<p>I have an option to purchase a hobby multi-purpose device (lathe/mill/drill/grinder/cutter) which is manually controlled, but easily converted for driving by stepper motors (all 3 axis are controlled by turning knobs that can be replaced by gears, with convenient mount to couple each to a stepper motor). I have the right motors and can easily obtain drivers for them.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/7zCMv.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/7zCMv.jpg" alt="pic of various configurations of the machine"></a></p>

<p>That is the way to overcome the worst problem of converting Prusa to CNC: the flimsy mechanics not able to withstand stress and vibrations of machining. Then I can connect the drivers to the 3 axis of Prusa's electronics, optionally connect some driver of the spindle to the extruder output (or just control it manually), and it seems the hardware side of the device is done.</p>

<p>The problem is the rest - adapting the software. RepRap family of 3D printers being open source means their software and hardware <em>can</em> be adapted. It's only a matter of <em>how hard</em> it is.</p>

<p>Does anyone have any experience in that direction? What would such conversion involve? Just recalibration to the new gear/leadscrew ratios, or something more involved, like editing the sources to get rid of all the temperature safeguards and the likes?</p>

[{'answer_id': 1390, 'author': 'Lars Pötter', 'author_id': 204, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/204', 'pm_score': 0, 'selected': False, 'text': "<p>I haven't done this myself. But the temperature safeguards only apply to the 4th, the E axis for the filament. So configuring the right steps per mm would get you started.</p>\n\n<p>The question is more what do you want to do with it and where do you get the G-Code to do that. You can not use a slicer to generate the G-Code for you.</p>\n\n<p>But there is software for PCB Milling out there that should work with the configured Firmware.</p>\n"}, {'answer_id': 1394, 'author': 'tbm0115', 'author_id': 98, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/98', 'pm_score': 2, 'selected': False, 'text': '<h2>Disclaimer</h2>\n<p>Questions about other machines is still in kind of a grey area right now <sup>06/2016</sup> and your question is, in my opinion, a bit too broad. However, I think it\'s a great topic to perhaps help direct the scope of this community.</p>\n<h2>The lowdown</h2>\n<ol>\n<li>3D printers, CNC Mills, CNC Lathes, CNC Routers, and Lasers are all very different! There are certainly areas where each of these may overlap, but the methodology is very different overall.</li>\n<li>Software is not always interchangeable across machines (even within the same machine type) due to hardware requirements/communication.</li>\n<li>Hardware is not always interchangeable across machines (even within the same machine type) due to design/scope of the purpose of the machine.</li>\n</ol>\n<h2>Things to consider</h2>\n<p><sub>(In a nut-shell)</sub></p>\n<p><strong>3D Printers</strong></p>\n<p><em>Hardware</em></p>\n<ul>\n<li>Minimal speed/torque requirements compared to subtractive machine tools.</li>\n<li>Good designs focus on temperature control via enclosures and/or electronics.</li>\n<li>(Typically) uses heat block/nozzle/stepper motor to control material size/flow.</li>\n</ul>\n<p><em>Software</em></p>\n<ul>\n<li>Emphasis on &quot;plug-n-play&quot; UI/UX</li>\n<li>Conceptually easier to generate tool paths. STL\'s provide outlines and software fills in the blanks like a coloring book.</li>\n<li>Focus is on understanding material properties and temperature variability.</li>\n</ul>\n<p><em>Common Variability</em></p>\n<ul>\n<li>Material quality/shape</li>\n<li>Environment temperature</li>\n</ul>\n<p><strong>CNC Mills/Routers/Lathes</strong></p>\n<p><em>Hardware</em></p>\n<ul>\n<li>Maximum speed/torque requirements.</li>\n<li>Good designs focus on rigid designs and handling harmonics.</li>\n<li>Tighter tolerance components to ensure mechanical repeatability.</li>\n<li>Relies on cutting tool size/shape to control material size/flow.</li>\n</ul>\n<p><em>Software</em></p>\n<ul>\n<li>Requires more manual input (typically) to account for where its tool is located. The mathematics heavily depend on accurate dimensions for the cutting tools, otherwise you could damage your part or the machine.