CNC Mill

Basics

• A Milling Machine controlled via CNC
• Allows for the Subtractive Manufacturing of Nearly Every Part
• Is capable of more materials (Such as metals (even "harder" metals such as steel) than a CNC Router
• Also may have more the the standard 3 (X,Y,Z) axis, such as:
  • A Rotary Axis (Typically referred to as the 4th axis if used with a standard 3 axis system, athough a CNC Lathe is a more optimized application for this specific use case)
  • A Five Axis System (A 3 Axis System + Controlled Part Rotation) (This is typically done via turntables, but is also a good application for robotic arms (This is for another page however) )
• Near essential for CNC Milled Injection Molds for the Precious Plastic Manual Plastic Injection Molding Machine
• Will also be used for machined parts of ICEs and Turbomachinery, High Precision Metal Gears may also be an application, although the CNC Torch Table should work for most applications, as well as 3D printed, or Injection Molded Parts
• May be the same thing/similar to the CNC Multimachine although this is also sort of a special subset page

Industry Standards

Small Scale

• PocketNC which is a small 5-axis mill which has been especially useful for custon dental/medical parts, although it has also found some hobby use for small engines such as Nitro Engines and small Turbo Jets
• Evo One Their Webpage
• Various DIY Designs and High End CNC Routers

Workshop/Industrial Scale

• SkyFire CNC
• Haas 5 Axis CNC Mills

Minimum Viable Product

• Should be Able to Handle Anything from Wood to Cold Rolled Steel
• Should be compatible with OTS Spindles or the Open Source CNC Spindle
• Should be Sealed With a Clear Side, with a self cleaning view port
• 3 Axis by default with 4th and 5 axis version modules
• Should also be compatible with the Automatic Toolchanging Chuck
• Should Allow For Various Cooling, Lubricating, And Chip Extraction methods (Compressed air spray nozzle, mist cooling/lubrication, flood cooling/lubrication, liquid jet cooling/lubrication
• ~1m^3 working area? need to evaluate industry standards etc
• Smaller Versions can be made for small turbine parts, cylenders, and gears

Basic Design

Frame

• Either Welded Metal, or Metal Extrusions
• Focus is on density, and squareness/levelness/parallelness, this all leads to stability and precision

Spindle Mount

• A Standardized Plate with Adapters for OTS Spindles

Input/Output Panel

• Air In
• Suction In
• Lubracant In
• Vacuum Cleaner Output In
• Water Cooling In
• Water Cooling Out (Hot Side)
• Lubricant Out (Dirty Side/Drain for Cleaning/recycling or disposal)

Motion System

• 2-3 Precision Universal CNC Axis for the X and Y axis
• 2 Precision Universal CNC Axis for the Z axis (Perhaps of a larger variety)
• Add on 4th Axis module
• Add on 5 Axis Module (For axis 4 and 5 in such a system

See Also

• CNC Router
• CNC Lathe
• CNC Torch Table
• CNC Multimachine
• Torch Table Preliminary Work