In the past few months its little brother the PrintNC Mini which extends the PrintNC capabilities further but in a much more compact and cost effective platform.

Features of the PrintNC Mini

The PrintNC mini is the baby that came out of all the findings and learnings of the (opensource) PrintNC project. The main improvements are as follows:

• Dual HGH15 block bearings on the Y axis – Fixes the main stiffness issue which was often one of the first upgrades done for the PrintNC V3.0

• Triple HGH15 bearing block configuration for the X axis – This setup drastically increases the stiffness of the X axis and Z axis assembly

• Re-design of the Z-axis – Allows for a smaller overall package while retaining simplicity to build and overall stiffness

• In-chassis Nema17 stepper motors allow for a much more compact build

PrintNC mini specifications

The standard build has the following dimensions:

• Wasteboard 395 x 500 mm
• Y axis beams: 75×50 mm steel tube
• X axis beam: 50×50 mm steel tube
• Z travel: 110mm
• Y travel: 300mm
• X travel: 300mm

The PrintNC Mini is designed with parametric modelling. You can scale-up and scale-down the design within reason.

What makes the PrintNC so special vs other DIY CNC router offering?

The PrintNC Mini’s design makes use of rectangular steel beams which are interconnected with bolts to keep it DIY friendly.

It avoided all the shortcomings from entry level desktop CNC-routers that are on the market.

Such as the Indymill and Carbide 3D’s Nomad which are far less capable then the PrintNc

To name a few:

• Ballscrews on all axis
• Dual and triple ” Hiwin ” bearing block design
• rigid steel frame
• Supports watercooled 65mm spindle
• 3D-printed parts on the parts you can get away with less tensile strength
• Designed to mill non-ferrous materials

PrintNC Mini current status

The PrintNC mini is still in beta mode. Meaning it is only available to a select few which have purchased the 3D files and get access to the member zone. At this point approximately 2 or 3 completed builds were spotted on the Discord.

It is too early to know the full extents and capabilities of the PrintNC mini. But looking at how it was designed and the already excellent performance of the PrintNC DIY router, I have full confidence in it.

Looking for something completely different?

Have a look at my build the Mightymill :

Conclusion

The PrintNC mini is currently in Beta status and a few builds have shown up on the discord. The design carries many improvements from the PrintNC V3.0 and seems to have addressed the main issues with that design.

It is too early to know the full extents and capabilities of the PrintNC mini due to small amount of builds out there.

I’ll definitely be watching closely at how it performs over the coming few months.

#5 Solid carbide end mill 2 flute – Compression

What is a compression end mill?

A compression end mill has a up-cut flute geometry from the tip to usually about 1/3 of the cutter length at which point it converts into a down-cut flute. The advantage is that the end mill, when used properly, will give you a nice clean top and bottom finish on your work piece. Producing a chip-free surface that is perfect for cabinet and furniture parts.

Which materials can I cut with a compression end mill?

Compression cut spiral end mill bits are excellent for melamine, plywood, laminated wood, MDF and solid wood.

#4 Solid carbide end mill single flute – Up cut (general purpose)

What is a Up-cut endmill?

Up cut end mills are great for all standard milling and material removal. These end mills for wood pull the wood chips up and away from the tool path which helps prevent tool breakage and extends the life of the bit. When you are looking for a general purpose end mill you will find an up cut end mill. This can be used for not only finish cutting but also as a roughing end mill. Also available in multiple flute counts such as a 4 flute end mill and more.

Which materials can I cut with a up cut end mill?

Up cut 2 flute end mills are the most common end mills you will find. This general purpose geometry is especially suited for:

• Soft Metals (Aluminium, Copper & Brass)
• Plastics (ABS, acrylic, HDPE etc)
• Aluminium Composite Materials
• Wood (although usually a down or compression cutter is more suitable)

#3 Solid carbide end mill 2 flute – down cut

What is a Downcut end mill?

