Last November, after [HomoFaciens]’ garbage-can CNC build, we laid down the gauntlet – build a working CNC from cardboard and paperclips. And now, not only does OP deliver with a working CNC plotter, he also plans to develop it into a self-replicating machine.
To be honest, we made the challenge with tongue firmly planted in cheek. After all, how could corrugated cardboard ever make a sufficiently stiff structure for the frame of a CNC machine? [HomoFaciens] worked around this by using the much less compliant chipboard – probably closest to what we’d call matboard here in the States. His templates for the machine are extremely well thought-out; the main frame is a torsion box design, and the ways and slides are intricate affairs. Non-cardboard parts include threaded rod for the lead screws, servos modified for continuous rotation, an Arduino, and the aforementioned paperclips, which find use in the user interface, limit switches, and in the extremely clever encoders for each axis. The video below shows highlights of the build and the results.
True, the machine can only move a pen about, and the precision is nothing to brag about. But it works, and it’s perfectly capable of teaching all the basics of CNC builds to a beginner, which is a key design goal. And it’s well-positioned to move to the next level and become a machine that can replicate itself. We’ll be watching this one very closely.
I was skeptical at first but this project has some really neato ideas! Thanks!
That is a brilliant teaching tool, my kids will benefit greatly from the knowledge shared by homofaciens.de
CNC version of One red paperclip?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_red_paperclip
Throwing out a whimsical challenge and this is what is happens. The capacity of people to creat is amazing.
Homofaciens is great, one of my fav youtubes glad he is on HAD.io. GET TO DA CHOPPA!
James Coleman has some nice cardboard CNC projects:
http://archive.monograph.io/james
Really like his videos, very educational and his english is more than entertaining… But seriously, after being disencouraged of so many other sites that keep telling me “DIY CNCs are too inaccurate and time consuming to build, better buy a machine off the shelf…”, when watching HomoFaciens videos and the results of his machines, there is just NO excuse not to build your own CNC anymore…! Hope he’ll get rewarded real nice by winning a hackaday price :-))
That voice is hypnotic. I feel like I’m listening to a friendly robot.
I like how he uses the inaccuracy of this machine as a benefit – a teaching tool.
I just stumbled across this. This is awesome!
How about making your next challenge a self-replicating machine? Would be interesting to see what folks come up with!