CNC for hobby from plywood. CNC from plywood: how to work, how to do it yourself and drawings CNC machine from plywood

Often there are craftsmen who themselves make the equipment necessary for work. By creating a CNC from plywood with your own hands, you can save a lot. Why choose sheets of glued wood veneer to create details?

This material is chosen for many reasons:

first of all, it is low cost (compared to solid wood, plywood will cost several times cheaper);
it is not difficult to work with such material (in order to cut a part from a sheet of glued veneer, you do not need to have much experience);
the material has a high strength index, no matter which grade is chosen (in terms of wear resistance and durability, the first grade is no different from the fourth grade);
carries heavy loads;
temperature changes will not adversely affect the product;
resistant to chemicals.

What plywood to choose for CNC

Many parts for the machine can be made from a sheet of glued veneer. This can be a table designed for cutting, casings or for making furniture from plywood on CNC supports, or any other important details.

The thickness of the material depends on the expected load. The best option is considered to be a plywood sheet of medium thickness. For example, plywood with a thickness of eight to ten millimeters is suitable for making a table. If the machine needs to be given additional strength, then choose a sheet whose thickness exceeds ten millimeters.

Important! Regardless of which machine is being manufactured, sheets less than three millimeters thick should be discarded. Such material is less durable, so it is not suitable for the manufacture of home CNC machines.

If you are going to work with a sheet whose thickness does not exceed six millimeters, then in this case you can use a manual / electric jigsaw for sawing.

A circular saw is used if it is necessary to cut material with a thickness of more than six millimeters.

As for the plywood grade, any grade is suitable for making homemade CNC.

Features of cutting plywood sheet

Before you start making homemade CNC from plywood, you need to know the basic rules for working with glued veneer:

CNC milling of plywood occurs along the fibers of the first layer, and not across. However, in practice this is not always possible. Often craftsmen have to make a cross cut. Therefore, in the manufacture of the machine, a combined cut of the material is often performed. To do this, cut the first layer. As for the remaining layers, they will all go through the technical means of cutting.
When working with the material, it should be taken into account that glued birch veneer is more difficult to cut than coniferous. This is because plywood made from pine veneer is softer and looser than birch.
To cut from the front side, use a saw with fine teeth. For cutting from the back side, a circular saw is used.
If the material is cut with a circular saw, then the rotation speed of such a tool should be maximum, and the plywood sheet, on the contrary, must be moved very slowly.
When working with glued veneer, files with large teeth should be discarded.

Plywood machine. Basic moments

First of all, it is worth noting that do-it-yourself models made of plywood for CNC are only suitable for home use.

What you need to work

In addition to the plywood sheet, stock up on:

bearings and holders;
special shafts, screws and belts;
cutter for cnc plywood;
knife;
sandpaper.

Progress:

The process of manufacturing CNC from plywood begins with drawings - every craftsman should remember this. It should also be remembered that glued veneer does not tolerate strong mechanical stress. Therefore, individual elements should be connected using spikes and grooves, which, before being connected, are coated with an adhesive solution. Connect the "thorn-groove" in such a way that there are no gaps between them.

Important point! Nails, self-tapping screws are prohibited for fastening parts.

Particular attention in the manufacture of the machine should be paid to the mount. It must be reliable. Otherwise, at the most crucial moment in the process of creating a CNC plywood product, the mount may fall apart (if done poorly).
When working with a drill, it is necessary to put a piece of the same material (remnants) under the worksheet. Thus, it will be possible to avoid the formation of chips.
All sawn parts must be processed. Otherwise, the material will begin to delaminate. First of all, you need to take care of the edges (they are most susceptible to moisture).
Each detail is polished with sandpaper. Grinding starts from the corner in the direction of the fibers.
Then the corners are separately processed with sandpaper.
With the help of a special composition, all parts are primed. Due to the primer, the product becomes more resistant to changes in temperature and humidity.
The final stage. Painting all details.

Tips:

Only dry material can be cut. Otherwise, the plywood will begin to peel.
If you notice that the teeth in the working material have become dull, the cutting process should be stopped immediately (for a while). After the tool has been replaced, you can continue cutting.
In order to cut the material in the direction of the fibers, it is best to use an electric jigsaw. A hand saw is most often used when it is necessary to make a cross cut.
If you need to cut plywood, the thickness of which exceeds eight millimeters, use a furniture cutter.

Making a lathe using plywood

To make a CNC from plywood with your own hands, you need to be patient. To work, in addition to all the above tools and improvised means, you will need a plywood sheet with a thickness of 21 mm and 19 mm.

