CNC Router with Auto-Tool-Changer

[nelsonic]

Context

We currently have an industrial Laser Cutter: https://github.com/nelsonic/learn-cad-cam-cnc/issues/70 It's been an awesome intro to CNC and both quieter and way more energy efficient than a CNC Router. We've used the Laser over the last few months for mini-projects: e.g: coat rack, vinyl-record-carry-storage-box and LuchoTurtle/diy-battery

We have come to the painful realisation that we aren't going to laser-cut the furniture we need to build for @home ... The maximum plywood material thickness we can reliably cut is 10mm and the burn marks are a pain. In the short-run we will get around this max thickness constraint by gluing 2 pieces of 10mm together to make 20mm which will be more durable. But this doesn't get around the issue of burn marks ... 🔥 The way we have been solving this in our mini-projects is using a random orbital sander. But it ends up being a lot of "finishing" work and the end result is still not great. It's "OK" for workshop, DIY and MVP pieces but it's very far from the high-end IKEA/Habitat quality I want for our furniture.

CNC Router

For the uninitiated, in the world of CNC Routers, watch April Wilkerson's CNC Shop Tour | My CNC Business: https://youtu.be/pn6vUag_mHo

And Jonny Builds' "This Machine Has Earned Me SO MUCH MONEY": https://youtu.be/QnMkd6YXH4Q

https://3doutlet.shop/product/cnc-fresadora-1325-c-troca-automatica-e-mesa-de-vacuo/

This is an incredibly good value price for this machine. Opening this issue to float the idea of buying one.

Considerations

• [ ] Where to put it? It won't fit in our Garage in town. I'm thinking New Workshop at the Farm? https://github.com/dwyl/phase-three/issues/116
  • [ ] Security: this is an expensive machine, it needs to be secured.

    Thinking of placing it in in a lockable shipping container https://github.com/dwyl/phase-three/issues/112 However the Gantry is quite wide on the CNC Router so we may need to join a couple of containers together.

• [ ] Power Consumption: 5.5KW (cutter) + 7.5KW (vac table) + 3KW (extractor) = 16KW ~ €3/hour

  But if we are making high quality furniture and possibly Tiny Houses, it will be 10x worth it! 💰

• [ ] Consumables: the cutting tools will have a useful life and will need to be replaced periodically. This cost will need to be factored into the use of the machine
• [ ] Maintenance: if we install the machine on the Land it will be quite far from the tech support (based in Braga). So we will need to be meticulous with our maintenance. e.g: Log books, Videos, etc.
• [ ] Operator: initially we would be the ones "feeding" and running the machine, but if we are able to make it a business, we would need to train someone competent to do this. #JobCreation

[nelsonic]

There is a "cheaper" version of this without the tool changer: https://3doutlet.shop/product/fresadora-cnc-1300x2500x200mm-c-spindle-de-5-5kw/

But the point of the tool changer is finishing. i.e. finishing the edges of the material such that the input is a blank sheet of material and the output is near-ready to assemble flatpack furniture. We don't want to have to hand-route each piece to create a rounded edge because this creates a lot of manual work. If we were to pay a craftsperson €1,200/month to do "finishing" it would rapidly outweigh the additional cost of having a tool-changing machine.

Basically, we would do the main "cut" with the cutting bit and then do a second pass with the machine to do the round-over.

Obviously none of this would matter if we are making panels/furniture that doesn't have rounded or beveled edges.