Maslow CNC - open source 4 foot by 8 foot CNC router kit - under $500

[Winston]

For those really big L3 projects... on Kickstarter soon.

Specs:
Work Space: 4' X 8' *
Encoder Resolution: 8148 steps/rev
Real World Precision: +- 1/64th inch (.4 mm) or better
Max feed rate 48 inches/minute
AC Voltage: 110-250 volts
DC Voltage: 12 volts
Connection: USB
OS for Software: Mac, Windows, Linux

*The work space is defined by the length of the two #25 roller chains so it can be easily enlarged or made smaller by adding or removing links from the chains.

https://www.maslowcnc.com/

[video=youtube;Q-KCZoxvzcQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-KCZoxvzcQ[/video]

 

[cwbullet]

Pretty neat product.

 

[Banzai88]

Neat. I'm liking it!

 

[new2hpr]

Not quite sure about the accuracy, as it relies on the router plate hanging at the two lower points of a trapezoid, with the stepper motors controlling the lengths of the left and right sides. 4 sided polygon is inherently unstable, so the router plate could freely rotate without any stepper change. If it only relies on gravity to tension it, just the torque of the dust collector hose could mess it up.

That, and it has no z-axis. Not a bad first try, though. It needs some work.
-Ken

 

[Winston]

Not quite sure about the accuracy, as it relies on the router plate hanging at the two lower points of a trapezoid, with the stepper motors controlling the lengths of the left and right sides. 4 sided polygon is inherently unstable, so the router plate could freely rotate without any stepper change. If it only relies on gravity to tension it, just the torque of the dust collector hose could mess it up.

That, and it has no z-axis. Not a bad first try, though. It needs some work.
-Ken

We'll see. With mechanical Kickstarter projects, it's always best to wait for user feedback. Besides, if it works really well, there will be $100 kits from Chinese intellectual property thieves, due especially to its mechanical simplicity, in 3... 2... 1... Just look at the 3D printer market as proof. Prusa i3 clones are all over the place, some of them truly excellent, sold for a fraction of the price of an official Prusa and, unlike the official Prusa, using molded plastic parts and not 3D printed ones.

 

[Winston]

His design process - experimentation to find the best technique and hardware. Interesting.

[video=youtube;iK-6OKtVRfw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK-6OKtVRfw[/video]