Work process:

Four elements are cut out of a sheet of plywood. Two parts measuring 1.22x0.08 m and two more 1.06x0.08 m. Holes are made in the cut out part (which is smaller) with a drill for self-tapping screws. Connect and fasten with self-tapping screws a short part with a long one.
Then, a piece measuring 1.65x0.15 m is cut out of a sheet of plywood. It turns out a bed cover.
The bed is turned over. Cut out four rectangles. They are necessary in order to give the structure rigidity. The sawn pieces are inserted inside the structure. Fix them with self-tapping screws. The resulting structure is milled.
Parts are made into which bearings and a shaft will subsequently be mounted. The size of the part is 40x30 cm. Create a hexagon. They cut him out.
Create two small holes in the front piece.
Then create a hole for the bearing. Insert the bearing into the hole. The hole is closed.
Remove the rotor from the shaft. A new washer of larger diameter is welded to the washer that remained after removing the rotor. Several holes are made in the center of the washer (they are necessary in order to mount the pulley on the shaft).

Important! For the manufacture of the pulley, a plywood sheet with a thickness of 21 millimeters is used.

Circles are made, the diameter of which depends on the characteristics of the motor. The swollen parts are glued together. Then, the part with holes is fastened using self-tapping screws. Resin can be used for additional fixation. Next, press the shaft into the bearings.
In the second blank, a hole is made for the second bearing. Then the second bearing is pressed in.
Carry out the fastening of the rear part and the bearing. Then a part for the top cover is made from plywood sheet.

Ideal milling of plywood is an operation that requires precision and adherence to technology. For milling large volumes of sheet material with excellent quality, our company has all the necessary production facilities and areas.

Plywood milling is carried out on modern CNC machines. The area of working tables is 1300*2500 mm.

The use of high-quality consumables in the work eliminates chips and other defects.

The area of the shop (150 sq. m.) is sufficient for the simultaneous placement of large volumes of processed and finished products.

Forklifts are used for loading and unloading.

plywood milling price

Thickness, mm:	Prices for plywood milling, rub/mp
	up to 500	up to 1000	up to 3000	up to 5000

3-6	45	30	25	22
7-10	53	38	32	27
12-20	60	45	37	30
21-30	76	67	52	38

40	120	107	94	83

120

107

Ask an expert:
+7 926-301-80-59
Prices for CNC plywood milling are indicated in Russian rubles without VAT per linear meter, excluding the cost of the material. The cost of milling is calculated as the sum of the lengths of all cut lines in the layout in meters, multiplied by the cost of 1 meter with the corresponding thickness of the material.

CNC machines for plywood milling

The company has two milling and engraving machines with working surfaces measuring 1300*2500 mm. In addition to a large area of work tables, the machines have the following characteristics and features:

Spindle power 4.5 kW, rotation speed 400 rpm, air cooling.
Automated control using CNC controllers;
The maximum thickness of the plywood supplied to the working surface for milling at optimal speeds is 7 cm;
Stable body - base and beam made of steel profile 9.5 mm thick;
Vibration damping occurs due to the high mass of the aggregates;
Smooth feed of the cutting mechanism;
A wide range of speed adjustment, which allows you to adjust the milling mode for each type of plywood individually and avoid chips and soot;
The error in milling plywood sheets on high-precision machines does not exceed 0.01 mm;
A special option helps to set the vertical coordinate to zero and quickly determine the thickness of the processed plywood sheet, which significantly affects the pace of work.

Milling large batches of plywood

We specialize in handling large volumes. For example, a truck of plywood 18 mm thick is milled for no longer than four days. For milling laminated plywood, our own unique technology has been developed that allows you to perform the operation at high speeds with an ideal result - an edge without burning, chips and burrs. After passing the production cycle, finished products are labeled and neatly packaged. In the photo - loading of a ready-made set for building formwork made of softwood plywood.

Custom plywood cutting

For milling, special cutter configurations are used to avoid processing defects, both from the front and from the wrong side, and to obtain the perfect edge. Unlike laser cutting, our technology helps to obtain parts without burn marks on wood and immediately ready for further processing steps: grinding and applying decorative coatings. The choice of cutter is possible from 2 mm to 1.2 cm in diameter, the milling speed, depending on the complexity, is from 150 to 5000 cm per minute.

radius

When processing furniture parts for assembly using the tongue and groove method, allowances should be made according to the thickness of the material, and if necessary, adjust the drawings to compensate for the effect of radius.

Choice of material for milling

To obtain high quality products, the right choice of material is essential. Depending on the purpose and required properties of the future product, certain types and grades of plywood should be used. Rational choice of material will minimize processing losses and reduce production costs.

