By: Jeff Davis

 

After I had my SP-3 from Stepperworld.com I wanted to try them out on something. Since I am a woodworker and have a full wood shop I thought that I could make something out of wood to attach the three small stepper motors to. I figured I could cut wood or wax with it. Also, I can learn how to use CNC-Pro that I purchased. I started drawing my design using the CAD. Since I'm a CAD/CAM application engineer by trade, I had access to many different professional CAD/CAM applications. Below are some pictures of my wood mill. I also have a PDF file of my CAD design if you want to look at it. WoodMill.pdf

This photo was taken before I had limit switches on it. You can see my laptop with CNC-Pro running. I have a piece of maple stuck to the table ready to cut something.

Click on the picture for a bigger image.

I added the limit switches and am now cutting my first pocket. What fun!! As you can see, I decided to use the Roto-zip motor as the cutting motor. It had more power than the Dremel and was able to hold 1/8" and 1/4" tools.

 
Playing some more with the wood mill, cutting wax material.
This wood mill was a fun learning experience. With the under-powered stepper motors I could push the mill at a maximum of only 6 inches per min. I cut at 4 inches per min. The screws that powered the three axes were 3/8-8 Acme thread. The stepper motors were on high torque mode and had 200 steps per revolution. I could have done things to make this better, but it was only built for learning on.
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