This system was built for a teacher friend of mine to be used by students in his school as part of their craft/design course.
Again, the machine is mostly made from 12mm MDF - sprayed this time to make it look a little prettier and harder wearing. The stepper controller rear panel was produced on machine #2, as were some of the other components. The stepper controller was homebrew and connects to a PC. The controller is based on the 3-axis design from the Alberta Uni Cookbook site.
The leadscrews are simple M6 threaded rod and the bearings/nuts machined from 22mm acetal barstock crossdrilled to accept the 12mm guides. All very simple really (agricultural even!), but it works well and gives the students some inkling as to how a CNC system works without the school spending the best part of 10,000 GBP for the privilege! Cutting area is about 300 *200 *60 mm, resolution is 2.5microns (theoretically at least) .
Rear case of the stepper controller
Rear view showing all motor axes
Rear view of Y axis stepper
Front offset view showing table and Y axis thrust bearing
LH view showing X axis thrust bearing
RH view showing X stepper and home switch junction box
Z axis general view
Close-up of Z axis showing router mount (Dremel)
Here are some downloadable drawings of the system ...
Insert drawings link here