Wood species

Plywood can be made from birch or softwood.

Birch plywood. For its smooth texture and noble color, it is preferred by manufacturers of furniture and souvenirs. Being processed, birch plywood shows itself as a technological material, easily and effectively allowing to achieve the required quality of processing.

Softwood plywood (spruce). It has less successful characteristics in terms of processing capabilities and is used for the manufacture of temporary and auxiliary structures in construction, for example, formwork. As a result of cutting or milling, the edge may be chipped.

Impregnation

Impregnation, or glue for plywood, is used in two types:

based on urea resin (FC),

based on formaldehydes (FSF).

The main difference is that the formaldehydes present in PSF are unsafe, so this type of plywood is undesirable for the manufacture of furniture or interior decoration. In outdoor applications, PSF has proven to be excellent due to its higher resistance to moisture and deformation than FC. FK brand plywood is used for the manufacture of furniture and household products. It is safe, and, if not exposed to aggressive environments, is quite durable.

Treatment

According to the type of processing, plywood can be sanded on one side - Ш1, on both sides - Ш2. Unsanded plywood is marked as NSh. Since milling usually takes place along the end plane, the type of processing of its front surface has almost no effect on the quality of plywood milling.

Variety

The grade of plywood depends on the quality of the veneer from which the plywood layers are made, as well as the number of inserts, knots or areas with a color transition (defects). The number of defects on the front and back of the plywood sheet may not match. To designate the variety, a double designation is used, if the numbers do not match, then the number of defects on the front and back sides is not the same.

For example, if you compare 2/4 and 2/2, this means that the first sheet has more defects on the reverse side than on the front, and the second sheet has the same texture on both sides. Low-grade plywood, 3-4 grades, is more difficult to mill, there is a high risk of chipping and delamination. Sheets should be selected very carefully.

Laminated plywood is intended for the manufacture of reusable formwork. She is not afraid of interaction with water and mortars. Temperature fluctuations also do not change its properties. During production, the sheet surfaces are covered with a laminating layer, and after cutting the sheet, to prevent moisture from entering through the cut, the ends are treated with a special compound. Milling laminated plywood is more difficult, it requires an accurate selection of machine settings.

Milling cutting is a material processing that allows you to get parts with precise dimensions and smooth edges. This type of cutting matches the smoothness of the lines and all the details. Every day woodworking machines become more functional and perfect.

But not everyone can afford to buy such a machine. Some portable models are quite compact and take up little space. Simple and quick control makes it possible to cut plywood products on your own.

1 CNC cutting equipment

Thanks to numerical control (CNC) technology, the cutting process is fully automated. The end result is a finished product which does not require additional interventions and processing. Machines are used for cutting of the following types:

laser;
milling;
hydroabrasive;
plasma.

The presented types have their pros and cons, but with their help, you can quickly and accurately process almost any sheet material.

1.1 Types of tools

Specialty stores provide a huge range of hand tools that allow you to mill wood parts at home.

Types of CNC Router for Plywood Cutting:

Vertical submersible.
Kromochny.
Combined.

The first type is the most functional and common than other models. It has a collet clamp for milling cutters of various diameters.

The edge router has less power and dimensions. It is used to give the side plane of the plywood sheet a neat look, and for shaped cutting of wood and MDF.

The design of combined milling cutters is a vertical base. Dismantling the device helps to get a compact edging tool.

A milling machine will not only facilitate the processing of wood, but will also help you perform quite complex operations, for example: creating a spike to connect two wooden parts; cutting out a part from plywood with a complex configuration; creating a beautiful pattern on the surface of the material.

With this equipment you can:

profiling cornices, platbands, skirting boards, glazing beads;
cut wood along a curved contour;
create grooves, figured recesses;
decorate the surface
drill holes.

Thanks to the cutting depth settings, the process proceeds automatically, you only need to manually set the trajectory of movement.

The milling machine can have a power of 600-2300W, the most powerful models allow processing some types of plastic.

2 CNC plywood cutting

Consider the main distinguishing features of milling cutting from laser cutting.

Milling plywood involves a clean and smooth edge at the end of the processing process. The laser chars the edges and the edge is burnt. The ends need additional processing.
Milling cutting can work with material up to ten centimeters thick. The laser machine processes material up to 1 cm.
Milling allows not only to cut curved material, but also to create three-dimensional products and panels.
Curly, end, radius and shaped cutters allow you to chamfer, round, mill grooves and perform other operations that cannot be performed on laser equipment. If you use specialized cutters for cutting plywood, you can completely avoid pile and other defects on the cut.
The laser allows you to create small details and thin fragile elements. Laser cutting does not exert a mechanical load on the workpiece.

