Upgrading My CNC Capabilities - CNCjs

After I inherited a non-working CNC 6040 CNC machine, I have been on a journey learning about VFDs, Spindles, Water Coolers, XYZ alignment, and workpiece clamping! To date, I have managed to restore the CNC machine sufficiently to work with wood and metal, and now I want to expand the range of things I can make. To do this I need to address one of the limiting factors. I have many projects which will need custom circuit boards made. The tolerance and precision needed to make these boards are very fine. For example, the thickness of the copper is less than 1mm and this thickness can vary across the board. In addition to this, the bed or wase-board of the machine may have imperfections. While this is not an issue when working with wood or metal (I simply plunge slightly deeper into the waste board), a circuit needs a consistent depth of cut. This ensures traces are isolated and the cuts are not too deep. So far, I have been using Universal G-Code Sender (UGS) to transmit the generated G-Code to the machine. This has worked very well to date. However, I need to be able to probe a blank board in multiple locations and compensate for any inconsistencies. As far as I'm aware, there isn't a plugin for UGS that can do this. After a bit of investigation, I came across CNCjs. CNCjs is a web service that can be installed onto a Raspberry Pi and send G-Code to the machine. In addition to this, I found a plugin that will automatically probe a circuit board and apply the height compensation to provide a consistent cut across the whole job. My installation instructions https://theiqworkshop.com/upgrading-my-cnc-capabilities-cncjs/ The official CNCjs installation instructions https://cnc.js.org/docs/rpi-setup-guide/ The plugin to probe blank boards https://github.com/kreso-t/cncjs-kt-ext 00:00 Intro 02:51 Parts 03:05 RPI USB Booting 04:28 OS Install 04:52 First Boot and Finalise 05:44 CNCjs & Plugin Installation 07:55 Simulate Probe 08:33 Summary ⬆️ Links ⬆️ 🌎 Website - https://www.theiqworkshop.com 🛒 Apparel - https://www.theiqworkshop.com/apparel/ (15% off for the inital 15 days) 🎮 Discord - https://discord.gg/VxsdJMJNUS 📷 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/iqsworkshop ☕ Support me at Buy Me a Coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/iqworkshop ================================ If you enjoyed this video and would like to support me, please visit my Ko-Fi page at https://ko-fi.com/iqworkshop. Every little bit helps and I am incredibly grateful for your support! ================================ Support the channel by considering using one of the below affiliate links - I will earn a small commission from qualifying purchases ========== - 3D Printing Eryone Filaments - https://amzn.to/3NdhPt9 Elegoo Water washable resin - https://amzn.to/3PenD88 Magigoo bed treatment - https://amzn.to/442F3Jf - CNC 1/4 inch Downcut endmill - https://amzn.to/3Nr8b67 1/4 inch Ball nose end mill - https://amzn.to/3CRDUZv 1/4 inch Surfacing bit - https://amzn.to/3NzV6Jd 3.175mm Engraving bits - https://amzn.to/3PgJX1a 3.175mm Single flute end mill - https://amzn.to/3Cz91st Single Phase to 3 Phase VFD Spindle Controller - https://amzn.to/448LJWl ER11 Spring Collets (1/8inch & 1/4Inch)- https://amzn.to/4469Q7M Dust Shoe Brush Material - https://amzn.to/44ZvJXe - Electronics Temp & Humidity sensor (DHT11) - https://amzn.to/443lYq6 ESP6266 Development board (Wemos D1 Mini) - https://amzn.to/3Napmc3 JST-PH battery leads and connectors - https://amzn.to/3Cz0shv 103453 LiPo Battery - https://amzn.to/43MAzqn WS2812B (neopixel) Matrix display - https://amzn.to/3CvVl1l Gateron Blue (Cherry MX compatible) - https://amzn.to/43G1bJy Leadded Solder - https://amzn.to/3pggM3v Single Channel Relay - https://amzn.to/43SwUGG 0.35mm Enameled Wire - https://amzn.to/3PeYAlo 2 and 3 pin screw terminals (5mm pitch) - https://amzn.to/3Qklmc5 12V 5A Power Supply - https://amzn.to/43Fqonj Breadboard jumper wire kit - https://amzn.to/3NalfNa - Tools Head Mount Magnifier - https://amzn.to/3N7g40x 1/4-20 UNC Tapping Die - https://amzn.to/3Pa2YlP Soldering Iron and Hot Air Station - https://amzn.to/3pbtxwc 6inch/150mm Digital Caliper - https://amzn.to/3Pd05AN Pop Rivet Gun - https://amzn.to/3X7qq5f Nitrile Gloves - https://amzn.to/3Pbz28U BACOENG 12ltr Vaccum Chamber - https://amzn.to/3CvL0Tk - Gear Raspberry Pi 4 Heatsync - https://amzn.to/46jvYOj Rode Wireless GO II Microphone - https://amzn.to/43Khl4P Samsung 128GB USB 3.1 Flash Drive - https://amzn.to/43K9bsW