solution.

In fairness, the leadscrews are really well protected, that’s one of the nice things about the mechanics. It isn’t stated, but I imagine that the cover strip passes up and over the leadscrew nut, in a manner equivalent to that of the 1940’s Smart and Brown Model M lathe. (And, more recently, a combo lathe/mill that I converted to CNC)

Laser goggles should only be thought of as a secondary measure, not the primary one. Though, the most important safety measure is to know what you are doing and the risks involved and where said risks are. But in an open workshop other people around might not be keeping track of what and where stuff is happening, so put your lasers in an enclosure.

The prolbem is that most people find forums with hopes of answering a prolbem or issue. Most people dont post the good stuff unless they are braging to some extent. In most car groups its about mods and issues. Same goes here. Im in all of them. And have a sm2.0a350. And i love it. With more space could have got 3 comprable puces of equipment. But overall its legit. Solid. The resolution of the output is far better than the diy home brew ones.

I got it for the backer price 480 off. Idk if i would of at the fill asking price. But i am also intrested in the rotary module too now so. 4th axis milling too.

For CNC, you are far better off getting slower 0.8’/step high-toque long body NEMA23 form motors, and use a toothed belt reduction drive to increase precision and holding torque.

Because coolant isn’t needed to control cutting temperatures, some users have switched to compressed air to evacuate chips. The method does blow the chips out of the cutting zone, but operators may not be able to tolerate the noise it generates, and the flying chips may pose a hazard. Other users employ a vacuum system that sucks the chips out of the cutting zone. This eliminates the problem of flying chips, but the approach can be as noisy as compressed air, and it makes cutter maintenance difficult.

I’m considering one for simple jobs, like you to satisfy that urge to try things out, I don’t need professional results, but my main question is how good are the 3D prints, and how do they compare to printers like the Prusa printers. I ask as complete novice to 3D printering. Its frustrating that few of the online reviews Ive looked at go much beyond a fidgety dude unboxing it, printing a benchy and saying hey thats great, bye.

No reason you couldn’t shrink a Plasma cutter.. Got to ask why you would want to though – its not like the cuts a plasma torch can make are good for really small detail stuff, though I guess you can also shrink that – still seems like the wrong tech to go for small scale… Surely at that point you are looking at waterjet based or laser based, being able to do smaller details easily, and probably not being quite so stupidly heavy…

Well, fair enough on the leadscrews. To be honest I didn’t bother to give it much of a lookover, since this concept has been done (badly) to death so much already. I didn’t like it then and I don’t like it now :)

Value that refers to how far the workpiece or cutter advances linearly in 1 minute, defined as: ipm = ipt 5 number of effective teeth 5 rpm. Also known as the table feed or machine feed.

“Compare with hand guns in the US…” uhhh how many people own how many guns, how many people own how many lasers that don’t have safety systems such as door interlocks?

Are you joking or a genuine question? I hope your professor is using a display marker with a 0.5mw laser. The laser attached here is 1600mW. Both deserve different level of respect.

To vary the grade of PCD tools, manufacturers use different sizes of diamond grits. For milling aluminum at high speeds, shops should stock both a roughing and a finishing grade of PCD. Generally, operators shouldn’t plan on using worn finishing tools for roughing applications. Diamond tools seldom wear out in normal use; they typically produce good cuts until the cutting edge is chipped. Therefore, if the tool is producing poor-quality finishing cuts, it will produce poor-quality roughing cuts as well. Even if an undamaged finishing-grade insert is used for roughing, the results may be unsatisfactory, because manufacturers have carefully designed their insert grades to produce a certain kind of cut. Course grades are more suitable for milling high-silicon aluminum and roughing; finer grades are designed to produce glass-like finishes.

Cutting tool material consisting of natural or synthetic diamond crystals bonded together under high pressure at elevated temperatures. PCD is available as a tip brazed to a carbide insert carrier. Used for machining nonferrous alloys and nonmetallic materials at high cutting speeds.

When shops crank up the speed, they have to be prepared for the consequences, even if they’re milling "easy-to-machine" aluminum.

Aluminum sfmhss

Fair point about the laser safety; I shelled out extra for the enclosure when I got mine last year and have been quite pleased with it overall (the whole ensemble). The enclosure is made of dark cola colored anti-UV plastic panels on yet more aluminum extrusions which makes up the frame, and covers every side but the bottom. A worthy upgrade. It also helps keep the air temp inside stable for 3d prints, though the vent fan on it is basically just a PC fan, it still provides the negative pressure needed to keep fumes out of the workplace.

