3D milling

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Introduction

Technological advances are steadily bringing 3D CNC milling into the realm of the hobbyist / maker / DIY / hacker community. A SplatSpace member is currently working on building one of the latest DIY Mills: a Mantis 9.1 Mill. If this is as successful as we're all hoping it will be, it will probably prove to be a wildly popular and useful project.

Update: My Mantis 9.1 was finished some time ago, and I have successfully used it to mill PCB boards and to etch designs onto glass.

Work to be done:

1. Work out a better toolchain for KiCAD/Fritzing to Gcode. There is a plugin for Eagle to generate Gcode, but I would prefer something open-source.

2. Ongoing- work on cheapening the design and making it more accessible- if possible make it fab-able by someone with only a bandsaw and drill press.

3. Use a 1/8" end mill to mill out the Mantis' bed and make it truly flat. (endmill is on order) -JSC

Resources

There is quite a bit of info "out there" on building DIY CNC mills:


See Also