Project CNC

Limit switches for the Y axis:

Just a couple of micro limit switches from an old washing machine timer. Right now I have them mounted on scraps of plexi. Looks crappy. I’ll do better later. I have an adjustable stop on each end of the machine for them to run into. Got tired of watching helplessly as parts in motion crashed into those that weren’t. You might wonder how anyone could do this. It happens when you forget to zero the settings. One of the biggest surprises for me was the ease at which one can screw up (with CNC). It’s too easy to make a sudden move by pressing a key. If you forget to raise the bit you can snap it off and ruin a workpiece. If anyone had warned me about this I would’ve told them I wasn’t that stupid. The last bit I broke was two hours old, $25.

Since this picture was taken I’ve done a lot to clean up my cabling. I need to put up some new pictures.

Limit switches for the X axis:

When the scissor gets shorter the plastic screw on the left contacts a switch. When the scissor gets longer the ones on the right get together. I realize how cobbled-up my work looks. I always go for easy to prove a concept and then clean it up later.

This system of nylon screws mounted to Plexiglas scissors and bumping into washing machine micro-switches works really well and looks pretty cool I think. At some point I’ll re-do the entire plexi box. I’ve already put on nicer cables (not shown).