Machines that have enough horsepower to cut with higher feeds still need structural strength. To mill aluminum at elevated feed rates, a shop will want a beefy, rigid machine tool with powerful axis drives and large precision ballscrews or linear drives. Generally speaking, the present generation of machine tools can cut aluminum with feeds ranging from 300 to 600 ipm. On the horizon are machines with double the feed capability.

Sorry for the delay in commenting. If you guys think that a heated chamber is not required, then you are talking about maker crap. I am talking about market-viable printing for engineering grade prototyping and production. Correct, if you are printing cool figurines in your mom’s basement, then the maker crap is fine. If you want the equivalent of a professional grade tool, you’ll want a heated chamber. Learn about materials.

So, my new 3D printer prints at about 60mm/s. Or about 140 in/minute, while the old 3 axis mill moves at about 350 in / min… Why is the cnc slower than 3D printing???

When operators compared their aluminum operations to cutting steel, it reinforced the idea that high-speed aluminum milling is a low-power operation. While it may be true that milling aluminum requires less horsepower, the process still requires a powerful machine to raise speeds into the high-speed range. It can take significant amounts of power just to rotate the spindle at 20,000 rpm or faster. As a rule of thumb, a machine needs 1 horsepower for every 1,000 rpm of spindle speed. This is the minimum needed to rotate the spindle. Cutting the workpiece will require additional power. For cutting aluminum at high speeds, the machine will need a spindle that can handle the radial loads as well as a powerful spindle motor.

The truth is that “Snapmaker Enthusiasts & Users Group with 6.1K members” is not the official group, check their Official Snapmaker Owner Group with 19K members. Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/215059202360384

Bestsfm for aluminum

Machine guards and shields should be seen as the last line of defense against catastrophic tool failure. If tools are properly maintained, these beefed-up guards may never be put to the test. Cutters should be regularly inspected. High-speed milling subjects the cutter to higher rotational loads and greater erosion from contact with chips. This damage can reduce the holding power of the tool’s fasteners or cartridges. Regular tool inspections should be stressed, especially with the use of diamond cutting tools. Operators may not realize the need for frequent cutter inspections when using diamond tools because the cutting tool itself lasts such a long time.

Runs endmills and arbor-mounted milling cutters. Features include a head with a spindle that drives the cutters; a column, knee and table that provide motion in the three Cartesian axes; and a base that supports the components and houses the cutting-fluid pump and reservoir. The work is mounted on the table and fed into the rotating cutter or endmill to accomplish the milling steps; vertical milling machines also feed endmills into the work by means of a spindle-mounted quill. Models range from small manual machines to big bed-type and duplex mills. All take one of three basic forms: vertical, horizontal or convertible horizontal/vertical. Vertical machines may be knee-type (the table is mounted on a knee that can be elevated) or bed-type (the table is securely supported and only moves horizontally). In general, horizontal machines are bigger and more powerful, while vertical machines are lighter but more versatile and easier to set up and operate.

I haven’t been able to find a satisfying answer on this – are Trinamic drivers much quieter than cheap drivers like DRV8825 or A4988, when not run in stealth mode? Trinamic says they use a current control algorithm that’s better, and therefore quieter, but I’m not sure how much of a difference that really makes.

Seriously, the lack of the *heated* chamber on this machine is the least of my worries. The toy spindle, the lack of emergency stop (this being an optional extra is really not an option!) and the lack of any sort of enclosure for the laser (so no chance of this to satisfy any kind of safety regs) are way bigger problems.

Operators cranking up the speeds and feeds of their aluminum milling operations may be surprised at the volume of chips they will produce. Because aluminum is a workhardening material, these chips are harder than the workpiece itself. Therefore, they can abrade and damage the surface finish of the workpiece if they come in contact with it. To reduce the potential for damage, the chips must be controlled, but the shear volume of chips makes control and removal difficult.

On half-step mode your torque drops to around 80% of the theoretical best your motor could provide. Your repeatable positional accuracy is 5% of the step angle at best on most steppers, and It only gets worse with more drive features added.

And one could likely make a hand controlled laser cutter, but one would likely need to make it like a manual milling machine, otherwise it can legally be considered a laser pointer, and that is a bit more legally dubious if it packs a lot of power.

