Using Ender 3 Pro As CNC / Engraving Tool
Introduction: Using Ender 3 Pro As CNC / Engraving Tool
I made a simple carriage to use Ender 3 Pro as a cnc / engraving tool. I used RS775 DC motor and 19V 4A power supply. RS775 is very successful in acrylic engraving and drilling. I haven't tried making PCBs yet, but I think it will be successful too. I will try as soon as possible.
I know it is not very convenient to use 3D printers as CNC. However, I had to do CNC engraving for one of my projects. So I gave it a shot and I did it. I had better results than I expected. I think it's worth doing.
Supplies
- Ender 3 or Ender 3 Pro or Ender 3 V2 (or any creality 3D printer with same x carrier as ender 3)
- RS775 DC Motor with Drill Chuck
- 12-40V 10A PWM DC Motor Speed Controller
- Titanium Diamond Burrs Bur Bit Set Dremel Rotary Tool Set
- 12V 10A Power Supply (You can use any power supply up to 24V 10A)
- 150x150mm Acrylic Sheet (or any material you want to use)
- DC Power Jack and 4 Pin On-Off Button
- M4 Screws & Nuts and Wires
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Step 1: Circuit and Control Box
You can power the RS775 motor directly from the power supply. However, it would be much better to put a speed control circuit in between. Thus, you can set the motor to different speeds for different jobs.
Firstly, 3D print "Control Box - A.stl" and "Control Box - B.stl"
You can find the files in this thing: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4793758/files
Then make the circuit in the picture and place it in the control box. You can either solder the cables directly to the motor or use a ferrule (cable crimp).
Make sure it is working and if it does, move on to the next step.
Step 2: CNC Motor Mount (Carriage)
Since the motor will rotate at high speeds and will engrave/drill, it must be quite rigid in order to get a proper result. I tried 4-5 different models to make this motor carrier and this was the most satisfied one. It is very rigid as it is directly attached to the screws to which the bearings are attached. 807
I know it is a bit long to set up, but this is necessary for a rigid system.I plan to make a quick-change system in the future, but this carrier is enough for now.
First, 3D print the "Ender 3 Drill Carriage - A.stl" file. Use at least 60% infill, no need to use support. Than 3d print the "Ender 3 Drill Carriage - B.stl" file. Use supports.
Remove the hotend completely after the 3D prints are done. Also, unplug the extruder motor cable. This is very important.
Then completely unscrew the x-carrier and its screws. Place the motor carrier that you 3D printed and mount it to the printer. Then insert the motor, screw in two m4x10mm screws from the bottom and attach the "Ender 3 Drill Carriage - B" and finish the process.
Start the engine and make sure it is rigid. If there is no problem, you can move on to the next step.
UPDATE <PHONE_NUMBER>):
@MatessakCZE made a great contribution and made a holder (carriage) remix for ProperPrinting's quick tool change design. You can download the remix by clicking here and you can do a quick change instead of removing and putting all the screws back in each time.
Step 3: Slicing
The way 3D printing and CNC work is actually different from each other. Therefore, it is not possible to use a GCODE file we use for 3D printing for CNC purposes. I will prepare a very detailed guide for preparing GCODE suitable for CNC, but for this article, I will show you how to engraving by making a few settings in the Ultimaker Cura.
First, you need to download the drawing you want to engrave from the internet. This drawing should be as simple as possible. You can use a picture prepared in the form of clipart. I used a vector image of a world map as an example.
After finding your image, you need to convert it to SVG file. You can use online tools such as convertio.co for this. 16