"State of the art" MPCNC - upgrades etc.?

Mostly Printed CNC - MPCNC Advice
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TL;DR Is there a list of current/recommended upgrades to MPCNC Primo?

I’ve decided to embark on an MPCNC build, with a work area of 450x600mm (i.e. A2 paper). The idea is to have this as a multipurpose machine, capable (with manual tool changes) of:

  • Cutting 18mm sheet goods (MR-MDF, birch ply, and possibly OSB) with Makita router or similar
  • Shaping solid hardwood (e.g. walnut) for speaker waveguides/small horns etc.
  • Engraving (dials, text) brass, aluminium, steel with Makita router
  • Cutting foam with (heated) needle
  • Cutting lino/cardboard with drag knife
  • Plotting onto paper or cardstock with pens

In the future, milling aluminium is a nice to have, as is adding laser capability to take over some/all of the cutting and engraving duties (depending on the laser and use case at that point in time)

I’m choosing to go down the MPCNC route to keep control of costs, but nonetheless seeking biggest bang for my buck - hence wanting to build in any common upgrades at the outset. Can anyone make any recommendations?

I’ll likely print the core and core clamps

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Sorry, fat fingers on phone…post continues below!

Likely print the core and core clamps from something like PC-CF (Prusament, or FormFutura CarbonFil)

What other mods are generally recommended? And/or any glaring issues with the intended size and use?

Thanks very much!)

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I run my Primo pretty much stock srandard.

Keeping the Z height to the minimum really helps rigidity.

Keeping the axes to a maximum of 600 is a good idea. This basically means that your proposed work area is good, though you did not mention the Z height. The 75-80mm of Z height mimimum will be good for this though.

The biggest real upgrade is the steel used for the frame and gantries. I use mild steel tubes, and since where I live the humidity is low, it does not cause a problem. Many people choose stainless steel, to not have to worry about it.

Good luck!

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Thanks Dan. I was planning on mild steel tubes - easy enough to apply a thin layer of corrosion protection/way oil/cold blue. How much of a difference does tube size and wall thickness make to rigidity?

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The bigger the better, it’s one of those cases where size is better. :sweat_smile: 2mm thickness is fine, with the LR4 I went with 3mm.

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I guess some 1" tube with 1/8" walls it is then!

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Building with the standard parts is going to be the way to go. Learning CAD and CAM is the best thing you can do to get better results and having unknown issues from “upgrades” will just make that harder. Buuld and learn the machine first and then (once you are experienced) you will know what pain points you’d like to experiment with.

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