HobbyCNC Blog

Eagle and Autocad

One thing I use my DIY CNC machine for is milling PC Boards (it's technically called "isolation routing"). This is fairly fast, inexpensive, accurate and uses zero nasty chemicals. I'd been using Eagle Schematic & PCB design software. Great product, works very...

read more

What’s all this about BreakOut Boards (BOB)

A BreakOut Board - a BOB for short, takes an input, typically from a computer or a ethernet/USB-to-parallel converter and splits up the signals into individual pins. These pins are then wired to individual stepper driver boards.  Most stepper driver boards require two...

read more

The Art of Remote Troubleshooting

"My X axis stopped working. What's wrong?" I was in pre-and post-sales technical support professionally for about 20 years of my career. I've provided support over-the-phone, in the shop and in the field. I consider myself to be pretty good at the process of...

read more

Unipolar vs. Bipolar stepper motors

Why does HobbyCNC use unipolar stepper motors? And what is the difference between bipolar and unipolar stepper motors?  Is one better than the other? Let's start with the differences between the two types of motors*. A unipolar motor works from a single polarity on...

read more

Drive screws – 1/4-20 threaded rod vs. Acme screw

I have been thinking about my decision to use a 1/4-20 threaded rod to drive the axis instead of an acme screw. The answer is the typical engineering answer: "trade-offs". Threaded rods can be a very valuable tool for a lot of building projects, and you might want to...

read more

Autodesk Fusion 360

I finally made some time to sit down to design-and-print a part using Autodesk Fusion 360. There is a lot to learn, but this is one very powerful CAD/CAM software. I was able to go from my design in Fusion 360 straight to my MakerBot printer software. Pretty damn...

read more

Dangerous Wiring of your DIY CNC Controller

Dangerous Wiring. Every time I talk or write about mains power (110/120 VAC in the US, 220/240VAC overseas) I always include the disclaimer that this voltage can injure or kill. Don't play around. [stextbox id="warning"]Mains Power Can Kill[/stextbox] I found this...

read more