Shops milling aluminum at high speeds should also consider using cutting tools with the diamond cutting edge brazed directly to the cartridge. This arrangement holds the cutting edge in position more securely than an indexable insert mounted in a cartridge does. A facemill rotating at 20,000 rpm generates extreme forces. The cutter has to resist these forces in order to hold the cutting edge in position and produce a good finish. A cutter loaded with cartridges on which the inserts have been brazed has fewer mechanical connections between the cutter body and the cutting edge. With fewer connections, there are fewer locations where movement can occur. Tests also have shown that using lubricants on connectors, such as the screws holding the insert or cartridge in place, can increase their holding power.

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Tendency of all metals to become harder when they are machined or subjected to other stresses and strains. This trait is particularly pronounced in soft, low-carbon steel or alloys containing nickel and manganese—nonmagnetic stainless steel, high-manganese steel and the superalloys Inconel and Monel.

Given these basic requirements, a shop may need a 50-hp machine with a 50-taper spindle and a 15,000 rpm continuous-speed rating to mill aluminum at high speeds. That is not a small machine tool in anybody’s book. Clearly an older, low-power machine with inadequate spindle support will not suffice.

There was a time when only aerospace manufacturers felt the need to push the limits of their machines and tools when milling aluminum. But not any more. The use of aluminum has become common in a wide variety of industries. The automotive industry, in particular, is forecasting a dramatic increase in the use of aluminum for major powertrain components. Aluminum pistons already power nearly every car on the road, and the use of aluminum heads and blocks is becoming common among automakers.

Aluminummilling speed chart

They sell an enclosure. In my case my enclosure is my garage. It’s a perfectly fine and safe machine. Take a breather bud

Few operators would consider milling aluminum at high speeds a challenge. When aluminum is machined, the process doesn’t produce the intense heat that is produced when ferrous materials are cut, and it takes less force to cut the material than it takes to cut iron or steel. Because aluminum is easier to machine than many other metals, it is often the first material that student machinists work with. This has contributed to aluminum’s image as an easy-to-machine material. Aluminum’s reputation has led many to conclude that it can be cut on any machine tool with enough power to turn the spindle, and with virtually any tool material.

Technological advances have raised the boundary between standard and high-speed milling over the years. Given today’s technology, users and manufacturers generally agree that "high-speed" milling is milling with a surface speed between 3,300 and 33,000 sfm. When comparing similar operations with similar machines, aluminum will be cut at a faster speed than ferrous materials. Milling either aluminum or ferrous materials at speeds above this range is considered ultra-high-speed work, and it is rarely performed outside of the lab.

Im sorting out plans to byild a larger cnc w a hand router. And i have a prusa i3 for rapid prints. The laser has been alot more handy than i thought.

Form of milling that produces a flat surface generally at right angles to the rotating axis of a cutter having teeth or inserts both on its periphery and on its end face.

Plus the chips and oil hit by laser risk isn’t that great as you are using different beds for each job it seems (plus you really should clean up between passes even in just pure CNC use). Start looking at pumping a CO2 tube through such a system and cleanup to change tools might start to really matter, as even out of focus the small 40W tubes are way more potent that these tiny diodes, and the reflection of a chip could really still melt/cut stuff…

Though, an axt-acetylene torch is a few kW in a few square mm. Some lasers are tens of kW or more in less than one square mm…. (good for cutting through practically anything.)

Oh yay, I can engrave balsa wood or cut cardboard, and only risking permanent blindness. Then I can engrave softwoods or aluminium and get all those chips into the leadscrews, to really mess up my next 3D print.

Pass. Sorry, as loads of people have already said, just because a laser engraver, ‘CNC’ router and 3D printer share the concept of an cartesian robot, doesn’t make one such implementation a good solution in all cases.

Users may not realize how much this change in the surface speed alters the forces acting on the tool or the workpiece and the impact these changes have on the operation. When an engineer suggests increasing the surface speed of an operation, either by increasing the spindle speed or increasing the diameter of the tool, one of his first concerns should be the safety of the operator. Even at the low end of the high-speed range, tools, tool components, and inserts store large amounts of kinetic energy. If the tool or toolholding system fails, this energy is released unpredictably as components hurtle out of the machining area. Any screw, wedge, anvil, or insert can become a dangerous projectile when it is propelled away from the machine at a high speed.

And seriously – if you are using a CNC router then noisy steppers are likely the least of your worries given how much racket the milling makes. This is not a machine you would want in your bedroom even if the steppers were silent.

At the same time, competitive pressures are forcing shops to look for ways to become more productive. As part of this effort to move more parts through the shop in less time, operators are dialing up the speeds and feeds on their milling machines. Shops working with aluminum are just as interested in high productivity as shops working with ferrous materials. As a result, more and more operators are milling aluminum at high speeds.

