Step 1 - Linear Slide Bearings
This tutorial is dated, if you are considering a CNC for your personal use, we would highly recommend purchasing a kit that is very stable from our wide range of machines available. If you are looking for great linear slide bearings, see here. Through much of my research on homemade CNC machines, I found that the mechanism to provide linear sliding is simply the use of an angle ("L" shaped piece of metal), bolts or screws (5/16" at 3/4" in length), nuts (5/16") and standard skate bearings (I use ABEC7/608Z). The design is actually very efficient and clutter free. When I say clutter free, I mean that the exhaust of sawdust that the CNC will produce will not clog up these bearings. Collar bearings, or bushing bearings I believe will have the tendency to receive material within the bearing housing creating a binding effect. If you are wondering what a bearing bushing is, imagine a cylindrical tube with little balls housed on the inside surface of the tube. The skate bearing method is like creating a new kind of hybrid inline skates and those skates you used in the 80's with the four wheels (coming back into style, why?!?).

Step 12: Gantry Linear Slide Bearings
This tutorial is dated, if you are considering a CNC for your personal use, we would highly recommend purchasing a kit that is very stable from our wide range of machines available. Hey, where did that day go?? Man, time is a passin' and I just can't keep up. Well, today you will see the slide bearings for the gantry. These are very long linear slide bearings. They are long for a good reason. First, the gantry is big. Second, the gantry is heavy. Third, the gantry is made of MDF. Fourth, the gantry is made by HAND! Oh, did I say that the gantry is heavy??

Pipe CNC Step 1: Linear Slide Mechanism and Concept
November 22, 2007 Happy thanksgiving for those who live in the United States. This is my first post in the Research and Development section of this website. You are probably wondering why I am adding the pipe CNC machine in such an illusive section. I want visitors of this website to know that this machine is a work in progress and all of the bugs and concepts are not fully known yet. Anyway, this enables me to share some of the ideas that run through my head.