I am Making a DIY Clone of the CNC 3018

I recently built a CNC 3018 Pro for someone and blogged about it.  Now I have decided to rebuild my home made CNC to be like the 3018.

This picture compares the two machines side by side.

To be honest it would be cheaper to buy the kit on eBay.  I figured I had most of the parts so it would be cheaper but that is not the case!  If you bought all of the parts it would cost you over $200 and you can get the kit on eBay for around $140-150.

This picture shows how I wired the 3018 CNC

CNC 3018 wiring

 Using larger sized limit switches with a piece of 2" by 1" angle aluminum.

 More limit switch pictures.  I had a limit switch that had a sideways lever for the Z axis.

 Close up of smaller limit switches.  I could only get one screw because of the Allen screw that tightens against the rod.  I should have put the switch on the other side so the rods can be removed.

The controller board needs lots of repairs and even a software fix. You need to add pull up resistors to the inputs of the Pololu A4988 Stepper controllers.  Don't forget to remove the jumpers on the other side of the board as well.  Then you will need to add filter caps to D9, D10 and D12. The board has D11 as the Z axis limit switch but GRBL will use D12 instead.  D11 is used for the spindle control relay or transistor.  In software the "Step" and "Direction" pins are all swapped and need to be swapped back.  There are several web sites that tell how to do that.

DIY CNC 3018 Adding Limit Switches

I am in the process of adding some limit switches to a CNC3018.  It can be done without any adapters.  For the Y axis I used some 3/4 inch 4-40 screws.  The screw head goes through a washer that is cut flat on one side, so it can fit in the T slot groove.  Then a large bolt goes into the slot of the platform.  Something square would make the switch levers hit more evenly.  I might make something out of aluminum for that purpose.

This is the completed, front Y axis switch with a aluminum square block on the bolt.

CNC 3018 Pro Y Limit Switch

Here are pictures of the first X limit switches.  These were later changed to smaller switches like the ones used on the Z axis.

This is the Z axis limit switch.  It is required as the Z axis is tested first.

This is how a major website shows to wire the CNC 3018 PRO.  This is TOTALLY wrong!  The platform will crash when it tries to go back because the wires and wire ties are in the way..

Here is how I wired my CNC 3018.  I used some black electrical tape to cover the wires from the Y axis stepper motor.  The wires to the X axis stepper are folded in thirds within the wire wrap.

 This is how I wired the Z axis.  This works quite well and allows the cable to move freely.

CNC 3018 Pro Z axis Wiring

I improved the wiring harness and the X axis limit switches.  The wiring harness now looks like, and could be, one continuous piece.

CNC 3018 Pro Wiring

The new X axis limit switches are micro switches like the one I used for the Z axis.  The biggest problem with these switches is that a 4-40 screw is too big.  You need a 2-56 screw.  I found some screws that came with servos for use with the servo horns.

CNC 3018 Pro X and Z limit switches

It is finally working!


The problem was calibrating the driver voltage/current.  With a voltmeter on ground and on the center of the trimmer adjust for .7 to .8 volts.  That results in 1.4 to 1.6 amps to the coils and much cooler drivers.  If you do not have a voltmeter and are using 8825 drivers set the trimmers to match this picture or to about 25 degrees to the right of straight up.

This is a picture zoomed in on the trimmers.

Here is the code to work with the limit switches and to make "home" the 0,0 position.

$0=10;
$1=25;
$2=0;
$3=5;
$4=0;
$5=0;
$6=0;
$10=1;
$11=0.010;
$12=0.002;
$13=0;
$20=1;
$21=0;
$22=1;
$23=3;
$24=25.000;
$25=500.000;
$26=250;
$27=2.000;
$30=1000;
$31=0;
$32=0;
$100=1600.000;
$101=1600.000;
$102=1600.000;
$110=1000.000;
$111=1000.000;
$112=800.000;
$120=30.000;
$121=30.000;
$122=30.000;
$130=300.000;
$131=180.000;
$132=40.000;

After going to "home" set the Z axis down to the surface and then set the X, Y and Z to "0".

I gave in and built a CNC 3018 DIY CNC Kit.

Building the CNC 3018 DIY kit.  This is how it arrived in the box.  I purchased it slightly used, so some parts were not in their normal locations in the box.

This is the electrical parts that came with the kit.  It is missing the cover and fan for the controller.

This is the smaller mechanical parts.

This is the larger mechanical parts.

This is the bottom side of the base once it was assembled.  Make sure it is not skewed by running all the way to one end before tightening the screws.

This is the top view of the assembled base.

At this point I did not take any more pictures until after it was assembled.  The wire wrap was added after this picture was taken.

This is the front top view of the assembled 3018 CNC.  It only takes about one hour to assemble this CNC kit!

