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r/hobbycnc

Image 1 — The next project.... a knife! I know, I'm so amazing and original... Just trailblazing away...
Image 2 — The next project.... a knife! I know, I'm so amazing and original... Just trailblazing away...
Image 3 — The next project.... a knife! I know, I'm so amazing and original... Just trailblazing away...
▲ 20 r/hobbycnc

The next project.... a knife! I know, I'm so amazing and original... Just trailblazing away...

Yup... haha

This is a little bit off the norm though. I got me some of this "Damascish" laminated steel for $20cdn each. 430 stainless outer at about 42hrc, and VG10 steel core, about 62hrc. How hard can it be?!

Err, well, 62 I guess. haha. I tied cutting it already and it seems fine. Question will be how long the cutter lasts. Total front and back cut time will be 35-40 mins according to fusion.

Fixture is a 52mm zero point pallet, shaped for supergluing the blank for op 1 (top) and contoured to glue down for op 2. Then release with acetone, sharpen with a stone, and done!

Handle is titanium, and a lot more conventional setup on my index block.

u/giveMeAllYourPizza — 5 hours ago
▲ 16 r/hobbycnc+2 crossposts

Carbon fiber pendant I made myself bc my sister passed

I just got a cnc machine and been messing around with it what u think?

u/shrumfpv — 3 hours ago
▲ 39 r/hobbycnc+5 crossposts

OrcaSlicer with restored BambuNetwork support

OrcaSlicer with restored BambuNetwork support. Printing over the internet works again, along with the rest of the normal functionality - just like before.

Currently available for Windows and Linux. macOS should follow in the next few days.

If you want to support my work, I would really appreciate it:

https://github.com/jarczakpawel/OrcaSlicer-bambulab

u/Low-Anything6975 — 17 hours ago
▲ 2 r/hobbycnc+1 crossposts

When is a round pocket round enough?

I was checking some round pockets and got some weird readings. Measured good one way, not quite the same when I turned the calipers.

Normal thing or am I missing something?

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u/GunningBedford58 — 9 hours ago
▲ 28 r/hobbycnc

Made my first usable part

I've done lots of test cuts for calibrating speeds and feeds and other cutting parameters and stuff as well as just general milling practice, but this is the first thing I've made I will actually use. It's a dog tag for our puppy.

Cut it out of a price of scrap 6061 flat bar 0.2" my neighbor was throwing away for large trash pickup.

Our puppy is named Bennett, but we like to call him Mr Ben Ben. He is a little schnauzer and we found him starving on the side of the road. He is finally learning to walk on a leash so I figured I would make him some bling. Phone numbers and addres blurred out for obvious reasons lol.

Yes he does need a haircut

u/BalledSack — 15 hours ago
▲ 1 r/hobbycnc

How to make participation medals?

I want to get participation medals made for my son’s sports league. Am I on the right track with buying a desktop cnc router or is this the complete wrong ball park? My idea was to buy like a Onefinity Gen 2 Elite, then buy a plan online and use that to make the medals out of Zamak 3.

I’m sure there are holes in my idea because I know almost nothing about this stuff. Please advise.

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u/jokaniche — 2 hours ago
▲ 0 r/hobbycnc+1 crossposts

Hello, are these engines for sale, or do they belong straight to the recycling bin? 200e each?

Hello, are these engines for sale, or do they belong directly to the collection materials? 200e a piece? I'm not selling, I'm asking :) but you can write ;)

u/Competitive-Land206 — 19 hours ago
▲ 17 r/hobbycnc

Recomendation

Hi! I'm looking for some place that allows you to upload your 3d model, give you a quote and make your project. I'm looking at making a topographic map, like the picture above.

u/guillen9889 — 22 hours ago
▲ 4 r/hobbycnc

Complete beginner here! What’s the best bit for carving aluminum on a hobby CNC?

I just got my first machine (Genmitsu Cubiko), and I’m ready to move beyond wood. I want to try some light carving on aluminum, but I’m terrified of snapping a bit or melting the metal. What is the go-to bit for a newbie?

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u/Desperate_Bee9798 — 15 hours ago
▲ 2 r/hobbycnc

grblHAL controller recommendation needed

I had set up my Taig micromill with LinuxCNC and a Mesa ethernet controller a couple years ago. It has sat unused for quite a while but now I have to fire it up to make a couple of parts.

At some point the cheap buck converter I had to bring my 48V PSU down to 5V for the Mesa board gave up and took the Mesa board with it:

https://preview.redd.it/qv48mv9ql8wg1.png?width=1737&format=png&auto=webp&s=e8bb212074356acdf66e1370a3575b9a8a7ad719

I think the least painful plan will be to go back to the grblHAL setup I had before converting to LinuxCNC. I need to get the mill running in the next few days so I need an Amazon special controller to get going again, no time to wait for a new Mesa controller and not really worth it since I'm not using this machine that much anyway.

What would be the cheapest controller I can get off Amazon that will run grblHAL, can be wired to external stepper drivers, and has I/O for 3 limit switches and 2 probe inputs? I can parallel the probe inputs (one is a toolsetter and the other is a 3D probe so both not used at the same time) if 4 I/O is more readily available.

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u/plastrd1 — 23 hours ago
▲ 32 r/hobbycnc

Made a functional bit/nu/collet holder

Made me a little holder for my bits and stuff with my own software:) HankCNC. Feels really cool

u/tom_winters — 1 day ago
▲ 1 r/hobbycnc

Anyone use a probe AND touch plate with Mach3? Probe input pin switching?

Hoping someone can provide some insight, because I'm about ready to tear my hair out.

