With a few weeks off for Christmas, I had to opportunity to make a few gifts for my family and friends. Since this is my first M4 project, I will also cover my initial setup for the M4.
I originally planned to build a treated frame and run the machine outside during good weather, but I decided that was too many variables and may risk disturbing my neighbors. I work in a fairly small shop, and I cannot dedicate wall space to the machine, nor can I use our already-optimized garage.
My solution was to install threaded anchors into the concrete of the workshop floor and make the “corner bolts” removable.
Another major consideration is debris ingress since the anchors would otherwise spend a large percentage of their life unoccupied. My solution is below.
I modeled some easy-to-print plugs/fasteners and printed them in CF Nylon (Onyx).
The plugs are low enough for my other shop equipment to easily roll over, but are still easy to install and remove with a key, coin, or slotted screwdriver.
I also printed some of the mounting point STLs from the main page, but they are really not needed for this setup. The only advantage is that they might support the 3/8" bolt if it was kicked or bumped, and make the anchor points more visible.
I also modeled/printed up a quick bolt knob so I could take them in and out by hand.
Next, I hot glued in the RJ45 encoder wires because I’m a little worried about vibration on a non-vibration-rated telecom-spec connector. Just put a dab on either side of the connector before insertion and it’s been flawless on all of my cuts so far.
Lastly, I printed up a clear vacuum pickup to go with the clear acrylic plate it mates with. I didn’t go crazy polishing it up; just printed it with V4 clear resin on the Form 3B and added a few clear coats for protection and smoothing.
I personally really like how it turned out considering the minimal effort.
Okay that’s it for modifications. Now on to the first project!
My sister asked for a ($99) balance board like this for Christmas, but I decided that making it would be a fairly good first cut for the M4 since it is just a simple pocket operation, a few holes, and a profile cut.
I modeled it in SolidWorks, then sent the STEP file over to Fusion360 to set up the CAM operations and run my original Maslow Post-Processor (it worked, but not sure if it’s still needed with M4). I used one of the OG Maslow compression bits and sent the files over to the M4. The main issue I had was that the board became unreachable over the network after starting the cut every time, which was annoying. I still don’t know a solution or why it’s happening but I suspect it’s interference or static.
Next, I printed up the circular rocker-body and bumpers from NylonX on my Taz6 with the HS 0.8mm Toolhead. TPU bumpers might be good too, but I was more worried about rigidity than grip. The board rocks and rotates pretty much perfectly as-built, but others might find a different setup preferable.
Below is the final result (pre-sand and pre-finish).
Hope this post provides some useful insight, information, or inspiration.
Thanks for reading!