It used to be a decent sum of money, but $50 won’t even get you the new Resident Evil game on PlayStation or Xbox now, and a decent pair of jeans easily tops the mark too. Even a tank of gas is more than that in many places. Not so a CNC machine, though. For $50, you can put together your own, provided you have a 3D printer.
Credit has to go to DAZ projects over on the Arduino Project Hub for this one. They’ve designed a CNC machine intending to make the technology accessible to everyone. Is it perfect? Far from it. Is it quick? Absolutely not. But, is it a working CNC machine at a bargain price? Yes indeed.
For the 3D printing files and build plans, DAZ projects has included a zip file with all necessary STL files and the plans themselves on the Arduino project page, plus code for the GRBL controller. The whole thing is summed up in a handy video too. There’s also a list of parts you’ll need to source, including 28BYJ48 stepper motors and a 775 motor. You can also find the entire project over on Thingiverse.
At a build cost of just $50, there’s naturally going to be some limitations to this little CNC router; 40% of the project’s budget goes on the $20 Arduino Uno. What you’re left with after a relatively simple build (and a good amount of 3D printing, PLA will do) is a CNC router that can carve wood and acrylic fairly accurately, making it a good starter project or experiment for those ready and willing to dip their toes into the craft.
Working with metal is, of course, simply out of the question here. You’ll need a far tougher (and more expensive) construction to cope with the forces involved in carving that. Still, the idea of building an accessible CNC router has undoubtedly been achieved with this project. Kudos is well deserved for building such a device on the cheap.
Of course, if your ambitions or budget can stretch a bit further than $50, then there are other DIY CNC routers we can point you in the direction of, and we also keep a regularly updated list of other cool Arduino projects just like this one. We’ve provided those links below for your perusal.
Lead image source: DAZ projects via Arduino
License: The text of "Build an Arduino-Controlled CNC Router for Just $50" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.