Hi, we have been working on developing an open-source CNC foam cutter for a while and I wanted to share our progress with the community so others can try it out and improve it.

Our machine is a 4-axis machine which can cut airfoils, and we use all open-source software for the controller and the G-code generation. Building the machine wasn't the challenge, all it needs is 4 independent axis which can be moved by stepper motors, the challenge was to find software which can run the machine and generate the G-code for us.

Hardware

1. Plywood (12mm)
2. Rails (Steel tubes, Smooth rods)
3. Stepper Motors (one for each axis)
4. Lead screw (M8 x 600mm, as long as you need the axis to be)
5.Ramps 1.4
6. A4988 Stepper driver (one for each axis)
7. Arduino Mega 2560
8. Nichrome wire (30 gauge for smaller builds and 26 gauge for larger ones)
9. M8-M5 Motor coupler (M8 for the thread and M5 for the motor shaft)

Software

1. Grbl Hotwire Controller
2. 4-Axis G-code Generator
    2.1. Wing Gcode
    2.2. Jedicut
    2.3. FoamXL

The machine works well, we used a constant force spring to maintain wire tension. The code can handle PWM temperature control for the wire but is limited by Ramps to 12V and 10A. We used a lipo charger with a hot wire cutting mode for bigger wire lengths.

Figuring out the various open-source software was the main challenge, there is no user manual for it. You have to play with the G-codes to get it working with Grbl controller, All sample G-codes can be found in the repo folder for reference.

The design files and the build log can be found on Github,

https://github.com/rahulsarchive/4AxisFoamCutter