Downcut end mills are made from solid carbide with a right hand cut, left hand spiral. This causes the end mill to pull the material down while cutting, preventing lifting. Downcut end mills will reduce fraying, splintering and chipping the top of your workpiece.

Which materials can I cut with a down cut end mill?

Down cut end mill bits are especially useful when routing material such as melamine and plywood. As it leaves a perfectly clean edges on the top face of the work piece.

#2 Solid carbide end mill 2 flute – ball nose

What is a ball nose end mill?

Ball nose end mills also known as corner radius end mills, are used for milling contoured surfaces, slotting and pocketing. A ball end mill is constructed of a round cutting edge and used in the machining of dies and molds and other 3D structures. These are also available in taper end mill and micro end mill formats.

Which materials can I cut with a ball nose end mill?

Ball nose end mills can be used on materials such as:

• Soft Metals (Aluminium, Copper & Brass)
• Plastics (ABS, acrylic, HDPE etc)
• Aluminium Composite Materials
• Wood

It is primarily used for cnc’ing of smooth 3D structures and shapes.

#1 BAP300R

What is a BAP300R?

The BAP300R is an index style facing / roughing cutter. It utilizes replaceable (commercial) inserts to cut materials. These inserts can come in various kind of materials and finishes. The most popular being the PCD (Polycrystalline Diamond) APKT1135 insert which allows mirror style finishes even with hobby machines such as the PrintNC

Which materials can I cut with the BAP300R?

The BAP300R is an index style milling cutter. Therefor with the correct insert you can cnc mill any material.

The PCD (Polycrystalline Diamond) APKT1135 insert in particular is aimed at aluminium milling.

Which end mills should I guy as a beginner?

Whether you just bought a Stepcraft D840 or build your PrintNC / IndyMill , my recommendations is to get the following end mills to get you started.

Make sure you get a sufficient amount as it is easy to break a few when you are just starting out…

What makes the PrintNC so special vs other offering?

The printNC’s design makes use of rectangular steel beams which are interconnected with bolts to keep it DIY friendly.

It avoided all the shortcomings from entry level desktop CNC-routers that are on the market.

Such as the Indymill which is far less capable then the PrintNc

To name a few:

• ballscrews on all axes
• powerful and heavy duty spindle (2,2kW water cooled spindle options)
• rigid steel frame
• 3D-printed parts on the parts you can get away with less tensile strength
• able to mill non ferrous metals with ease and steel to some extent

To put it briefly, it was the best entry level machine in the price to performance category i ever came across.
The only downside is the extensive time commitment required. You must build the framework for the project and set up everything yourself.

Resources

If you want to know if this is the right machine for you, check out all the available resources.

To name a few:

• Wiki of the printNC
• Discord (Very active, friendly and noob friendly)
• Fusion360 model
• PrintNC building playlist by Christoph Lehner – youtube
• PrintNC building playlist by Projects by Brian – youtube

What is the machine capable of

Fully flexible design

The machine concept is fully parametric. You can customize the build to your needed dimensions.
I mainly do sheets of wood so i wanted to be able to pass a full sheet through the machine. Therefore i increased my X-axis to a work area of over 1250mm.
Due to the size of my workshop the biggest dimensions i could get away with, was a footprint of 1600mm x 1000mm.
There is a calculator on the printNC website to calculate all your machine dimensions based on your work area. It even shows you which profiles, screws and other hardware you should get.

Essential parts

• Metal cutting G-penny CNC spindle kit 2.2KW 80MM – Tested and verified by PrintNC members
• High quality HGR20 / HGW20CC linear guides – HLTC – Verified and tested hundreds of builds
• High quality clean & debris free 16MM 10 C7 ballscrew – machined to length – verified by PrintNC
• G-Penny – Casted 80mm spindle holder PrintNC verified

Conclusion

While it takes some time investment to build a diy cnc router yourself, I must say personally it was worth it!

All in build cost are ~2000 USD and that offers you the most capable open source cnc router currently out there.