As known on Reddit, maker and developer Pheux9558 built a custom CNC drafting machine from scratch. raspberry pi. this small cnc machine (opens in new tab) is much smaller than your average plotter and uses recycled hardware from old PCs, such as CD drive parts and old floppy drive components.
In addition to the Raspberry Pi, it works with an Arduino Uno to process image details and turn them into executable commands that your CNC machine can print. Finally, to tie it all together, Pheux9558 designed and 3D printed some parts to attach the hardware.
The Raspberry Pi is responsible for receiving gcode commands and sending them to the Arduino. The Arduino uses this information to drive the component with gcode instructions and then pings the Pi to let it know the system is ready for the next set of instructions. This process is repeated throughout the gcode file until the image is complete.
According to Pheux9558, he uses a Raspberry Pi 3B+ to operate. However, there’s no reason he couldn’t replicate this project on something newer, such as the Raspberry Pi 4B. The CD drive part he controls the X and Y axes and the floppy drive uses servo motors he handles the Z axis and moves the pen up and down.
Pheux9558 developed the code for this project from scratch. This includes the gcode interpreter for the Arduino Uno and the original Python application for your Pi. Pheux9558 also explains that a custom GUI for the system is currently under development.
If you want to create a similar Raspberry Pi project, check out the original project thread shared by Pheux9558. reddit (opens in new tab) Let’s take a closer look at how it all fits together.You can also find more demo images for the project Instagram (opens in new tab)Follow Pheux9558 for future updates and more cool projects.
