CNC work area size?

Snapmaker Original
1

I am so bummed. I thought the working size was 4.9"x4.9". I just read that the CNC work area is 3.5"x3.5". That’s too small for what I need this for. Good thing I got a good price on it cause it will be up for sale on eBay as soon as it gets here if I can’t cut the full 4.9".

2

Huh, it does say that. I wonder why? It uses the same work table as the laser engraver, and that has the full 125mm x 125mm work area.

I haven’t actually tried, but I suspect that the work area is larger than 90mm x 90mm. I can see them wanting to prevent the machine from getting the bit too close to the clamps. Hopefully it’s a larger square with the corners clipped or something.

Maybe somebody with more CNC experience can comment.

3

My guess is that it’s smaller to allow for clamps.
Maybe you could machine the full size if you had a special way to hold the material.

4

So much for just putting on eBay. I couldn’t help myself. Just had to open the box to take a looksee. 3 hours later and I’ve already printed two parts, laser engraved some lettering (I’ll need the 1600mW laser), and CNC’ed a couple of panels. I haven’t tried to do bigger panels yet but I will in the morning. Holding the panels to the bed won’t be an issue without the clamps.
What a cool little machine.
EDIT: it does do the full 125mm square. Yeah!

3 Likes
5

Hi there,

I like the look of the snapmaker and also want to do larger parts on the CNC.

  • So you can do more than 90mmx90mm, easy to set up?
    -and how did you clamp your material?

thanks

Jamie

7

I know it’s a bit of a necro on this thread, and you may have figured it out by now, but the info might be good for others. I personally do not have an original, but I’ve used the blue tape and superglue method on my A350 to avoid clamps.

Place some blue tape down on your build plate, and on the bottom of your workpiece. Put a few spots of superglue on the tape and stick it down. After your engrave is done, gently peel your item up off the plate. I would say maybe a square in the middle, or maybe two small strips along the edges, you don’t want to do the entire plate, else it may be too difficult to peel back up.

Another option is to remove the aluminum plate, and run small screws through the holes into the back of your workpiece, just make sure they’re short enough not to be in the way of your engrave, and the screws are small enough not to damage the threads of the holes. I do not recommend this, but it’s an option.

EDIT: Make Anything did this method as well, although because the item was too small for clamps instead of wanting the entire buildspace. I’ve placed a link at the proper time below, but for reference it’s at 21:13 in the video.

8

Double sided tape works great also.