Mastering Digitally Controlled Machines

Take control of your machine building and production processes with computer-run tools to safely use, or even build, a durable machine for use in your garage or even a startup company. This book provides best practices for laser cutters, 3D printers, CNC mills, vinyl cutters, and more.

You'll begin by learning the history of digitally controlled tools, as well as how they work and what materials you can use with them. With this knowledge, you won’t just learn how to make common machines work, you’ll go to the next level and build your own machine—whether that be a plasma cutter or a CNC milling machine.

You will learn how they use these tools to create amazing products, art, and even new machines! You’ll also find handy overviews of tools, software, and materials to use in a reference appendix. After reading Mastering Digitally Controlled Machines you’ll be able to create something for yourself, your community, or your company.

What You'll Learn

Use accessible computer-controlled machines safely to make anything you want to buildFit the right tool and materials with the right projects

Build your own CNC machine custom tailored to your project’s needs

Who This Book Is For

People who want to understand how accessible computer-controlled tools work and build any kind of product themselves. Makerspaces, Fab Labs, and similar spaces will benefit. And people who want to create prototypes and products for themselves or their company/ startup, or to start creating prototypes without much prior knowledge. JEAN-MICHEL MOLENAAR helped create the first Fab Labs in the Netherlands, after which he moved on to other countries to do the same. He has managed a company in the UK selling tools internationally, implemented the use digitally controlled machines at Tufts University as a professor, and started the Resilience Collective, a humanitarian effort to use digital technology for the most vulnerable populations. He has created makerspaces in over 12 countries and has spoken about education and digital tools during various conferences around the world. He lives in the French alps with his wife and their 3 sons.

DANIELE INGRASSIA has taught at Fab Academy for 6 years, and served as a Fab Lab mentor since 2017. He is a Fab Lab Guru, permanent scientific staff member of the Rhine Waal University of Applied Sciences, and the owner of his own machine building company. With a background in computer science, he now implements local digital fabrication courses in official university programs and develops open source hardware. Leaving behind a long series of Fab Lab-made projects, Daniele managed to develop several open source machines, such as a dual source laser cutter and the largest open source 3D printer. With projects being replicated in many other countries worldwide, Daniele has held several fabrication and machine building workshops around the world. He lives in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

CHAPTER 1 - LASER CUTTERS

● History

● How they work

● Different types of lasers

● Materials

● How to use a laser cutter

○ Designing for laser cutting

○ Sending files to the machine

○ Finding the right settings

○ Never launch a long job without a test

● Safety and maintenance

○ Optics and encoders

○ Alignment of mirrors and lenses

○ Material, speed and power

○ Safety and hazards

● Applications

○ Use of lasers in industry

○ What can you make?

■ Snap fit assembly of all sizes

■ Folding wood and plastics

■ Stacking layers to create 3D objects

■ Engraving

■ More

MAKER PORTRAIT : ANASTASIA SOKOLNIKOVA

CHAPTER 2 - VINYL CUTTERS

● History

● How they work

● Different types of vinyl cutters

● Materials

● How to use a vinyl cutter

○ Designing for a cutter

○ Preparing the machine

○ Sending files to the machine

○ Preparing and transferring the cut material

● Safety and maintenance

● Applications

○ Use of vinyl cutters in industry

○ What can you make?

■ Complex and multicolor signage

■ Clothing and more

■ Screenprinting and templates

■ Multi layer electronics circuits

■ More

MAKER PORTRAIT : RICHARD KOPPES

CHAPTER 3 - CNC MILLING MACHINES

● History

● How they work

● Different types of CNC mills

● Materials

○ Wood and similar materials

○ Plastics and composites

○ Denser materials

● How to use a CNC mill

○ Designing for CNC milling

○ Tooling

○ Toolpath generation

○ 2D / 2.5D milling

○ 3D milling

○ How to send files to the machine

○ Installation et setup of materials

● Safety and maintenance

○ Safety

○ How to keep your tool and tooling in good shape

● Applications

○ Use of CNC mills in industry

○ What you can make

■ Small but precise

■ Big and strong

■ Furniture

■ Shelters and sheds

■ Bee hives

■ Boats

■ Boards and skis

■ Molds for molding and casting

■ Guitars and other instruments

MAKER PORTRAIT : ISMAEL VELO

CHAPTER 4 - 3D PRINTERS

● Introduction

● History

● Different types of printing techniques

○ Stereolithography (SLA)

○ Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)

○ Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)

○ Digital Light Process (DLP)

○ Multi Jet Fusion (MJF)

○ PolyJet.

○ Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS)

○ Electron Beam Melting (EBM)

● Materials

● How to use a 3D printer

○ Designing for 3D printing

○ Setting up your machine

○ Sending files to the machine

○ Finishing the final product

● Safety and maintenance

● Applications

○ Use of 3D printing in industry

○ Bio printing

○ What can you make?

■ Yoda, or ‘“This test do, you will!”

■ A machine to make machines

■ Molds

■ Hooks, support and connectors

■ A watch using shadow and light

■ A ‘helping hand’

■ More

MAKER PORTRAIT : JORIS VAN TUBERGEN

CHAPTER 5 - OTHER MACHINES

● Introduction

● Plasma cutters

● Water jet cutters

● EDM machines

● Digital lathes

● Hot wire cutters

● Robotic arms

● Sewing and embroidery machines

MAKER PORTRAIT : ALEXANDRE DUBOR

CHAPTER 6 - CAD (COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN)

● Introduction

● History

● Concepts, nomenclature and basic principles

● Parametric design

● File formats

● Software

○ Open source

○ Free

○ Commercial

MAKER PORTRAIT : ANASTASIA PISTOFIDOU

CHAPTER 7 - BUILDING YOUR OWN MACHINE

● Introduction

● DIY Machine building

● Open Source Hardware

● Design approaches

● Machine building tools

○ Hand Tools

○ Measuring Tools

○ Machines

● Machine Components

○ Raw Materials

■ Plastics

■ Metals

■ Others

○ Ready made components

■ Standards

■ Fasteners

■ Connectors

■ Beams

○ Mechanics

■ Assembly techniques

■ Static

■ Dynamic

■ Mechanics Selection

○ Motion Actuators

■ Belts

■ Screws

■ Rack and Pinion

■ Other

○ Electronics

■ Electrics and Electronics basics

■ Wires and Connectors

■ Controllers

■ Sensors

■ Motors and drivers

● DC

● Stepper

● Servo

● Brushless

■ Power Supplies

● Software

○ Firmware

○ G-Code

○ Control Panels

● Specific Building Guidelines

○ Laser Cutter

○ 3D Printer

○ Milling

○ Other machines

● How to document your build

○ Publishing Platforms

○ Source files

○ Bill of Material

○ Manufacturing

○ Assembly manual

● Examples of Open Source Machines

MAKER PORTRAIT : JENS DYVIK

CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION

● Future development and visions

APPENDIX A: RESOURCES AND LISTS

● Formulas, machining speeds and settings

● Machines and vendors

● Software (open source, free, commercial)

● File formats

● Materials and their use per machine