Hi Falcon
I was at Cabin Fever also, trying to slowly build up my shop tooling.
There has been some discussion on various kickstarter and other startup projects of cnc multi purpose fabrication systems.
There is one especially interesting project on kick starter that uses the router clamp as a universal receiver of sorts to accept a laser and an extruder. It is an interesting concept but the processes have differing dynamics and thus differing machinery demands. With a router the goal is a stiff machine as stiff as possible if you want a flexible machine. With lasers and 3D extruder printers, acceleration, thus low mass is a key to productive use of the machine.
While I'm certain these machines can work it is probably best to think of them as machines for space constrained shops.
These are typically based on some sort of reprap 3d printer frame, a small router base or a robot arm. Then there are several options for work heads that can be interchanged.
Work heads:
1)pen holder
2)vinyl knife
3) FFF 3d printer hot end
4)rotary tool engraver mill
5) laser marking engraving head
Those would all be fine on one machine. It is when you try to do real routing that I start to have a concern.
so a couple questions:
1 does anyone here actually have one that they have built or purchased ?
Nope don't have one. I'd like to build a router in the future, possibly one that could handle additional functions. I also would like a 3D printer, I just don't see them being built on the same platform.
2 Has Anyone seen one in the wild and in use ?
Not yet.
3 have you seen ones available at a trade show or retailer ?
Your experiences impressions of these machines ?
I saw the same things as you at Cabin fever. I wasn't really all that impressed with the step craft machines to be honest. Mainly because if I buy a machine for "router" type usage I would expect far more out of it that those machines can offer. For 3D printing I really think there are many better designs specifically adapted for 3D printing.
Those small units Stepcraft had though would be great for PCB milling, and other lighter work.
On another note, other vendors have suggested laser heads for their machines even if the machine isn't totally enclosed. I see this as irresponsible. Any machine that mounts a laser head must be totally enclosed with materials the laser can't penetrate. Having worked a bit on industrial lasers I'm shocked that we have gone so long without reported eye injuries.
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Also links to the machines in development.
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If only I could find it!
This machine was on display at the cabin fever show. Interesting but not planning on purchasing in the near future.
The milling head, cutter and FFF head are available lazer engraver in development. IIRC 3 sizes available.
https://stepcraft.us/
tin
Yep interesting machines but a little underwhelming due to size and capability. The problem is I would want a router type machine with as much upside potential as possible. That means a router that can drive a variety of 1/2" shank bits through popular hardwoods. A router that has reasonable abilities in aluminum and some capabilities in more difficult materials. A machine that runs a Dremel or a trim router while interesting can't really handle the variety of uses I'd like.
On the other hand I've thought a bit about a reprap adaptation that uses a Dremel. This would obviously be structurally different than the machine above. However a Dremel sized (or similar spindle) has a lot of applicability in model making, engraving and the like. Such a machine can be substantially cheaper than the router above. It is still a trick though to keep the machine light weight (for printing) while still being stiff enough for a Dremel. This especially when you want a lot of "Z" for 3D printing. I've bounced many ideas around in my head but the best bet here appears to be a moving table in the Z. It is a real challenge to produce a stiff machine for "milling", that is also low inertia for 3D printing, however I've been reading forums of late where issues with stiffness impact many 3D printer designs.
I kinda wish I had more time and money to put into these ideas.
Also if you follow RC aviation you will know that significant advances in motor tech has happened leading to lots of power in tiny motors. Adapting this type of motor might be very useful as an improvement over a Dremel for a spindle. The idea being light weight power (power relative to 1/8" Dremel and engraving bits). Some have already done adaptation so this isn't pie in the sky.
In any event even for something like PCB routing you need repeatability and accuracy that is pretty useless for an extruder type machine so I still wonder if multi purpose machines make sense. It is frustrating actually because most of us don't have deep pockets to build multiple machines with.
