I started using the MPCNC(s) earlier this year, been really happy with them! I had one at 2x2, one at 4x4, and a third partially built 2x2 (mostly just gets leached for spares).
Both of them have impressed me time after time. I mostly do aluminum with them. Even the 4x4 does very well. I know, it’s not recommended, but I had to try it out.
I’ve used them long enough now to get a good idea of what I do and don’t like with them so I’m rebuilding them both for about a 15"x36"(ish, haven’t really measured) work area. Shrinking the 4x4 not because I had any issues with it related to size, it’s just taking up too much space. The smaller one I lost more of my workspace than I’m comfortable with after setting it up the way I want.
I decided to switch to Makita routers for some speed control. The DW660 worked great for me but I plan on getting in to a lot of plastic milling soon so I figured that’d be a benefit. I also wanted to do my own mount and the curvature of the dw660 annoyed me.
Some of these pics will be at various stages of development/building on either machine. There’s a top mount too but I didn’t have it mounted when I took these pics.
Mod #1 that I wanted was the air blast I saw someone do for the dw660 as part of the mount. That way the nozzle is always pointing where I want when Z changes. I went with a locline nozzle/fitting so I could pivot it and change the nozzle type when I want.
Mod #2 was crosshair lasers. I’m not expecting <=1mm accuracy out of these but it does help me place stock pieces more squarely/accurately when I need to move away from my (unfinished) brackets. I also wanted them done in a way that they’re accurate at any height, so I modeled them in to the mount.
Mod #3 is somehow permanently attaching one end of the Z probe (see the extra white wire coming out of the makita body). My dad found a bearing in the body that is press fit in to plastic. He figured out that you can just let it trap the end of some braided wire when you push the bearing in and that will conduct through the bearing, down the shaft and to the bit. No more alligator clipping the bit! I have some concerns over this being “noisy” or failing over time with tool wear but so far it seems rock solid.
(it’s not letting me attach a gif of it homing Z)
Unpictured for the mount but it also has a magnetic dust shoe with TPU printed bristles, another borrowed idea from a mount I found on thingiverse and was using on the dw660. The open hole in is for the vac hose.
That worked better than I expected. On one, it hangs from the ceiling, on the other it attaches to the table (pic later on in post). It is to attach my vacuum, air and router power lines to. This way I don’t have to leave a ton of slack in those lines for the gantry to move around and it keeps them where I want them. So far it feels really smooth.
Early in the process of the second rebuild, going on a harbor freight workbench (99 bucks!). It is what determined the shape/size of the rebuilds quite a bit. I’m happy with it so far. I hung over the front a couple inches. There are some flaws in the build in that pic (roller plates are upside down for one). I need to stop working on these when its late.
Thanks to Ryan again for designing this thing, and the community for all the discussions here. I don’t take part often but I’ve learned a lot just reading the forums here. Also a shout out to all of the mods people have posted, really helped me gather ideas on what I wanted for the tool mount.
