Glad you are here. I’m Tim. A husband, father and DIY weekend warrior. Follow along as I share what works and what doesn’t in the world of DIY Machining. Hopefully you can use this information to bring that cool project of yours to life.
Have you ever wanted your own CNC machine? The thought of a machine to build stuff for me is fascinating. As a long time mechanical engineer, I have designed hundreds of parts that were CNC machined. Yet, I never learned how to run a CNC machine. I remember looking at the row of small desktop CNC mills in the engineering building in college thinking how cool it would be to run those. Without the time to fit the CNC manufacturing class into my schedule, learning to run a CNC mill had to wait. I am happy to say the wait is over. I am currently running a DIY CNC mill based on a Harbor Freight desktop mill.
Get started by checking out my explanation of the DIY CNC machine controller I built using an Arduino by clicking the link below.
DIY CNC Controller
I am always happy to answer questions. Feel free to contact me at tim@diymachining.com
Thank you for your support
Tim
Your site has inspired me to try arduino on one of my Bridge Mills.
Take a look at my thread on cnc zone…I will probably mention you on
it soon. As you will see I have been building both manual & CNC mills
for some time! My approach is fairly popular (120,00+ Hits so far)
http:www.cnczone.com/forums/benchtop-machines/42227-cnc.html
W.T. – Very cool, your work is amazing. Let me know if you have any questions as you progress on the CNC part of the build.
hello Tim,
I will have question for GrblShield…
may or can I use Arduino CNC shield V3. with A4998 driver ,instead of Grbl Shild ???
if so what is the advantage of Grbl shield ?
thanks much.
CAN – I like the gShield since it has all three stepper drivers on the same board. You should be able to use the CNC shield with the A4998 drive. Full disclosure, I have never messed with either of those products. I would love to hear how they work for you.
Tim
I just wanted to say thank you for your site.
I haven’t finished reading all the articles yet but you have provided the most useful information I have seen so far in an easy to understand way. You have convinced me that the Arduino with the gShield is the way to go. That has been one of my first challenges, just deciding what controller to use.
I have bookmarked your site to refer back to when I start the build of my CNC router.
Regards
John – Thank you for the compliment. I am glad the information was useful. Best of luck with the CNC router build.
Have you had a chance to look at GRBLGRU ?
Looks like it would increase your CNC capabilities dramatically!!
W. Smith, CNC Machine builder
W. Smith – I have not, I will check it out. Thanks for the tip.
could not download g code circle test?
James – I sent an email to you with the link to download the circle gcode directly.
hi Tim,
I have been trying to get downloads from you. I believe you do have my details and e mail address. When I try to download I am always asked to fill in my name an e mail address.
I am re-building an old cnc Sheerline micro mill which was using Ms DOS.I have nearly finished building it to your project. Can you please check to see if you do have my details as it looks as if I am not on your mailing list and it is a bit lonely out here.
Dave
Dave, I apologize for the trouble. I made the downloads available without the need to signup. Let me know if you still have problems.
Hi:
The worst thing I’ve ever saw is your log_in procedure and so I could’nt get further information about g_code and so on more
I think I will not buy it………….
Hi Reinhold, I appreciate the feedback. What login procedure are you referencing, Email list or Comments? I am always open to suggestions about making the process better.
Hi Tim, tried to join your site but says my email is invalid?
Hi Walter, thanks for reaching out. Sorry about that… I have you on the email list. Feel free to email me at Tim@DiyMachining.com if you have any questions.
Thanks for doing this, Tim. I’ve done shop-CNC conversions and setups in the past with PC based software and parallel ports and I’m just coming around to wanting an Arduino-based setup. Is there a more refined version (with readout/display and move buttons) that you know of now?This should give a new life to my ShopTask machine.
Hi Daniel, good question. I am not aware of an off the shelf CNC controller interface for GRBL with readout display and jog buttons. I know people make their own. You can also connect a jog pendant to work with many of the gcode senders compatible with GRBL. I have not done that yet so I don’t feel like I am in a position to recommend anything.
Tim
I bought a desktop cnc with a laser. I have it built but I know nothing aabout computer programming. Can you hlp me get this setup?
Hi Tom, yes. I am happy to help you get up and running with the machine. Feel free to reply with specific questions or email me at Tim@DIYMachining.com
Hi I cannot get the UGS software to connect to mu CNC 3018 Pro. I do not have any serial ports so how do i get the software to use USB ports?
Hi Peter, good question. When you launch UGS, there is a drop down menu that you can use to select the Port “COM 1 or other number”. This is a “software” serial connection that will use a USB cable connected between your PC or laptop and your CNC 3018 Arduino controller. Once you select the Port, click the open button. If you are not sure which COM port the Arduino on the 3018 is using, connect the USB cable to your computer. Open the device manager and look under the “Ports” section. Once you have the COM port figured out, Take a look at “Step 6 – Test the connection” of the following page… http://diymachining.com/diy-cnc-controller-how-to-setup-your-arduino-gshield/ If that doesn’t get you running, send an email to me at Tim@DIYMachining.com