It took me a last night shift to finally bring my CNC v3.2 to live. It's the low cost confguration using the optical sensors and DC motors from the old printers I scraped for a couple of previous projects. Once more there is:

Creating a simple to build machine is no simple task! The test run I started yesterday evening was a failure. The X axis lost steps, which should be impossible in a closed loop system. I changed the optical sensors, the H bridge motor drivers, the motors - nothing! Finally I found that the cheap 4 conductor cable used for the sensors (non shielded) caused the trouble. When removing it from the nearby motor cables it finally worked late this night...

I have created a short video demonstrating engraving glass, milling copper plated board and finally milling solid aluminium (a small piece I found in my workshop):

The results in pictures:

1.) Engraving glass works fine. The endpoints of the paths hit their starting points.

2.) Milling a PCB. My prototype software can't process gerber files, thus I used the Hackaday logo with a special border. The left graphic is 20x20mm with 1mm border, the right graphic is scaled to 40x40mm. The dots simulate a 2.5mm solder points grid as used on prototyping boards. The bed wasn't levelled, the board not flat on ground, the router motor and V bits were cheap, nonetheless the rings are at least okay (not perfect). Milling PCBs requires a better preparation, thus future results will become better.

3.) Milling aluminium. Working with a just very roughly adjusted machine, wrong software parameters and a cheap low power router motor cost me a router bit. The logo is 15x15mm, cut with a 1mm router bit.