The New Hotness

The CNC 3018-Pro doesn’t absolutely need home switches, but (in principle) they let you install a workholding fixture at a known position, home the axes, pick a preset coordinate system for the fixture, and not have to touch off the axes before making parts.

Having used Makerbot-style endstop switch PCBs for the MPCNC, this was straightforward:

3018 CNC - Endstop switches - overview — 3018 CNC – Endstop switches – overview

The X and Z axis switches simply press against the appropriate moving parts:

3018 CNC - X and Z Endstops — 3018 CNC – X and Z Endstops

The little tab stuck on the tool clamp provides a bit of clearance around the upper part of the X axis assembly.

The Y axis switch needed a slightly tapered tab to extend the bearing holder:

3018 CNC - Y axis endstop — 3018 CNC – Y axis endstop

It’s made from a random scrap of clear plastic, hand-filed to suit, and stuck on the bearing to trigger the switch in exactly the right spot.

You can find elaborate switch mounts on Thingiverse, but I’ve become a big fan of genuine 3M outdoor-rated foam tape for this sort of thing: aggressive stickiness, no deterioration, possible-but-not-easy removal.

The switches need +5 V power, so add a small hack to the CAMTool V3.3 control board to let the connectors plug right in:

3018 CNC CAMTool - Endstop power mod - installed — 3018 CNC CAMTool – Endstop power mod – installed

The solid models borrow their central depression around the switch terminals from the MPCNC blocks:

3018 Home Switch Mounts - Slic3r preview — 3018 Home Switch Mounts – Slic3r preview

The OpenSCAD source code as a GitHub Gist:

	// 3018-Pro Mount for Makerbot Endstop PCB
	// Ed Nisley KE4ZNU – 2019-07

	/* [Build Options] */

	Layout = "Show"; // [Build, Show]

	/* [Hidden] */

	ThreadThick = 0.25; // [0.20, 0.25]
	ThreadWidth = 0.40; // [0.40]

	function IntegerMultiple(Size,Unit) = Unit * ceil(Size / Unit);

	Protrusion = 0.01; // [0.01, 0.1]

	HoleWindage = 0.2;

	ID = 0;
	OD = 1;
	LENGTH = 2;

	//- Shapes

	// Basic PCB with hole for switch pins
	// origin at switch actuator corner, as seen looking at component side

	SwitchClear = [15.0,5.0,2.0]; // clearance around switch pins
	SwitchOffset = [12.5,9.0,0.0]; // center of switch pins from actuator corner

	PCB = [26.0,16.4,2*SwitchClear.z]; // switch PCB beyond connector, pin height

	XBlock = [PCB.x,PCB.y,5.0];

	module XMount() {

	difference() {
	cube(XBlock,center=false);
	translate(SwitchOffset + [0,0,XBlock.z – SwitchClear.z/2])
	cube(SwitchClear + [0,0,Protrusion],center=true);
	}

	}

	YBlock = [PCB.x + 10.0,PCB.y,20.0];

	module YMount() {

	difference() {
	translate([-10.0,0,0])
	cube(YBlock,center=false);
	translate([0,-Protrusion,10.0])
	cube(YBlock + [0,2*Protrusion,0],center=false);
	translate(SwitchOffset + [0,0,10.0 – SwitchClear.z/2])
	cube(SwitchClear + [0,0,Protrusion],center=true);
	}
	}

	ZBlock = [PCB.x,PCB.y,6.0];
	ZPin = [20.0,10.0,5.5];


	module ZMount() {

	difference() {
	cube(ZBlock,center=false);
	translate(SwitchOffset + [0,0,ZBlock.z – SwitchClear.z/2])
	cube(SwitchClear + [0,0,Protrusion],center=true);
	}

	translate([0,-ZBlock.y,0])
	difference() {
	cube(ZPin,center=false);
	translate([ZPin.x/2,-Protrusion,4.0])
	cube(ZPin + [0,2*Protrusion,0],center=false);
	}
	}

	//- Build things

	if (Layout == "Show") {
	translate([0,YBlock.y,0])
	XMount();
	translate([0,-YBlock.y/2])
	YMount();
	translate([0,-(ZBlock.y + YBlock.y)])
	ZMount();
	}

view raw Home Switch Mounts.scad hosted with ❤ by GitHub

The dimension doodles:

3018 Home Switch Mounts - Dimension Doodles — 3018 Home Switch Mounts – Dimension Doodles

The New Hotness

CNC 3018-Pro: Home Switches