ZOMG, it’s so nice to have the new forums! Thanks for making the move happen @bar and everyone who pushed for it and worked/working on setting it up.
1 Like
One suggestion for @bar and @hannah, you may want to establish a “maslowcnc” account that is just an “official voice of the company” role and use that for things like moderation/admin.
Everyone knows the project name, but not everyone may know your individual names. Especially in the future. Also allows for the team to grow or change without having to change the admin account.
1 Like
Hi,BobT here, this is my first post.
the maslowcnc is an interesting concept and initially i would have purchased a kit but delivery is unpredictable and too long and i already have a few cnc parts so I will do my own thing
Some comments that i hope you will find helpful
To cut 1/8th passes a high power router is not only unnecessary but is a demonstrable hindrance as the startup and running torque is so high it places unnecessary and avoidable radial loads on the router plate. All that is needed for the task is a say 500watt trim router.
However there is a very cheap and practical way to eliminate the plate from rocking, that is to fit a system of simple parallelogram linkages like an old fashioned drafting machine have a look at photo on the wiki
this only needs lightweight construction such as towel rail tubes
Friction of the base can be reduced by using slip tape (or slick tape)
I would try using 20mm wide tape in strips at 20mm spacings which effectively halves the contact area of the base thus halving the drag of the base plate without affecting stability. The plate could be further stabilized by applying vacuum (via the dusty) to the base so it could hold down with more force than just weight. it probably needs some experimenting to balance the antislip tape locations and suction etc.
I will buy an aluminium sliding z-axis from ebay for about $40 or $50 including a stepper motor, these are small footprint and suitable for mounting various small trim routers which are generally about say 65mm diameter. I think it may be possible to fit 2 or 4 small routers to the sliding base-plate thus being able to use software to access 2 to 4 different router cutters
anyway there is some food for thought, have a nice day
To cut 1/8th passes a high power router is not only unnecessary but is a
demonstrable hindrance as the startup and running torque is so high it places
unnecessary and avoidable radial loads on the router plate. All that is needed
for the task is a say 500watt trim router.
I agree, I just am hoping that the reality ends up being that we can do much
more aggressive cuts without having problems.
since we are adding weight, the increased size of the high power router vs a
trim router doesn’t hurt us, it just ends up costing more (and even that is
marginal since we can get away with the simple Z axis by just motorizing the
depth knob)
Users (and the developer) are using 1/4" and 1/2" cutters, not 1/8". The 2HP spindle is less overkill for this task but using a larger router ensures that bearings and the other mechanical parts are appropriately sized.
Many are also taking much deeper cuts than 1/8"; Bar is conservative in this arena because he’s more interested in observation and analysis of the tool path rather than production speed.
The startup and running torque hasn’t caused any noticable twist that’s been mentioned by our beta users. A solution for overcoming inaccuracy resulting from those forces has been discussed, but in the form of a sled that moves the pivot point to the cutter center.
I only have 1/8" end mills right now, and so far they are working fine with my Maslow as long as I don’t try to cut too deep per pass. I do plan to get 1/4" end mills soon, because I would like to cut deeper and faster.
1 Like
How deep are you able to cut with each pass. I plan on using 8th inch bits for all my dog bones before I make 1/4’ passes. If I have to I will do one side and then flip and do the other, but Id rather be able to do all the dog bones ( I refer to them as Techno Pacmans ) from one side.
@iRoc999, I’ve been doing step down of 0.079", which works fine, I imagine you could do greater. I have noticed that if I go too deep with the 1/8" end mill (for example trying to cut 3/4" plywood in 3 passes) that does not work. It ends up pushing the sled away, and not cutting the material enough or causing erratic cuts. That was mostly due to initial ignorance on step down settings. Also I’m using some super cheap end mills I got from Amazon, so the quality may not be great. Ordered some end mills from the Maslow shop, so we shall see what 1/4" end mills can do for me.
1 Like
1/8" bits need to be spun much faster to cut the same amount of wood, go with
1/4" or larger bits. The folks who are doing this commercially are using 1/2" or
larger bits (and have machines that move much faster than the maslow, and cut
much deeper)
We do not have good information about what a good cutting speed/depth is. Bar
tends to be very timid in his settings, and we don’t have enough other reports
of people pushing this.
If you can post the limits that you ran into using 1/8" bit on the wiki, that
would be good (we should add an entry of router RPM as well)
1 Like
Hello! I’m seriously considering purchasing a maslow kit and I just created an account to participate in this awesome community. Thought this was a good place for my first post 
Look forward to working with everyone 
5 Likes
You hit the nail on the head there. The product (and the price point) are great. The fact that it’s open source, even better. But the thing that has made this Kickstarter experience different from every other one I’ve been involved with is the way that the community was “invited in”, encouraged the contribute and support each other. @bar and @hannah have been key to that, leading with vision and staying involved. The community has responded and taken the core ideas to a higher level.
Welcome, @Knickers!
3 Likes
FYI - There is a bit of stuff to play with, even without a kit (or before it arrives).
- If you are not already solid on the CAD → CAM workflow, it’s a god time to explore your options and favours CAD-(Computer-Aided-Design) CAM-(G-code-generation)
- If you happen to have a Arduino Mega, you can connect it to your PC without any shield or motors attached and upload a modified Firmware to run GroundControl in simulation mode. The FW mod is simple, after downloading the firmware, locate the Config.h in the folder → /Firmware-master/cnc_ctrl_v1, open it with with a text editor, uncomment the line → #define FAKE_SERVO and upload it to the Mega.
This way you can run GroundControl without an actual machine and get a feel on how your design is placed on the plywood sheet and how it would be cut. It’s fun! - The time waiting for a kit to arrive, is the worst from my experience. It can be partially filled with building the frame and the sled ahead. A new recommended frame will be out shortly and is discussed here new-stock-frame-design, but you are free to come up with your own design.
- Keep an eye open on swap-meet. You might be able to to grab a kit put up for sale.
- Check ot the MoM (Map of Maslowians) here MoM, if you have a Maslowian neighbour nearby, it opens options for real life collaboration.
Kind regards, Gero
6 Likes
Brilliant post @Gero! As in, this post should be pinned or perhaps have it’s own pinned topic.
3 Likes
Thank you @jwolter for your kind words. I was just a dry seed that came back to life with the fertile ground provided by the founders and staying alive with the fresh water provided by this exceptional community.
4 Likes
Wow thanks @Gero! I do have a little CAD experience and have been planning out the main items I want to cut out, but I haven’t used and CAM software yet. That is what I’ll start playing with next. Also I’ve been following the new stock frame thread closely, gathering ideas for my ideal frame.
2 Likes