This one reminds me of a MAME arcade controller. This control panel is just the gravy on top of a very nice CNC conversion for a Sieg X2 mini mill. (Like mine.) [Hoss] used a Logitech attack 3 joystick and a philips PC game pad to provide the interface. Of course, the case was machined on the mill. The thread covering his conversion provides DXF diagrams of all the parts he used for his CNC conversion, as well as explanation diagrams. (If you need a decent DXF viewer/cad program, try Qcad in the ubuntu repositories.)
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Wii Laptop How-To (Part 3)
The final part of Ben Heckendorn’s Wii Laptop How-To is up. Somehow, Ben managed to get access to a laser cutter and a CNC machine (in friggin Iowa) and used em to create the new case for the Wii Laptop. Add dash of soldering, a few simple circuits and some clever case construction. Voila.
Snowboard CNC Machine
Happy new year! I think we’ve covered the DIY CNC stuff a plenty, but I can’t resist posting this one. Remember the DIY snowboard? Recently, quite a few small quantity and home builders have cropped up. (I’m even planning to build my first board later this month.) [Mike Magruder] of happy monkey snowboards built a CNC gantry router just for cutting out wooden snowboard cores. The frame is built from structural aluminum (not cheap) with the usual steppers and some gecko drives running the show. The cable guide track and dust collector even make it look like a professional product. [Mike] also built a sweet press, but I’m going to be using vacuum bagging.
Make Your Own CO2 Laser
We all remember the diy cnc laser. In my quest to bring you guys fresh stuff, I found an interesting design [archived page](the author says he built his in the 80s) for a home-built CO2 laser. The dimensions are missing, but the design is pretty simple. If you like some textbook style reading, the hyperphysics server is your friend. I finally bought a mini mill to go with my lathe – this could make an interesting machining project. Get a mini-fridge compressor to for the vacuum source, and the gas is easily acquired from the local welding shop. I’d bet Surplus shed probably has some workable optics.
The 25th is the deadline for the Design Challenge. Don’t freak out, just get it submitted before I get up on the 26th, and I’ll call it good.
DIY MP3 How-to
Just a quick note – my How-To on building your own MP3 player is up. It’s more of a build walk-through and a review of MAKE’s Daisy MP3 player kit.
In case you missed it, Ben Heck put up a How-to on making your own robotic hand. It’s more of an exercise in CAD design with the intent to cut the parts on a CNC machine. It’s a great view into Ben’s workflow. He used to torture er train graphic artists at some point, and he puts that experience to work in his designs. Speaking of which, you might dig his SCART video switcher.
I’ve got to say that I’m impressed with the effort I’ve seen so far on the Design Challenge. You’ve got five more days to get em in.
Before I forget, I need a good supplier of teflon/ptfe insulated wire (at a decent price). Suggestions?
Make A Badass CNC Mill
Ben Heck and I got into converting a mill to be a CNC machine during our podcast interview. Today I found a pair of great write ups at balbots on modding the Harbor Freight mini mill that I mentioned. Part 1 get into all the details of converting the mill to use stepper motors, and adding a cooling system. Part 2 covers upgrading to DC servo motors and replacing the gears with a belt drive system.
Ben Heck Interview Part 2
Here’s part 2 of my interview with Ben. (Or just grab it via the feed) We answer some more questions and go off on a few tangents about cnc machines, the PS3 and part sources. It cuts directly to the interview – I don’t want to wait 6 hours to record it. I should have a regular podcast up in the next day or two.