</li>\n<li>Good software allows many different &quot;canned&quot; tool paths for efficiency, tool types, and achieving desired surface finish.</li>\n<li>Focus is on variability in cutting tool and speeds/feeds (as recommended by cutting tool suppliers for materials)</li>\n</ul>\n<p><em>Common Variability</em></p>\n<ul>\n<li>Material shape/hardness</li>\n<li>Cutting tool shape/hardness</li>\n<li>Cutting tool path</li>\n</ul>\n<p><strong>Lasers</strong></p>\n<p><em>Hardware</em></p>\n<ul>\n<li>Minimal speed/torque requirements.</li>\n<li>Good designs focus on consistent beam quality and spot focus, which is relative to constant power.</li>\n<li>Uses focusing lens (sets spot size) to control material size.</li>\n</ul>\n<p><em>Software</em></p>\n<ul>\n<li>Emphasis on &quot;plug-n-play&quot; UI/UX and interoperability.</li>\n<li>Dimensions are easier to achieve as less variability in the process compared to 3D printing/machining.</li>\n<li>Focus is on laser power (typically for material type and depth).</li>\n</ul>\n<p><em>Common Variability</em></p>\n<ul>\n<li>Laser type</li>\n<li>Spot size</li>\n<li>Power supply</li>\n</ul>\n<h2>Summary</h2>\n<p>Overall there are many, very different variables to consider between these technologies. I only focused on variables you might see out of a hobbyist-style machine and if you\'ve operated any of these you\'ll know that there are many more variables that pop up for any of these machines.</p>\n<p>So, do not expect such a plug-n-play solution as each machine requires quality construction of its <em><strong>hardware</strong></em>, the ability to handle the variability of the process in its <em><strong>software</strong></em>, and, above all, an <em><strong>operator</strong></em> that understands the correlation and balance of these components.</p>\n<p>All of that being said, there are some machines that seem to be tailored to this such as the machine by <a href="http://www.diyouware.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Diyouware</a> and <a href="https://zmorph3d.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ZMorph</a> <sub>(No affiliation, just examples)</sub>. However, notice that they have created their own software to meet a lot of these communication requirements.</p>\n<p><strong>Update</strong>\nI forgot to mention the fact that a kink in creating a interchangeable machine is the control interface. The controller converts the &quot;software speak&quot; into an easily parsed series of functions (typically G-Code) for the small computer to process its predetermined hardware processes. Ie, The slicer or CAM software determines that a layer of a circle be 3D printed, milled, routered, or lasered, so the controller should <strong>G02I2</strong> which could parse to <sub>(For all intents and purposes in javascript, not a practical language)</sub> <code>CWCircularInterpolation(2,null,null,null,null,null)</code> and run as:</p>\n<pre><code>function CWCircularInterpolation(i,j,k,x,y,z){\n //Some code to take current position and command to create a canned circle path\n}\n</code></pre>\n<p>The point is that the software needs to handle the conditions and constraints of a different machining process and provide a well-equipped machine with the right commands. There are a lot of <em>different</em> things to consider in attempting to combine these machining techniques into a single machine and get quality results.</p>\n'}, {'answer_id': 1401, 'author': 'SF.', 'author_id': 2206, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/2206', 'pm_score': 1, 'selected': True, 'text': '<p>None, if I choose the right control board.</p>\n\n<p>The <a href="http://smoothieware.org/" rel="nofollow">Smoothieboard</a> supports CNC "out of the box"; it requires initial configuration, which, while somewhat different, is actually easier than for a 3D printer. Boards supporting <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Grbl#Grbl" rel="nofollow">Grbl</a> or <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Teacup" rel="nofollow">Teacup</a> will be compatible for XYZ too, but may require some tinkering if you want to control the spindle.</p>\n\n<p>You can use the same CAD software, but the set of <a href="http://www.freebyte.com/cad/cadcam.htm#cadcamsystems" rel="nofollow">CAM tools</a> will need to be considerably different.</p>\n'}]
['https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/1389', 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com', 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/2206/']