One of the coolest tools you can have as a DIY’er is without a doubt a CNC machine. Nowadays, you can even buy one for a relatively low sum in the form of a kit, straight from eBay/AliExpress. A few years ago, while I was still a student, I’ve decided to build one myself. I’ve decided against a kit for two main reasons. The first was the cost, at the time these kits weren’t as wide-spread and cheap as they are now, and I was concerned with cost. The second being the desire to do something of my own, and learn in the process. My aim was to build a machine that will be sufficient for my needs, which means engraving panels for my other projects, as well as some work with wood (MDF mostly).
Since this was meant to be a learning project, I didn’t jump straight into buying everything, but instead took it step by step. As a first step, I went to one of the local junk-yards and bought a couple of stepper motors, along with a disassembled industrial scanner. It was very cheap, and seemed like a solid base to modify for use as the X-axis of the machine. After taking it apart for some well needed cleaning, and putting it back together it actually looked in good condition. It uses a belt to drive the frame, coupled to a Lin Eng. stepper with a 90degree gear-box. The belt is reinforced with some steel wires, so it seemed like it will suffice for my limited needs.