I have a Bostomatic 312, retrofitted with a Sound Logic control board and running Mach3 (done by a previous owner). Everything mostly works well, but I have run into one annoying issue:

Using a 3D probe AND a touch plate.

I want the probe for finding the part origin and the height of the touch plate relative to that, then the touch plate to set tool offsets after tool changes.

The probe is NC and the touch plate is NO.

----

I'll skip all of the various hardware things I've tried (the real answer is that I should have got an NO probe).

But here's where I'm at:

I want to switch the probe input pin programmatically in Mach3 through a macro, so I can simply swap between the two.

The AIs tell me that should be possible, using some variation of:

Call SetInputData(22, 1, 12, 1, 0)

But I've tried that in a million different ways, even reinstalling the newest version of Mach3, and it just doesn't seem to recognize the command. Or even several other commands (like GetEngine).

Does anyone know why? These are commands that the Gemini is confident exist, but Mach3 doesn't agree.

Is there some other way to programmatically switch input pins?

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u/TheSerialHobbyist — 22 hours ago
▲ 1 r/hobbycnc

Noob, CNC, Wood-size problem... Apologies in advance

Hello community,

Many thanks for having me here.

I have 0 experience with woodworking, or CNC routers, so please excuse me if any of this comes out as nonsense.

---

### THE SITUATION

- I've designed and produced an STL.

- I'm using *MeshCad* free trial to prepare for the machine—a dirt cheap thing from Amazon: `McwDoit Wood 3018 CNC router`.

- I'm using blocks of balsa as it was advised this is good for beginners and ~~shit~~ machines.

- The blocks are larger than the object to be CNC'd.

### MY STUPID 'PROBLEM'

- I can't work out how to configure *MeshCad* to drill the object starting from one corner of the large piece of balsa.

- I've defined the 'stock' to the measurements of the whole piece, and I can see the object to be drilled in the centre, not in the corner...

---

And that's it!

I'd be really grateful if anyone had any pointers.

Many thanks in advance!

Edit: I tried a reddit post 'formatting' site and this is what came out... sorry about that too! :'D

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u/RememberAutumn — 1 day ago
▲ 0 r/hobbycnc

What would you get for $2500?

I, like many others am coming to you to ask for advice. YT seems like everyone is selling something or sponsored - So it is hard to realize what are just ads or good info. I am fortunate enough to have a job that gives me a "tech" budget - so I am looking to get a CNC. I am looking for something strictly for woodworking at this point, maybe I'll catch the bug and move on to metal in the future. That said, no need to include the cost of the router in the CNC; that is a separate cost I am happy to exclude from this budget. I'd consider upping the budget to $3000 if it really makes a difference between machines. I know little about CNC, been 3D printing for a while, so I feel like the jump wont be too much.

So, in 2026, knowing what you know now and if you had a "free" $2500, what would you get and why?

Thank you all for your help!

u/MA2ZAK — 2 days ago
▲ 7 r/hobbycnc

What’s the most “overkill” hardware you’ve ever used on a CNC build?

I’ve been slowly upgrading my setup over time and it got me thinking about where people draw the line between “practical” and “just because I can.”

At work I had access to some pretty high-end motion hardware and it was honestly wild how smooth everything felt compared to typical hobby gear. Totally unnecessary for what I’m doing at home, but still kind of tempting.

Is anyone running industrial grade drives or servos on a hobby machine just for the fun of it?

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u/Afraid-Message7 — 3 days ago
▲ 2 r/hobbycnc

AnoleX 3030-Evo Max for budget beginner

Hello, first time here. I want to buy a CNC router machine for small wooden projects. I have no intention to cut aluminum. From my research I have found the Anolex 3030 evo max for 600$ from the official site. My question is are there any better alternatives for the price? I am not interested in th3 following and I already have seen suggestions about them:

-Buy a used one.

-Make one yourself.

-Save up for a better one.

Finally what other costs besides the milling tips there are. Reoccurring or not.

This is the product page if you want to see what is included.

https://anolexcnc.com/collections/3030cnc/products/anolex-cnc-router-machine-3030-evo-max-all-metal-xyz-axis-dual-steel-linear-guides-with-800w-trim-router

P.S I have a laser engraver and a 3d printer.

u/AlternativePrize1003 — 15 hours ago
🔥 Hot ▲ 157 r/hobbycnc

The main reason for having a CNC is to build another CNC

The last months I made a new CNC with the help of my old CNC. Before I only had one ballscrew on the Y axis which produced quite some play. The new one has now one on each side which hopefully also helps with cutting in a 90 degree angle. For the gantry design I got inspired by „Scratchbuild design“. It was my first time working with Aluminium for the base frame which I filled with epoxy resin. (Quite a mess :) )The gantry is connected at the bottom but I am not sure if that’s really needed since I could prevent sagging on Y when placing the whole machine on the ground. Overall I am happy. The machine is a bit louder since the old one had a thicker wood table as a base which eliminated more acoustic vibration. I maybe stiffen up the Z plate a bit more but so far its ok. The cheap round linear rails will be replaced in the next CNC :) if you have any thoughts or recommendations I would be happy to hear.

u/PyteByte — 3 days ago
▲ 2 r/hobbycnc

Good source for aluminum extrusion in Europe?

Building a custom frame for a project and need a decent amount of 2020 and 2040 extrusion cut to length. Based in Europe so shipping from the US isn't ideal.

I've used Motedis before and they've been solid, but curious if anyone has other go-to suppliers. Especially for cut-to-length orders without insane minimum quantities. Bonus points if they also stock brackets, corner cubes, t-nuts etc. so I can do one order.

Any recommendations? thx

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u/-2811 — 3 days ago