The use of larger cutter diameters is one reason an increasing number of jobs are being performed in the high-speed range. As shops replace their older machines with equipment that is more powerful and more rigid, users are finding they can use tools, such as facemills, that have a larger diameter than the endmills they were using. And as the diameter increases, so does the surface speed, even if the spindle speed remains the same.

Quieter or micro-step (aka variable torque lotto drive) motors does not mean more precision machines unless used for relatively low-load applications like some printers.. The 800 discrete steps per lead screw inch all of a sudden becomes probabilistic. Thus your machine may behave like an elastic-band under varying tool loads, and the surface you print/cut will likely reflect that problem to varying degrees depending on the motion path… Thus, that >5% error floats around depending on the driver phase, load, and inertia… all bad if you want something square, and repeatable..

Just to be reverse pedantic, I did say typically. Of course there are machines that have significant z-motion or even five axis but I was thinking of what normal people have in their shops which is typically a router with a very limited spindle up spindle down capability. but since that’s not really what the article is about I want to get into all that and just said typically.

Oh *sigh*, such lovely comments from people that have not actually used it. I own one and it does exactly what it says on the tin. The hardware is fantastic. GUI and software, again fantastic. Packaging and documentation, un-freaking-real-tastic. For those of you claiming “bUt it’S NoT prOfeSsIoNaL!!!” You are absolutely correct. It’s not marketed nor intended to be a professional, make your living on, 100% duty cycle, print, machine, cut, mark on any conceivable material, tool. It’s intended for the hobbyist that needs the infrequent, random, “Gee, I wish I had a CNC that could save me time and accurately help in my spare time endeavors.” tool. So far, I only have one quibble. The bed could use extra stability; but its an easy fix.

It is like comparing a candle to a blow torch, and that isn’t even a remotely close comparison at times as far as laser cutters go….

Shops that are milling at high speeds must select their tools carefully and maintain them to prevent catastrophic failures that turn tool components into deadly missiles. Using a conventional tool in a high-speed operation is unsafe. Only tools designed and balanced for high-speed milling should be used to cut aluminum at speeds above 3,300 sfm. Such tools have low mass to avoid balance problems and easily maintained replaceable components that will allow users to keep them in as-new condition at all times.

I think the noisy stepper drivers are a consequence of them needing to have enough torque for the CNC milling part. The silent Trinamic drivers are cool – but they have also much lower torque in the silent mode than the common “noisy” ones. And the difference is pretty significant. This is maybe OK for 3D printer or laser but it was likely a no go for an already marginal CNC router design.

Aluminum is becoming an important material in manufacturing, and its use is constantly increasing. Shops that mill aluminum can realize truly impressive gains in productivity by milling their parts at higher speeds and feeds. But they must thoroughly understand the dynamics of the high-speed milling process to achieve these gains. Only then will they be sure they are using the right machines, and the right tools, under the right conditions.

Even tools designed for high-speed milling can fail catastrophically, however. In these situations, the operators may have to depend on the machines’ guarding to protect them from shrapnel flying through the work area. Conventional machine guards and shields may not be enough, however. Often these are designed to contain chips, fluids, and atmospheric contaminants rather than flying tool parts. Machines designed for high-speed milling should have guard walls and windows made from thicker, tougher materials.

Taking extra safety precautions when milling at high speeds may sound like common sense to most operators and engineers. Such safeguards are necessary regardless of the material being machined. The need for other measures to ensure the success and productivity of a high-speed aluminum milling operation may seem less obvious to operators, especially if they are laboring under misconceptions about aluminum’s machinability.

At present, there are no standardized designs for high-speed milling tools; each manufacturer has its own design. Some tools may have only a few features that distinguish them from conventional tools. Inexperienced users may not even realize they are using a high-speed tool, or they may not realize how important these features are to the safe and proper operation of the tool at high speeds. If they are not made aware of these differences, they may compromise the safety of the tool by replacing these specialized components or inserts when they become worn or damaged with conventional parts or substandard parts from a different manufacturer. Even after educating machinists about the importance of using the right components for high-speed milling, a shop ought to consider purchasing high-speed tools with parts that are not interchangeable with conventional tools. This will prevent potentially dangerous errors.

The truth is that milling aluminum at high speeds does take special machine tools and cutting tools. As the speed of the operation increases, the dynamics of the process change, and any engineer who isn’t prepared for these changes is putting the operator, the tools, and the productivity of the job at risk.

