Can This DIY CNC Router Cut Steel? 

Thanks! Your positive feedback is much appreciated. Applying WD40 can have a notable impact on performance. Consider giving it a shot on your CNC router. I'd love to hear how it goes if you have a moment.

Thank you for all your comments and encouragements! Yes, I am aware that the router has its limits! I plan to mostly use it for wood and aluminum projects. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll think about giving these materials a try!

Thank you Michael for your comment! I'm glad you like it. please email me at Vuleco12@gmail.com to get the complete fusion 360 design of the CNC machine. Thank you!

Thank you, Giorgio, for the question! Unfortunately, I did not measure the pressure when I recorded this video. But I keep that in mind when I cut steel on the CNC next.

Do NOT use the concrete that you get at a home improvement store! It’s not dimensionally stable, and is prone to cracking. Also, it’s not that great at damping vibrations (better than most metals, but there are better alternatives than concrete). Instead, use what’s known as “epoxy-granite”. Basically, it’s a mix of small gravel, sand, and fumed silica (also known as cab-o-sil) bound by a slow-cure low-viscosity epoxy (order this online, it’s available from eBay and Amazon as well as specialty composites companies). There’s lots of information on this online; including a huge thread about it on the CNCZone forum. Oh, and while handling the materials before it’s cured, wear a particulate respirator (N95 or better - I use a P100 made by 3M) and gloves: you REALLY don’t want to breathe silica dust from the sand or fumed silica (you’ll get silicosis, which will destroy your lung capacity by physically getting in the way of the air, and because silica is totally bio-inert it NEVER goes away); and the epoxy can give you an allergic reaction on your skin. FWIW, the same precautions should be used when mixing regular house construction type concrete; when it’s dry it’s a breathing hazard, and if it gets on your skin it’ll eat away at it (until cured, it’s somewhat caustic).

@@darkwinter6028 average concrete Or better mpa 50 one with fibers Like every concrete Isnt dimensionaly stable untill it cures and water evapourate from it But it go with mdf as the table too Or aluminium when temp change After concrete cure u only need to paint it and it wont move at all Epoxy granite is good but isnt stiff like everyone think If u know what ur doing then yes , u can make it stiff But it will need the same 30 days to cure like concrete to stop moving Where if u add accelerator etc to co crete after a week plus week for water to evapourate slowly U will have epic stiff base that wont ever move at all Im working with composites and 3d printers , already made few k parts from resin and fibers (mostly glass , kevlar and carbon) where i choose fiber layups for then plus testing And testing different concrete types Epoxy concrete and polyester concrete...and u can be surprised how polyester work in comparsion to epoxy in case of concrete out of resin Ps. Simple question What will be stiffer Fully cured average concrete with fibers (a lot of fibers) Or thin aluminium prophile Of course u can go "epic stiff"... just use granite and glue it in U shape for the base

@@ErtsenPlayGames That’s… not right. Concrete does not cure by evaporation; the water is integrated into the Portland cement matrix. Even painted, it will keep moving indefinitely. There is a reason why commercial CNC machines don’t use it. Epoxy does not require 30 days to finish curing; very few formulations require more than a few days to reach 100%, with 99% reached within the first 24 hours. This is with a slow-cure mix; faster cure times can be had either by using a more aggressive hardener or adding heat. However, the curing process is exothermic, so care must be taken when adding heat. Getting it to be stiff just requires using the right proportions and ramming it into its cavity or mold, and using a vibrator while doing so. Research has already been done on what, exactly, to do (and not do). Please go read the epoxy-granite thread on CNCZone… it goes into far more detail (with actual experimental results for various mixes) than I can in a RU-vid comment.

@@ErtsenPlayGames One other thing: yes, as long as there are wood structural components in the machine, adding any additional metal or cast parts isn’t going to be very effective. The whole thing needs to be stiff; and wood just, well… isn’t.

@@darkwinter6028 @Sebastian Nurkowski Thank you both for your input in ways I can make the machine stiffer. As of right now, the machine is rigid enough for the materials I've been testing with. If I need to make any upgrades to it, I have good suggestions from here :)