If youre a CNC user who would like to build a Maker Workstation, this article is for you. Since CNCs come in a wide range of sizes, capabilities, and forms, Ill go over three different ways to approach the workstation as a CNC project: if youre using a large CNC capable of cutting the major parts, if you have a smaller, desktop-class CNC or if use a Shaper Origin hand-held CNC.
In previous Maker Workstation articles, Ive emphasized that high precision is a requirement to build the Maker Workstation. The workstation, accessories, base, and the entire workbench system all rely on accuracy. The hybrid approach, which uses CNC templates and a new drill guidance, works well for most readers. But, there is a faster and even more accurate way to build the Maker Workstation. The best way to build the Maker Workstation is to use a CNC machine to cut all the parts.
First, if youre a digital woodworker, lets get the obvious out of the way. Yes, compared to the CNC template/drill guide method covered in the previous print and online articles, making a workstation with a CNC is both faster and more accurate. It is easy to make a workstation out of plywood if you are proficient with digital tools and can program your CNC operations. Let’s get started.
Not your average spoil board. I use dedicated spoil board setups or specialized spoil boards mounted on my CNC bed for through cuts on flat materials. For cutting Baltic Birch plywood and MDF, I designed a general use 3-panel spoil board setup that registers on the bed and adds alignment pin positions and hold-down T-nuts to secure the materials Im cutting. There are rows upon rows of
CNC Project Basics
Spoilboards
My CNC beds are designed with positioning and registration systems that are machined by the CNC itself. This allows me to place stock accurately on the bed during machining. When cutting through plywood and MDF, I have a modular spoil board setup with machined pre-positions and built-in hold-downs. Think of it as a semi-customized jig optimized for a narrow range of tasks. Basically, the spoil board setup is an imitation of my CNC bed thats optimized to hold plywood. My sheet cutting setups and processes are quick and easy.
For cutting plywood for this project, I suggest 1 cm two-flute spiral upcut or compression bits. Make sure you measure your bits with a micrometer or digital caliper before programming your CNC
CNC Mills And Router Bits
CNC mills and router bits can be used to cut plywood. This means that the cutter geometry of carbide spiral bits is often identical to those used for cutting wood. High-quality carbide bits are easily available. I shop around for the lowest price on trusted brands when it comes to smaller bits/mills that wear out quickly or break easily. I buy multiple at once.
For the maker workstation, I suggest a 1/10 cm (1 cm) two-flute, spiral upcut, or a compression bit with a cutting length of 3 cm. This bit can be used to cut all project parts, openings and pockets at the workstation. It sounds simple enough. This is a bit of CNC reality. I have never seen a 1-cm-thick piece that measures as small as the claim size, whether it’s measured using a micrometer or digital scale. The measured mills are anywhere from.240 up to.245 in size. They can vary greatly. For a project like the workstation that features a lot of critical inside profile cuts (3/10 cm dog holes, side plate pockets, etc. ) The difference in advertised and measured mill sizes is significant.
It is critical on this project that you measure your 1 cm bits. This information should be used to program your CNC’s CAM routines. Run tests before you proceed. If you dont take this step, youll find your dog holes are too small, too tight, and will not accommodate 2 cm dogs and side plate mounts wont fit. If youre using a CNC, youve made a commitment to the world of precision. No cheating. Measure, measure, measure your bits!
Speed Of Milling And Depth Of Cutting
When it comes to cutting speeds, everybodys CNC and work processes are different so its hard to be specific. In teaching digital woodworking classes, Ive found that many students attempt to mill Baltic Birch plywood too fast for a clean-cut or beyond the capabilities of their machines or the size and type of bits they use. There are various tables and calculators for planning feed rates, but experience and familiarity with your CNC, the bits you use, and the materials youre cutting are more important.
Clean Baltic Birch plywood cuts are faster than speed. Depth of cut is an important factor, too. You might consider cutting 3/10cm BB plywood dog holes using 1/10cm bits and three 1 cm passes/levels. This level strategy works particularly well if you use compression bits as itll leave the top layer clean. As always, until you get everything dialed in, run tests first.