Besides all that I find the anemic heated bed and the noisy stepper drivers mystifying. What were they thinking‽ For the price I would expect Trinamics and a nice high-wattage silicone heater to be a given. And while I think it’s great that the bed swaps out for conversion between routing and 3d printing I don’t understand why the springs are part of base and not just part of the 3d printer bed. Even if it meant the 3d printer bed module needs an extra layer so what? It’s not like they need worry much about weight when everything is a leadscrew. There should be a solid, spring-free mount when it is configured for CNC.

And, do any drilling with a normal drill and drill chuck in a CNC mill, and you’ll need more Z axis that the silly 3D printer! ;)

Laser safety goggles are included with the machine. A laser-tight housing can also be ordered. Likewise an emergency stop switch. The housing is equipped with doors that stop the machine when it is opened, a smoke vent for the laser and 3D printing is also integrated in the housing and it also serves to reduce dust and noise.

Its kinda cool for what it is. And solid. Alot of there qc issues were addressed. The delay in techsupport and shipping were my only issue. But ita a startup. Andthey are far out. And the rhona. So yeah. Things happen in that sence.

Machining operation in which metal or other material is removed by applying power to a rotating cutter. In vertical milling, the cutting tool is mounted vertically on the spindle. In horizontal milling, the cutting tool is mounted horizontally, either directly on the spindle or on an arbor. Horizontal milling is further broken down into conventional milling, where the cutter rotates opposite the direction of feed, or “up” into the workpiece; and climb milling, where the cutter rotates in the direction of feed, or “down” into the workpiece. Milling operations include plane or surface milling, endmilling, facemilling, angle milling, form milling and profiling.

This isn’t cheap, of course, but if you had to buy all three devices, you’d probably spend as much, especially for all aluminum framed machines. There are some compromises. The linear modules use a leadscrew, which is an unusual choice on X and Y axis for 3D printers because they are slow and have more backlash than belts. However, [Stefan] found the quality was good, even though printing speed was slow and noisy.

“can also be ordered” is insufficient for a laser designed to at least etch if not cut. And a non-handheld machine with no EPO is a toy not a tool.

No, CO2 laser systems produce infra-red radiation, and the specular reflection of a CO2 laser can DEFINITELY cause retinal damage. The thing is that the laser light can be absorbed by glass or plastic lenses.

Using machines and tools with through-coolant capability is more desirable. The coolant exiting the spinning cutting tool has much greater inertia than coolant applied externally. This additional force gives the coolant the power to carry the chips away from the cut. In tests, users were able to use feed rates with through-coolant tools that were twice as fast as the rates they could use with tools with externally applied coolant, and the operation produced better surface finishes.

You just hit a particular trigger of mine, using “CNC” to mean “Router”. Nearly everyone I know with a “CNC” has a machining centre, plasma cutter or lathe. But then, the people I know are atypical.

I really want a desktop box that can do it all, but it just feels like the holy grail of personal fab is still out of reach. For now, well just have to soldier on with multiple dedicated machines.

I respect the attempt to build a universal machine, but if people use aluminum extrusion it just isn’t going to give the results most will be expecting at that price point. One could also get a taig mill, k40 laser cutter, and FFF printer… handle 3 concurrent tasks, and still have budget left over for tooling.

Woah, what? CO2 lasers can definitely cause severe and permanent eye damage, what are you talking about? You should absolutely fully enclose CO2 laser systems.

Seems a tad in the expensive side for what it is. You could buy something like an Ender 3 3D printer, a K40 laser cutter, a 3018 CNC router and still have over £500 spare for other toys.

The prints are pretty good, my first ones came out just fine with zero tweaks, though I’ve since learned how to calibrate things better (and that I should have done so from day 1) so improvements have been made as well. It’s a 0.4mm nozzle by default, and though I’ve bought a few more sizes for it I don’t intend to use it for printing tabletop game miniatures (the fine detail just isn’t realistic with that large of an extrusion) though I did make a custom case for a raspberry pi and that works fantastic!

Bound to happen, lots of key issues such as connector reliability, repeatability and standardisation if possible across manufacturers, thanks for post :-)

Did you see the color of ‘safety glasses’ they provide with all these laser diodes? Green. They literally do NOTHING to protect your eyes from blue-blue/violet lasers. The proper color is orange or red but the chinese never use those. Ever.

Even a decent diameter cutter (Bigger than hobby size 1/8″ or 3mm stuff) on a high speed spindle cutting aluminum moves pretty fast compared to the 3D printer! A lot of big CNC mills have rapids near 1000in/min (420mm/s).