VMC

3 Articles

Additive + Subtractive = One Powerful Machine

May 31, 2017 by 26 Comments

It says it right on the title of the video below: it was bound to happen eventually. It’s only natural that somebody would stick a 3D printer extruder on the business end of a CNC machine. The long-awaited convergence of additive and subtractive manufacturing is here.

OK, that may be overstating things a bit, but we think [Chris DePrisco] is on to something here. Given the considerable investment he’s made in his DIY CNC machine, an enormous vertical machining center that looks a little like a homebrew Bridgeport, it was a no-brainer to take advantage of the huge XYZ stage. Mounting the Titan Aero extruder to the quill required some custom parts; fair warning that the video below is heavy on machining, but it’s not the seven hours of video he streamed when he milled the heated aluminum bed. Skip ahead to about the six-minute mark if you want to see the first prints and how he optimized the setup.

As we watched [Chris]’ video, we were struck by the potential for adding 3D printing to CNC milling machines. What we’d like to see is a setup where the spindle and the extruder work together to build more complex parts. Or maybe a tool-changing CNC that can pick up a spindle, an extruder, and maybe even a laser or plasma cutter head. Now that would be a powerful machine!

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Much More Than A Desktop Mill: The DIY VMC Build

August 27, 2016 by 21 Comments

A VMC (vertical machining center) is essentially a CNC vertical milling machine on steroids. Many CNC mills are just manual milling machines that have been converted to CNC control. They work nicely, but have a number of drawbacks when it comes to real world CNC milling: manual tool changes, lack of chip collection, lack of coolant containment, and backlash issues (which a manual machinist normally compensates for).

These problems are solved with a VMC, which will usually have an automatic tool changer, and an enclosure to contain coolant and wash chips down into a collection pan. They are, however, very expensive, very big, and very heavy. Building one from scratch is a massive undertaking, but one which [Chris DePrisco] was brave enough to take on.

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Japanese Lab Builds 5-Axis 3D Printer

April 29, 2016 by 21 Comments

A Japanese lab is investing some time in the possibilities of a 5-axis 3D printer. They show it printing using five axis as well as doing finish machining on a printed part. We’ve covered parts of why this is the right direction to go for 3D printing in another post.

It looks like they have modified an existing industrial machining center for use with a 3D printing nozzle. This feels like cheating, but it’s the right way to go if you want to start playing with the code early. The machines are intensely accurate and precise. After all, building a five axis machine is a well known science, 3D printing with one opens a whole new field of research.

There isn’t too much to show in the video, other than it’s possible and people are doing it. The Five-axis 3D printing and machining is uninteresting, we have been able to machine plastic for a long time.

However, they show one blue part in which the central axis of the part was printed vertically, but revolute splines along its outer perimeter were printed normal to the surface of the already printed 3D part. Which is certainly not commonly done. Video after the break.

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