Tune Your CNC First
As accurate as CNCs are, individual machines and tuning may vary. Large machines have a range of accuracy between.005 cm and.007. It is advisable to tune your machine before you start. Machine each layer in the same way to ensure that the three top layers of the workstations line up. Large and small CNCs are pretty accurate, but not perfect. If you get confused, rotate or flip one layer and they may not work in your drawings. You might also find that the dog holes don’t line up when machined. Label layers: top, middle, bottom on both sides and indicate the direction of cut. For more information, see the main article.
Machining a Maker Workstation is easy with a 6-inch or larger CNC.
Maker Workstation Files
These are the keys to your castle. To CNC a Maker workstation, you need to start with CAD files. This basically means that you need to have access to DXF files. So, where can you get the files? My site woodworking.digital contains the workstation and topplate/Worx templates files. Although you may be able create your own workstation, this design is complete and has many subtle details that have been developed over many years. Using the files designed for the project is the best solution if youre using a CNC to machine a Maker Workstation. Although the workstation files can’t be downloaded for free, they are available at a very affordable price. Woodworking.digital offers the complete Maker Workstation Set, which includes files to CNC machine the Maker Workstation top, base, and furniture.
CNC machining is much more precise than traditional woodworking methods. I enjoy taking advantage of this benefit whenever and wherever possible. Thats what Ive done in creating the CNC-ready workstation files.
To make it easier to insert and take out 5/20 cm dowel pins for hanging workstation furniture, the holes in the base’s stretcher plates are larger. Similar idea applies to the rows of holes between the outside and inside legs for the vertical panels. These and other details make it easier to insert, remove and store workbench dogs and other accessories
The larger holes around the hold-down holes of a CNC are used to countersink the T-nuts. This gives them a cleaner look. BTW, I cut them .0625 deep. Note that these countersinks are located on the bottom of the middle layer and the top of the bottom layer. To keep track of which feature belongs where, use the blue tape labels and Layer Guides at the top and bottom of every layer.
Making A Workstation Using A Large CNC
The workstation is ideal for large CNCs, as you would expect. Large means at least 35cm wide by 75cm long, with heavy-duty stepper motors or servomotors and a powerful spindle. You can think of cabinet shop-grade CNCs. Vacuum panel holding really speeds things up if you have it. After first running accuracy tests to make sure everything fits before you start, (measure those 1 cm bits!) the 3-layer 75 cm maker workstation, system base, and a complete set of accessories can be machined in a matter of hours. If you build the laminated riser strips and blocks while the CNC is working and prep and sand major parts as they come out, a maker workstation can be built very quickly.
You don’t need to do much other than warn about using a large CNC to make this project. Use tabs or bridges to stabilize parts while you machine, tune your CNC first and measure your pieces before you start.
Even a desktop-class CNC like the Shapeoko XL with a 41 cm x 35 cm working area can machine a 210 cm x 75 cm Maker Workstation
Using A Small CNC To Build The Maker Workstation
If you register a long workpiece accurately, you can machine a large project by taking small steps. Alternativly, you can use a smaller CNC to create a template. Then follow the router offset or drill guide instructions to make your top layers.
I own a ShapeokoXL desktop-class CNC. The cutting area is about 41 cm x 35 cm. If you use another, similar-sized small CNC your mileage may vary depending on the machine you use. Though the length of the bed may be different, there are a lot of machines that can cut 210 cm wide. These are the principles I used. You could also make a template with a smaller CNC, such as 46 cm. Then use butterfly keys to align the two halves and connect them together.
A dedicated spoil board/alignment/hold-down setup is the best way to machine the large Maker Workstation parts on a small CNC. This spoil board is just a piece of 3/10 cm MDF registered and held down to the default MDF spoil board on a standard Shapeoko XL. Though it looks simple enough, theres a lot of detail here. Note the small holes around the edges are for T-nuts that sit in the openings of the Shapeoko metal frame. The slot to the left is for strips.
Heres the spoil board in place and ready to go. Note the clamps ready to hold the plywood as it moves through the CNC and the stack of wood and MDF in front of the machine to stabilize the overhanging part being machined.
