[Lab] Marauder project (around 400 bucks and counting)

[bentfork at gmail.com]

Wow busy thread.  I guess everyone wants their own CNC mill.

Back in my university days we used to find stray milk crates all over the
place.   Often near the cafeterias, or a the end of term near student
residences.

On 6 June 2011 13:21, Darcy Whyte <darcy at siteware.com> wrote:

> Where to get a milk crate?
>
>
>
> On Mon, Jun 6, 2011 at 1:09 PM, <bentfork at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> This looks interesting, and a good starting price point.
>>
>>  I've been wondering why no one is using milk crates as the base for
>> devices similar to this.  A maker bot could easily fit into one (or two
>> stacked) milk crates.  They are reasonably available, and be machined
>> nicely, and are very portable.
>>
>>
>>
>> On 6 June 2011 12:02, Darcy Whyte <darcy at siteware.com> wrote:
>>
>>> You may remember the Mantis project. There's a build going on in Toronto
>>> and in Ottawa but those projects are not making much headway.
>>>
>>> I believe the problem is that the Mantis cutting format is small and the
>>> machine is not generally attractive enough to motivate someone to get
>>> through the complexity of making it (despite the low cost of the machine).
>>> Also a few gaps in the bill of materials and the build logs doesn't help.
>>>
>>> So I started my own design (working name has been Marauder but anyone can
>>> suggest a name). There's a page for it at
>>> http://mambohead.com/maraudercnc/. The page is still sparse but I'll
>>> have pictures and drawings soon.
>>>
>>> Here's what's different:
>>>
>>> -I picked a higher price so it could have real bearings and do real work
>>> (instead of being just a learning experiment). I'm attempting to come up
>>> with something less than 500 bucks (including everything but the computer).
>>> I figured, if someone wants a simple CNC, 100 bucks is too dreamy. So the
>>> base design needs to be more functional.
>>> -it's still a cool learning experiment
>>> -It will easily accept a dremel as a spindal (and of course a plastic
>>> extruder). I'm working on a YAG laser too but so far that's over 1000 bucks
>>> extra.
>>> -The format will be 12x12x2 (I might make a 12x9x2 option and of course
>>> people will probably scale the machine a bit if they have a specific job for
>>> it).
>>> -It will be totable (I figure if people can tote their cat in a box, then
>>> we can get a CNC into that format)
>>> -It will have a door for dust and noise control.
>>> -MDF + acrylic = easy. Well, the acrylic is harder to cut I think but
>>> people can just use MDF for everything.
>>>
>>> Parts for prototype are on order. If anybody wants a hand in this, you're
>>> welcome.
>>>
>>> If anybody wants to make one, let me know. So far I've had two people
>>> express interest.
>>>
>>> I think this project will increase the audience of CNC machines and be a
>>> benefit to the community.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Lab mailing list
>>> Lab at artengine.ca
>>> http://artengine.ca/mailman/listinfo/lab
>>>
>>>
>>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://artengine.ca/pipermail/lab/attachments/20110606/58f1fd01/attachment.htm>