This picture compares the size of the Z axis to my homemade CNC.  The DIY Z axis on the right is as small as I could make it.

After several attempts to get the CNC to work, I determined that the CNC Controller board was toast.  I removed it and removed two of the motor jacks for this next picture.  So now I am looking to repair it or replace it.

90 x 16 Addressable LED sign with Arduino Uno and Bluetooth

I have added the ability to select the background color to my LED sign software.  The format is 080100 TEXT.  The numbers are for RGB foreground colors and RGB background colors.  Our cat Momo photobombed one of my video shoots.

Here is the video:


This is a picture of the controller.  The Bluetooth module is plugged directly into D0 and D1 at the top.  The network jack has eight 330 ohm resistors in series.  Power comes in on the Vin and ground pins.

The strips come in rolls of five meters or 16.4 feet and need to be cut into 4 or 5 foot lengths depending on the size of the sign.

Here I am adding the strips to a sign board background.

This is the back side of the sign. Power comes into all 16 LED strips but the lower eight have their data from the other side of the top eight strips.  There are two power connectors for five volts at 15 amps each.  You can connect them together to a 5 volt 30 amp power supply.

 This is the eight data wrap around lines from the top eight strips going to the lower eight strips.

This next picture is of some LED strip lights decorating some windows.  I used automotive trim tape to hold the strips in place

Here are two pictures of one of my signs in a store window.

Here is another Video showing some new features.

Panasonic AG-HVX200 Recorder with DigitNow! P2 Card Alternative

I purchased a DigitNow! Video Capture Device to use as a P2 card alternative.  It works at 720P with a Panasonic AG-HVX200 Camera. You have to select the input every time you turn it on.  It has built in RCA jacks that makes connection it to the camera easier and more reliable.  It also has a wired remote "Record" Button.  It costs about the same as a Panasonic P2 card but can work with any USB memory stick.

Here is the video recorded on the DigitNow! recorder.


Here are front and back views of the DigitNow! video recorder.

Quick and Easy Retrofit Fluorescent Street Sign With LED's

I recently retrofitted a street sign with a 10 meter (about 33 feet) string of 24 volt LED's and a 24 volt three amp AC adapter.  I was thinking of taping the LED's to the sides of the bulbs, but then I realized that if I wrap the leds around the bulbs they would be held in place much better.  This sign needed three 5 foot (Very hard to find)  light bulbs and likely a new ballast.  The LED conversion took all of 10 minutes to do.  Total power consumption is now about 50 Watts.

This picture was taken at 9 AM in the morning, it looks like it was dark out because of the camera compensating for the brightness of the LED's.

This is the label that was on the LED strip.  It could be bought with waterproofing already done but you can also spray on a clear coat of waterproofing.

The LED strips cost about $20 and the 24 Volt AC adapter was laying around.  Here is an advertisement for a 10 Meter strip of LED's like the ones I used.

Pyle PDWM4400 Rack Mountable 4 Mic Wireless Headset System Repair

I recently acquired a Pyle PDWM4400 Rack mount 4 headset wireless microphone system.  Some of the transmitters had broken jacks.  If you forget to unscrew the connector and try to disconnect the microphone you will break the jack.  Replacement jacks are available on eBay and the repair is quite easy to do.

This is the ad on eBay.

These pictures show the new jacks installed.  Notice that the one connection needs some more solder.

Make sure that you get jacks with threads on them for the microphone connector.

To dissemble remove the belt clip and then remove 2 screws.

Panasonic AG-HVX200 Recorder with AGPTEK VG0020 P2 card alternative

I found a better way to record video from a Panasonic AG-HVX200 video camera.  For the price of one Panasonic P2 memory card you can buy an interface that records in 720P to a memory stick or to an external hard drive.  It is the AGPTEK VG0020.  The adapter also has a HDMI output that you can connect to a bigger monitor.

I first tried the VG0020 at 1080i video from the camera.  It would not work with one monitor and with another monitor it had a noise bar wandering through the picture.  When I switched the camera to 720p the picture cleared up and it works with all the monitors that I have tried.

Here is a picture of the AGPTEK VG0200 setup.

The Video comes out of the component output via an adapter cable.  Audio is from the RCA audio in/out jacks.

Here is the video.  The audio level is a little low..

Panasonic AG-HVX200 to HDMI setup.

I have finally managed to connect a HVX200 camera to an HDMI monitor.  The secret is to use a YPBPR to HDMI converter.  You will also need a special connector to three RCA plug cable assembly.  The converter does not work with all monitors, so far 2 out of 3 monitors work with it.

Here is the eBay ad for the needed cable, make sure you get a male D Terminal connector.

This is a close-up of the cable from the ad.

This is where the connector connects to the camera.  You can go into the video in/out settings and select 1080i for the highest possible resolution.

Next up is to test a HDMI to USB converter/video capture adapter.