I am cutting a Top Plate/Worx Stack measuring 58cm x 58cm. This is position ONE milling 4 rows of dog holes.
The Top Plate is moved forward to position TWO. The last row has been moved to position TWO.
Big Project. Small CNC. A Spoil Board Can Be Dedicated.
The Shapeokos 35 cm wide Gantry travels along the short-axis. This gives me plenty of room to cut templates or workstation layers 210 cm in width. It takes six cuts to machine the layer’s length. This is done in a caterpillar-like motion. That means 41 cm hops, move the layer along and re-position it on the spoil/registration board and tight bench dogs for each step. It sounds complicated but it’s not.
Free DXF file to machine the pass-through spoilboard in the Maker Workstation project
You can adjust your registration positions to reduce hops and add dog holes if you have a longer machine like the Shapeoko XXL.
When I find myself in a situation where I need high accuracy and have to reposition a workpiece, I often build a dedicated spoil board jig setup. Since a little engineering and CAD work are involved, while Im at it I usually add built-in hold downs, a way to square the workpiece, and a method to register and re-attach the jig to the bed. This is exactly what I did with the Shapeoko XL workstation jig.
This spoilboard/jig works great for the Maker Workstation but by adding the new registration points it also works great for any 210 cm or so wide pass through project you might come up with.
Heres a link to the free DXF fileused to machine the dedicated Maker Workstation spoil board on a Shapeoko XL. If you have the larger XXL model, modify the dimensions by adding length and rows for more dog holes. If you have a different small CNC, use the file and ideas as a starting point for creating your own pass-through spoil board. The pass-through template will also work great for other 210 cm or so wide pass-through projects on the Shapeoko XL.
I begin by temporarily attaching the spoil board blank to the MDF bed. Working from the bottom up, I CNC drill holes and use steel 1 cm dowel pins to register the jig to the Shapeokos bed. That way I can later position and reattach the jig. Next, I CNC machined the jig attachment points into the CNCs bed. After I have attached the T-Nuts to secure the jig to my CNC bed, I then machine the rest of the jig features to the spoil board.
Because I plan to machine the parts simultaneously, I leave the part registration position alone. This ensures a perfect match between the part and the jig. This project requires that you machine the two closest dog holes to the edge of your machine so they are deep enough to reach the spoil board. Instead of cutting plywood 3/10cm deep, you could cut 1-1/10cm. This will give you an exact way to position your layer or template during the CNC. Move the last row of holes in the dog to the front. Align the jig with the spoil board. Register the spoil board using two dogs or dowel stock that are snugly fitting. Clamp the next section. Move and repeat. In six hops youre done. I suspect a Shapeoko XXL would be three hops, a 122 cm long CNC would be two hops.
It is possible to machine the legs of Shapeoko XL or XXL CNCs with their 31-3/20 cm height thanks to the large design of the system compatible base. Youll have to come up with positons to register the part with registration pins in an unused area as the 168 cm long outside legs move through the CNC.
To make a Maker Workstation, use a Shaper Origin
Maker Workstation With The Shaper Origin
I love the Shaper Origin handheld CNC. It makes CNC woodworking super simple and portable. Even beginners can learn to use an Origin in less than an hour. It is a CNC-controlled router and must rest on a flat surface. This makes it great for cutting plywood and MDF. It would seem that a plywood workbench such as the Maker Workstation, 210 cm x75 cm, would work well for the Origin. However, large projects like these require some workarounds and caveats.
First, lets look at how the Origin works and examine one of its limitations. To locate and measure partpositions and tools, the tool uses Shaper Tape domino markers as well as cameras. The machines vision system relies on triangulation. This works very well for parts located close to the machine, such as when using the vertical joinery-focused Origin Workstation accessory, but its less accurate for large or parts positioned far away from the Origins camera. Accuracy, especially for 75 cm pieces like workstation layers, can pose a problem. Dog holes at the near end might not be as spaced out or placed as those at the far end. There are however ways around this.
First, Origin accuracy issues for large projects are quite consistent. This means that we can use the relative position to make closer cuts and strategically use it. The Maker Workstation, as designed, has a little bit of slack built into the design to account for the slightly less accurate template-driven Drill Guide process I designed for the majority of readers and the variations in router bits. This gives us the space we need. A process that is focused on Shaper Origin is what’s required.