2.1 How to properly prepare the CNC machine for work?

Before starting work, it is necessary to prepare the machine for the intended work program. This also includes instructing the machine operator about the features of processing certain parts.

The complex of such works is called adjustment. According to the overlay, the tool blocks and individual tools must pass the installation:

fix the locating and fixing devices on the faceplate;
warm up the mechanisms of the machine for stable operation;
run the control program at idle.

In addition, the installer checks:

system elements for cleanliness;
blanks for compliance with drawings;
containers for coolant and grease.

The installer must supervise the processing of the first plywood. At the end of the operation, he assists the operator with checking the obtained dimensions details. If malfunctions are noticed in the work, the adjuster makes an additional correction.

2.2 Plywood cutting sequence

The first thing to do is install the cuts in the cartridge. Then you need to tighten the cartridge and tighten the nut with a wrench.

The next step is to set the penetration depth of the cutter. This parameter can be easily adjusted thanks to the limiter knob. Having chosen the appropriate parameter, the router is tested on an unnecessary piece of plywood.

Spend adjustment of the key parameters of the milling cutter: at what speed it will rotate, and in what direction the movements are carried out. For a large diameter cutter, set the RPM to low. The optimal speed can be found in the instructions for the equipment.

The movements of the tool must be opposite to the movements of the curly cutter. Otherwise, the incisors may slip.

2.3 Process cutting plywood on a CNC milling machine (video)

2.4 Safety precautions when working with a CNC machine

The milling cutter has considerable power and high speed, so improper operation of the equipment and non-compliance with safety precautions can cost a lot.

Primary requirements:

during operation, the router must be securely held in your hands, otherwise the device may slip out. It is important to remember that when the cutters come into contact with the surface of the material, there is a strong reciprocal push;
during a stop or at the end of work, the plug must be removed from the socket. Careless behavior and touching may activate the tool. This can damage the workpiece material and cause physical damage to others;
eye and respiratory protection. Modern models of machine tools are equipped with special devices that allow you to remove dust. At home, a vacuum cleaner will help with this. For safer work, it is advisable to use a respirator, goggles and tight clothing.

With a cutter you can get the most complex parts in a fairly short time.

Affordable cost of equipment and a large selection, allow you to purchase a model that best meets the needs of customers.

A CNC machine with a different working field can be made independently from plywood. This material is inexpensive, easy to work with, in addition, it has high strength and can withstand heavy loads. Plywood products are durable and practical. Work on the creation of the machine is carried out in several stages: first, drawings are made, then materials and tools are prepared, the necessary structural elements are cut out, assembled in the form of designers and the machines are set up.

Each stage requires a careful approach. CNC plywood will allow you to process wood at home, create plywood furniture. The finished machine can be seen in the photo. A plywood machine will work no worse than a factory product. The possibilities of such equipment are great.

Blueprints

At the initial stage of the workflow, drawings are made. The drawings may differ from each other depending on what type of equipment with program control has been chosen, what working field is provided. When creating a drawing for a future machine, they focus on the following factors:

which parts will need to be made independently, and which ones to buy ready-made;
what thickness plywood is required;
how the details will be fixed.

Elements of a simple form are made independently. These details include: bed, tabletop, holders, casing, caliper and some others. More difficult items are bought ready-made. People who do not have experience in creating drawings can find ready-made drawings, they can be found in various sources, for example, on the Internet. There are also drawings of furniture and diagrams of other plywood products.

Desktop

machine layout

Preparation of material and tools

CNC plywood furniture machines are only suitable for home use. To begin with, prepare a plywood sheet of any grade, of different thicknesses. Tables, beds and calipers are made of plywood sheet 10 mm thick, for machines on which it is planned to produce large workpieces, plywood 20 mm thick is taken. Casings, stoppers and other elements are cut out of plywood 6 mm thick. In addition to the material, the following tools and parts will be required:

bearings and clamps;
shafts;
screws;
pulleys;
drill or drill;
rotation transmission belts;
cables;
aluminum corner;
guides;
sharp knife;
controller;
jigsaw or tension saw;
sandpaper.

Also, glue should be prepared. To work with plywood, ordinary PVA is suitable. Epoxy resin is used to install metal parts on the body. A stepper motor is purchased as additional equipment; instead, a motor from a used scanner or printer can be used.

