Yes…I am in the process of scavenging parts to make my own CNC machine…was hoping to use http://hackaday.com/2009/02/27/tools-proxxon-drill-press-tbm115tbm220/
but missed out in the last 30 seconds on ebay.

This just convinces me that I should do this…good work…nice post.

Neat way of connecting the steppers to the shafts! Anybody have any idea what the material under the pipe clamps is?

I’m not crazy about using Dremels as CNC spindles (too much play), but zip ties??? Is this really a worthy hack? I prefer a 3/4-16 hex nut brazed to an appropriate mounting bracket. A piece of angle iron works nicely for mounting my Dremel as a tool post grinding on my lathe. (note: I use the Dremel keyless chuck, a collet wrench might not fit with this setup).

Paul: Parallel ports are not merely old school – they are plainly the best choice for controlling stepper motors directly from a computer. The parallel port is fast enough and does not suffer from latency issues that rule out, say, USB.

in fact, the dremel is incredibly well fastened to the z axis, even if it looks other way. it won’t move.

the material that connects the steppers to the shafts is some kind of rubber hose i bought in a rubber store.

it can move at 300mm/s and cut a 3mm thick wood.

Fallen: There will always be some misalignment between stepper motor and lead nut, as well as runout in the stepper shaft and connector. When the table moves close to the motor, this can cause the lead screw to bind. One way to do this is with an oldham coupling [http://www.mechanisms101.com/oldham.html], but a bit of rubber hose is more than adequate for this build.

Ken: Yes, a friend of mine at college controlled a stepper motor that way, and used QBasic. Very simple to do. He used relays and opto isolators.

Alexander: That is indeed the software.

It reminds me of my first CNC:

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/5788/img4348largeak5.jpg

Mine wasn’t as pretty or nicely built, but it worked somehow.

One year later I moved to Probotix drivers/motors and linear bearings (WIP):

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/4290/cnc3.jpg

i have just replaced the zip ties: http://elcoyotequesuelda.blogspot.com/2010/01/la-nueva-sujecion-del-dremel.html

No te preocupes, auto-respondí mi pregunta viendo tu blog

¡Saludos y sigue así!

Oh no, no prob, english is fine too (saludos desde el otro lado de la cordillera :D)

Por lo mismo que dices, mejor inglés :D