Since I’ve become addicted to CNC Routing, I find that I can’t live without one during the Summer months that we spend at the Little House in the Village.

I looked into a couple of really inexpensive units based on the popular 3018 CNC platform.  Unfortunately, the two systems I tried all suffer from a woefully inadequately stiff gantry.  Any attempt to machine something that’s either hard or trying to cut quickly produces sloppy errors and poor cut quality due to shifting tool bit during the cuts.

Consequently, I decided to go back to OpenBuilds and get their C-Beam 1060.  It’s larger that the 3018 and also much stiffer.  The general design concept is the same however.  The Gantry doesn’t move in the Y direction, but the work is held on a moveable platform to introduce Y displacement.  This adds to the gantry stiffness and makes for a simpler Y transport.  The downside is that the material is now held on a moving platform limiting the weight and size of the material that can be cut.  These limits are fine for the Little House in the Village and this makes a useful tool to play with during the ‘cool’ Summers

Here is what the unit looks like.  I’m sure I’ll have more to show in the future!

Smaller CNC Router for the Little House in the VIllage.