In the process, to connect the individual elements, spikes and grooves are used, which are pre-lubricated with glue. When applying PVA, use a cotton swab. It is important that there are no gaps at the joints. Nails and screws are not suitable for connecting elements.

How to cut details

Plywood parts are cut out by hand if their thickness does not exceed 4 mm. For these purposes, a hand jigsaw or a tension saw is suitable. Larger sheets, from 6 mm thick, can be cut with an electric jigsaw, a circular saw is also suitable. Thin sheets (2 mm) can be worked with a knife.

The saw or jigsaw is driven slowly along the cut line; with a fast movement, the edges of the product will be rough. When cutting out small details, it is better to leave a spare place so as not to make a mistake with the size. Holes in plywood parts are made using a drilling machine or drill, you can also use a drill.

The sawn product should be processed so that during operation the individual elements do not exfoliate. Sanding is done with sandpaper. Movements start from the corner edge of the plywood part in the direction of the fibers. The corners themselves are treated separately. The holes also require grinding, this is done with the same sandpaper. To increase the resistance of the product to temperature extremes, the surfaces are treated with a primer. Upon completion of the work, plywood is painted.

Assembly of parts

When all the details are ready, they are assembled like a designer. Assembly is carried out with great care, since plywood is a fragile material, with a careless approach, it can crack. In the process of assembling the tongue-and-groove joint on the plywood sheet, PVA glue is passed along the entire length.

Bolted connections are supplemented with washers and engravers so that they do not loosen and do not unwind during work on the machines. All cables are placed in PVC corrugation. The bed and table must be level. The controller must be separate, it is placed in a cabinet. The assembly of parts can be carried out by looking at the photo, also in this case the diagram will help.

Setting

After assembling the milling cutter, they start setting up the machines. It should be carefully checked how the moving parts move, how the transmission mechanism functions. You should also adjust the position of the switches and switches, adjust the sensor readings.

At the setup stage, the following functions are performed:

setting the zero indicator of the device;
axial calibration of the movement of the caliper, table;
diagnostics of information processing accuracy on sensors.

When everything is ready, it remains to install the program. Not everyone can create software for working with machine tools, so they buy it from specialists, and then install it on the equipment. After making the settings, you can start working on a new machine.

A milling machine from plywood of a different working field can be made independently. This requires the preparation of the necessary material, tools and parts. In the process of work, you must follow the rules. A ready-made furniture CNC machine will allow you to carry out milling work at home. A do-it-yourself CNC machine will cost much cheaper than a factory one.

Homemade products should be approached with all responsibility, they must be made in accordance with all the rules.

With a milling cutter, it will be possible to create a large number of parts for the manufacture of furniture.

Why plywood?

1) Definition

Originally a word "plywood" derived from the French fournir (to impose). This unique wood-based material consists of several stacked and glued sheets of peeled veneer. In this case, each veneer sheet is positioned so that the wood fibers lie perpendicular to the previous sheet. That is why plywood has such high strength and more stable shape compared to conventional wood. When gluing the sheets, resin glue based on phenol-formaldehyde is used, which ensures high strength and a high degree of moisture resistance.

The ultimate strength of FSF plywood in tension along the fibers of the outer layers is at least 40 MPa. Ultimate strength of FSF plywood with static bending along the fibers of the outer layers is not less than 60 MPa

Plywood is used mainly when it is required to combine good strength and low weight of the material in one solution. That is why plywood is so often used in construction, mechanical engineering and other areas of production, where much depends on the strength of the materials used.

2) examples

On the Internet you will find many examples of homemade plywood CNC machines, ease of processing combined with high strength makes this material the most popular among DIY CNC machines. Italian CNC specialists have launched the production of kits for assembling CNC machines from plywood, these are BABY CNC KIT and ROTOR CNC KIT http://www.forumcnc.com/cnc-forum/viewforum.php?f=70

In Russia, the machine modeler GRAPH is very popular http://forum.rcdesign.ru/f111/thread147309.html

And here the Upgrade is described, an aluminum fellow is made on a plywood machine! The side posts were milled - Al 16 mm (single-thread 8 mm cutter). http://forum.rcdesign.ru/f111/thread260157.html . The first version was made of 18 mm plywood - worked for a year without serious damage in production.

Sheathing of the most modern and comfortable sailing and motor yachts consists of plywood - only plywood can give such a vessel excellent technical performance and lightness.

In the USSR, the production of plywood pipelines for the transportation of hydrocarbons in the oil and gas industry was established.

Plywood is an indispensable material in the manufacture of hockey sticks.

Plywood is used as an anti-friction self-lubricating material for bushings and bushings of bearings, gears and elements of machine parts.