Building an MPCNC!

An MPCNC (=Mostly Printed CNC) is a low-cost CNC mill that you can build at home! I discovered this amazing project after reading an article about the Maslow CNC in MAKE magazine 05/19. The Maslow is definitely worth checking out too, but when I read up about it, I discovered the MPCNC. Two month ago I toyed with the idea of buying a manually controlled milling machine instead of a drill press, but skipped that idea because they are so much more expensive.
For kicks and because I want to mill a guitar body since about 10 years, I also looked at cheap CNC mills, but models below 1000€ were rather small and did not look trustworthy at all, so I also let that thought slide as well – Until now!

Project log

I milled a whole guitar! See the Video! February 22, 2021 - My first CNC project turned out great and luckily I captured the process on camera! Check it out in this Video: https://youtu.be/PQKkqNFZzR4 Continue Reading
Guitar body: milling done August 24, 2020 - As I wrote in my last post, I used our housebound time in March to make a long cherished dream come true: Designing an electric… Continue Reading
Finally milling! July 13, 2020 - The wood has arrived and I finally started a complex milling project: A guitar body I designed in March when Corona hit Germany. Unfortunately x… Continue Reading
First (unplanned) milling test June 14, 2020 - I wanted to add screw sockets to the base of the MPCNC before I start milling. However I realized that it would completely defy the… Continue Reading
Milling preparations: Relocated machine June 1, 2020 - This weekend I cleared the former boiler room of a small warehouse where I can put the machine. Now it has been relocated to its… Continue Reading
Finished Machine May 10, 2020 - In fact the MPCNC was already fully assembled in March, but I was not able to make final adjustments. I relocated to Hamburg for a… Continue Reading
Fan fan March 14, 2020 - I have been on a stepper motor odyssey lately. It all started with the Z-Axis stepper being too weak – or at least I thought… Continue Reading
Z-Axis drag chain mount February 23, 2020 - I made this part available on Thingiverse. Download it here! I looked for a way to mount the Z-axis drag chain (not really a chain,… Continue Reading
Enclosure for RAMBo-board + LCD February 6, 2020 - I could not find an enclosure I really like that can house both the control board and the LCD, so I decided to make my… Continue Reading
Wires January 30, 2020 - I paused building the MPCNC for some time (partly because I was frustrated by not being able to get the moving x/y-axis perpendicular) but now… Continue Reading
MACNC – Mostly assembled CNC December 18, 2019 - I finally put together what I have built over the last weeks / months. I did not manage to get the x/y rails 100% perpendicular,… Continue Reading
Metric Foot for the MPCNC! November 28, 2019 - As I wrote in my last update for the MPCNC build, I had trouble with cracking plastic. I solved the problem by designing my own… Continue Reading
Assembly starts! November 25, 2019 - This weekend I managed to put the main assembly groups together. Unfortunately the very first step was the most frustrating for me: The majority of… Continue Reading
Cutting pipes November 7, 2019 - Finally a a good use for the humongous pipe cutter and vice that I bought at a flee market several years ago Continue Reading
All parts printed November 6, 2019 - ...except for the tool holder because I want to wait for the spindle motor first. However I can start cutting the stainless steel pipes now… Continue Reading
Heart and brain arrived November 5, 2019 - Today I received two essential parts: The used power supply I bought on ebay and the RAMBo-board that will control and drive the stepper motors! Continue Reading
Most components have arrived November 2, 2019 - I did not order a MPCNC-kit from V1 engineering, but sourced the components from different places, mostly ebay. By now most of it has arrived,… Continue Reading
Parts for the frame are printed October 30, 2019 - ...and look rad! I somehow wanted to give them a Proxxon-ish look. However I will introduce a strong blue for the gantry instead of green.… Continue Reading
I started ordering parts! October 23, 2019 - After reading an article about the amazing Maslow CNC in the german edition of Make Magazine 5/19, I did some further research, stumbled across the… Continue Reading