After watching the “how to have coffee with an MPCNC” video I was intrigued about the possibilities.
I had seen a VERY EXPENSIVE combo machine a year or so ago that combined the additive printing ability of 3D printing with the subtractive capabilities of a CNC… both working on the SAME PIECE… first printing and then finishing up with the CNC!
Is there any reason that the MPCNC couldn’t work on the same piece in a two step process of first printing and then milling???
Alignment might be an issue. And there would be the requirement of pausing and signalling the operator to change the tool.
I am working toward developing this capability, although I haven’t thought of a compelling use case that it would be useful for. The nearest thing I could think of was perhaps plastic inlay, milling shallow trenches in wood, filling with plastic, and then a finishing pass to make it flush.
If anyone has ideas on how it might be useful I’d be all ears.
3d printing soft inserts for self threading machine screws? We bought my daughter a desk from some unknown flat pack furniture place (so not IKEA). It was similar in terms of assembly to IKEA stuff but lots of the holes that were to receive a threaded fitting had what looked like nylon sleeves or something in them.
I think there would be inherent issues keeping the workpiece secure if you went from 3d printing to CNC. Plus you’re not going to get much depth into the printed piece because of the size of the Z chassis tube arrangement. So that limits uses. Fun to think about though. I’ll keep thinking.
I had a similar thought. I even wanted to build a machine. The problem is the software to control it. I can’t find anything for free. Here is my thread I started on it.
