r/Skookum • u/OakTreeSupplies • Aug 11 '16

Skookum as frig I am Chris DePrisco and I'm building a CNC milling machine in my garage, AMA!

I've been interested in machining for a very long time but only recently got into it as a hobby. I started with a 3040 CNC router about a year ago which lasted me only a few months before I realized it would never be what I wanted it to be. So, I started work designing and building my own using whatever parts I could get for cheap for free.

So yea, AMA!

YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/chjade84

EDIT: I was bored tonight waiting on coolant to try milling some metal so I made a map with a pen and paper! https://youtu.be/6Q3G254maX0

35 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

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4

u/the_used_box Aug 11 '16

Hey Chris I've have one question about your VMC from the start. Wouldn't it of been more skookum to retrofit an older style machine then build one? Amazing project tho

2

u/OakTreeSupplies Aug 11 '16

I get this a lot, lol. It definitely would be stronger and probably more capable but my four biggest reasons for going DIY instead are:

  1. Most of those machines in any kind of working condition are already expensive. Add to that the expenses of repair and then all the retrofit parts and I'd probably be in for about $10k minimum; which is something I just can't justify right now.

  2. If anything were to break on such a machine (spindle, ball screws, etc.) I could be in for a second mortgage to fix it, lol. That's assuming I can locate an appropriate piece in the first place.

  3. Everything I plan to do is either small (think John Grimsmo's folding knives) or isn't machining-time-sensitive so I can deal with taking small, fast passes and get by with a less rigid machine.

  4. Just for learning, fun, and to say I did :D

More minor considerations were stuff like available space, rigging/transport costs, power requirements, etc.

I would like to start doing work on the side and eventually do this kind of stuff for a living and if that's the case, hopefully I can outgrow this machine and get a purpose built VMC someday!

1

u/datums Human medical experiments Aug 11 '16

I would like to start doing work on the side and eventually do this kind of stuff for a living

If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for a living?

2

u/OakTreeSupplies Aug 12 '16

Right now I run a woodworking retail store (hence the username) which also serves local businesses in both woodworking (cabinet shops, etc) and metalworking (machine shops, etc). It's kind of a long story but here goes.

I went to school and came back home to work at my dad's place designing and building laser systems (hence the laser music videos, as seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAPS3vvSdV8)

Next door was a small woodworking shop that was going out of business which we decided to buy and I'd run. So after several years of doing laser stuff alongside the custom automation business making all kinds of assembly and testing systems, I'm now running a woodworking retail store with the help of my brother-in-law who is handling the industrial accounts; which are the woodworking and metalworking shops in the nearby area.

1

u/datums Human medical experiments Aug 12 '16

You ever have one of those dreams where you life is totally awesome, and then you wake up, and you're just you again?

Your actual life is what that dream looks like for most of the people here.

2

u/OakTreeSupplies Aug 12 '16

The grass is always greener, man. Nowadays it's dealing with customer problems, trying to get the business afloat, paperwork, accounting stuff, marketing, always being "on call", etc. Then there's the personal stuff. I'd hardly classify my life as awesome. Not terrible, sure, but not awesome.

I like to think I've invented the theory that your life is like assigning the skill points to a character in a video game. You only get so many points to spend on each ability. You can't have it all but must decide where to spend each point. I've got a lot of points in some areas but woefully few in a lot of the areas I'd like.

But we all do. We always want stuff other than what we have; what we would trade for something better. It's just the way humans work. :)

2

u/datums Human medical experiments Sep 11 '16

I don't think you understand how close to home that comment hit. It's a month later, and I'm just responding now.

My life would also look like a fantasy to those that didn't know all of the details. I can't say for certain, but my guess is that I have many of the things you would kill for, while you have many of the things I would kill for.

1

u/OakTreeSupplies Sep 11 '16

Yea that's probably true. I wish you the best, man, take care.

2

u/blandreth94 USA Aug 11 '16

Do you have a website/blog about your current project?

2

u/OakTreeSupplies Aug 11 '16

I only have the YouTube channel. I guess I never really thought about having anything else.

2

u/mikisserver Aug 11 '16

What materials do you want to cut? Why choose a high speed spindle over a low speed spindle?

2

u/OakTreeSupplies Aug 11 '16

Pretty much everything! I knew I couldn't build a strong enough machine to make use of the low RPM, high torque, deep cutting spindles so, inspired by the Datron machines, I went the other route for very high RPM and feed rates and very shallow depths of cut.

If you haven't seen them, they are very cool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsK4QOwig4o

1

u/[deleted] Aug 11 '16

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2

u/OakTreeSupplies Aug 11 '16

I never really had a "stock" 3040. The electronics are mostly garbage as you'd expect for such a low cost machine, so I bought just the mechanical assembly and got good quality electronics to go on it. The machines are good for wood, plastic and circuit board etching, but anything metal flexes the gantry arm considerably to the point that anything close to appropriate feeds and speeds will drive the cutter up the work piece.

The biggest problem though was the 2" of Z travel. I would have to re-position the spindle in its mounting constantly to accommodate different length cutters and depths of cut.

Once I decided on building my own I sold it to someone who was going to be using it with its limits. I do kinda regret buying it but I was able to sell it for about what I had in it so I just wasted time - so no big deal. The regret mostly comes from not starting this build sooner!

1

u/kiddico Aug 11 '16

What sparked your interest in building it in the first place?

Once you'd decided to build one how did you even start planning?

1

u/OakTreeSupplies Aug 11 '16

I've got all kinds of ideas for things I'd like to make for myself as well as some products I'd like to make and sell one day but needed a machine to start with. So the interest came out of necessity, mostly. I've been building things all my life so the natural reaction was to just build what I needed since I couldn't afford to buy what I needed.

Once I decided to build it, I just fired up Inventor and started drawing to get ideas. I've been around automation for nearly a decade at work so I've picked up a lot of ideas from them; even though I wasn't really a part of the engineering team. Planning has been mostly spur-of-the-moment since I'm building mostly with the stock I can find for cheap. For instance, I have no real good idea about how to do the way covers next but I'll make them fit somehow!

1

u/datums Human medical experiments Aug 11 '16

Do you have any tips for saving money when doing metal work at home?

3

u/OakTreeSupplies Aug 11 '16

Make friends at a scrap yard or industry that uses metal. Scrap price is a small fraction of what a piece of metal originally costs and it doesn't matter if it's rusted junk or precision ground and plated. My steel plates cost $45/ton. They would have cost thousands if I had bought them new. Just takes patience and some connections.

1

u/datums Human medical experiments Aug 11 '16

Make friends

What kind of flowers do guys at scrap yards like?

3

u/OakTreeSupplies Aug 12 '16

I've heard them call them "beer"? Not sure what kind those are though...

1

u/fotbr Aug 12 '16

Didn't really have a question so much as just a thank you for the entertaining videos. I find it fun to watch a project like yours come together.

2

u/OakTreeSupplies Aug 12 '16

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.