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by josh brickner

Maslow 4.1 Build From Scratch (Part 1)

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I want to make some built-in cabinets and bookshelves for my living room. Being a DIY type I decided to make them myself rather than paying out the nose for something custom (which is really what we need) or going with something off-the-shelf from Ikea (meh). I am a software guy professionally and a I tinker with micro-controllers, electronics, and 3-D printers in my spare time. I am also lazy and not very skilled with wood so I figured some sort of CNC router would play best to my strengths.

After doing some research I found the Maslow. It checked all my boxes: doesn’t require a large dedicated space, affordable, DIY/hackable, and just f*ing cool. At the time the latest Maslow (4.1) was still under pre-order so I decided to start building my own. What follows is an assortment of photos I took along the way with some more explanation and detail peppered in.

This is my first print. I was experimenting with carbon fiber filled PLA. These parts ended up breaking very easily where the bolts go through. I decided here PET-G would be better for this project.
All the parts printed out in clear PET-G
The sled part was much too large to fit on my printer in one piece. I ended up slicing the part into four almost equal parts. I had to avoid bolt holes so some quarters are larger than the others.
The completed four parts of the sled.
I created these parts to slot into the hex grid on the top the sled and hold the four quarter pieces together. The acrylic dust shield also helps hold things together.
A completely assembled arm. I purchased the gears instead of sourcing my own.
The bear approves of this part.
The mostly assembled Maslow 4.1.
When attempting my first calibration I made a boneheaded move.

Once the machine was complete and I had anchors in my garage floor I went to calibrate the Maslow but during the extend step the 1,700mm of slack that is given by the program wasn’t enough to reach the anchors in each corner of the 12’x8′ rectangle. Without thinking pulled out more slack (wasn’t an easy feat) and in that process I think my pulling created current that went back to the board and fried what I think is the motor controller. Did I mention I am a software guy?

Unfortunately the board is sold out at the time of writing. So this is all I have for part 1. Next time I hope to do some actual cutting!