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Maslow 4: Large format CNC routing made accessible

238

They had a submission 8 years ago[1] but I came across the YouTube announcement[2] of their new 4.1 Kickstarter campaign[3]. It only seeks $16,000 of which they've currently raised $249,000 based in no small part that they've already shipped several successful releases, I'd guess

Their project is open source[4], GPLv3 for the on-device software and CC-BY-SA 4 for the cad files

1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12705546

2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5bZfNOZi-A

3: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/maslow4/maslow41-access...

4: https://www.maslowcnc.com/source

1 year agoby mdaniel

I backed the original Maslow and also the Maslow 4, and recently a 4.1 upgrade. The creator is a really dedicated guy and the Maslow is a great CNC for those who cut sheets goods from wood (though folks have adapted it to other materials) and are OK with some tinkering.

There is a decent sized community that supports the software as well.

1 year agoby FlyingAvatar

I really wanted to love this, but after setting up an older version and spending untold hours debugging it I just can't make myself believe anymore. I am glad to see them move to four cables though-- two + weights was a nice bit of math but not so great as physics.

If you're looking at this, think hard about whether it's possible to cut a router template for what you want to do on a normal sized 2.5D CNC router. It's what I do and is good enough to build a business around.

1 year agoby debatem1

This is what it actually does: https://www.maslowcnc.com/about-maslow4

1 year agoby mhb

This looks like it provides an amazing amount of capability for the price, if it meets your needs. ($525 kit + $125 motor, saved you some clicking).

For comparison I have an Avid 48x96 bed type CNC router that I am into for close to $10k. Obviously the more expensive machine has more cutting capability, but I am curious what the actual accuracy of this machine is.

I am getting +/- 0.010” or so for large parts, cutting .032” thick aluminum 6061-T3. Probably doing better than that on wood due to lower cutting forces and less machine deflection.

1 year agoby buildsjets

Have had the parts for one of these sat in a box for a good few years now, but unfortunately have never managed to make room to build a frame.

Discovered the Lowrider 3d printed CNC a couple of months back which better fit the bill for me to be able to store (printing gantry on a shelf, bed suspended from the ceiling!) so hoping soon that'll enable some of the projects I had in mind for the Maslow.

1 year agoby inm

I would love to see an opensource handheld cnc router akin to the shaper origin.

https://www.shapertools.com/en-us/origin

1 year agoby KeplerBoy

I'm sure folks like myself living in a city townhouse without the luck of having a woodworking studio "out back" are cursing our lack of facilities for having this kind of fun.

1 year agoby Simon_ORourke

I wonder if it’s possible to have a purely portable system like this. So no cables, just omnidirectional wheels and maybe some wireless locators in the corner of the room. It would need to correct for wheels losing traction, slope etc.

1 year agoby dyauspitr

I was skeptical of the safety of building this until I saw it was an off the shelf dewalt with special parts installed. It’s more reassuring that it’s core has been through rigorous testing by a reputable manufacturer.

1 year agoby cjaackie

I saw something like this about ten years ago. It was vertical, instead of horizontal. The workpiece was set up on a big slanted easel, and the router unit was supported by only two cables, with gravity pulling it downward. The cable drives were fixed, rather than being on the cutting head, so the cutting head was just a router and a mechanism to push it away from the workpiece. Simple.

1 year agoby Animats