Let’s examine the variables. The DXF files have two-inch holes for workstation dogs. The standard size of bench dogs, even the ones I made for the workstation are 2 cm. With a 6-hole 210 cm long furniture strip that covers the width of the workstation, you have an allowance of .005 cm-.0010 cm to work with. Second, even though the Origin’s lengths vary, I found that they don’t wander much in my testing. Straight and parallel lines lengthwise are pretty consistent.
Take A Strategic Approach For Increased Accuracy
So, the recommended Shaper Origin strategy is this: scan and work short dimensions whenever possible. Begin by using a table saw or a track saw to precut the 210 cm x 75 cm middle plywood layer a few inches oversize. After placing the drawing on the Origin screen, place it on the workpiece. Next, align the panel on your workstation. Remember to label each layer you are working on as described in this article.
The goal for this project is to workbench side-to-side, rather than end-to-end. Place marker tape along the length of the layer blank at intervals of 2-8 cm. You can add extra plywood strips with additional markers to the long side. On the near side, add plywood strips to help support the Origin for close-up work. To ensure the best accuracy, scan the markers along the sides of your bench rather than the lengthwise.
The middle layer is the most important. Were going to be machining the bottom side of the middle layer dog holes, hold-down holes, countersink holes, and side plate pockets. Start on the lower left and work side-to-side a section at a time. Work from the nearest side to the far side thats 5 cm away. If possible, rotate the Origin and work in a straight line. Were trying to limit the length of the scanned and cutting areas. Once youve machined a foot wide or so, go back to the near side and slide over to the right for the next 3 cm section. Side-to-side, slide right, side-to-side, slide right, etc. Rotating the Origin is best avoided. If youve laid out enough markers on the blank and the extra maker strip away from you, you wont have to work lengthwise.
The same method should be used to machine the top layer of the bottom layer. Like the bottom side of the middle layer, it has 1 cm deep plate mount pockets. The hybrid method is more precise and accurate than the one described below.
After the machine is finished, trim the panel to 210 cm x75 cm. Measure 5 cm from the centerline and not the edge of any dog holes. Alternatively, measure
A Hybrid Approach
Notice I havent mentioned machining the top MDF layer? As anyone whos seen an Origin knows, its a CNC-controlled trim router that uses small bits. It will take a while to machine the dog holes and hold down the holes in 3/10 cm Baltic Birch plywood. This is why you might consider a hybrid approach which speeds up the process and matches up the top layers.
As above, use the Origin to machine just the middle layer and bottom layers that each has 1 cm deep pockets for side plate mounts. Then, as suggested in the article, use the middle layer as a template and a Rockler Drill guide plus a 3/10 cm Forstner bit to cut the dog holes, hold down, and attachment holes for the 3/10 cm MDF top layer. The holes in the top and middle layers will match each other. Yes, you could just machine all the layers with the Origin, but keep in mind its inaccuracies on large pieces. The top two layers may not match the middle layer template method if they are stacked together. You can also use the Origin-to-machine router offset maker workstation templates to create the top layers of your workstation.
For the plywood system base where accuracy doesnt matter as much as the stacked top unit, use the Origin to machine all the leg parts, leg separators, and side stretcher panels with the Shaper Origin.
For the small workstation furniture and plate mounts, the Origin should work well. Because it works best supported by large panels, its easier to machine all the dogs and hold down holes on blank stock first and go back for the profile cuts leaveing tabs to stabilize parts and trim later.
At Last
Yes, its true. A CNC is a simple and fast way to build a Maker Workstation. This is especially true if you have large CNCs. But, if you have a small CNC like the desktop-class Shapeoko XL, it may take a little longer, but it works just as well. If you have a Shaper Origin, you can work around its accuracy limitations on longer cuts by working side-to-side, using plenty of marker tape, and planning your cuts. Whatever method, digital tool or CNC you use, take your time and plan each cut. Also, test for fit before you start.
- You can also find other articles about the Maker Workstation at
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