Magic Mill

Titanium Smoot Plaque
Initial Concept Sketch Final Draft
An H-bot for XZ motion, and a rack-and-pinion for Y. This configuration puts the motors in all the right places. The removable table, with V-grooves and a gear rack built-in, allows the user to load/unload work outside the machine.
One of Melissa's early sketches Inked Final Sketch
An H-bot, built with similar construction to Popfab, provides motion in the XZ plane. Using an H-bot keeps the motors stationary, simplifies wiring, and lowers the tool's center of mass.
Initial Concept Sketch One of Melissa's early sketches
A high-speed spindle builds on work done in earlier projects like Fab in a Box. A communications port supports future development of a wide range of toolheads.
Inked Final Sketch Final Draft
The UI is browser-based and uses MIT's Fab Modules for toolpath generation. A typical setup for using the Magic Mill.
Initial Concept Sketch One of Melissa's early sketches
Power and USB plug into ports on the back of the tool. The control PCB includes a micro-controller and three stepper drivers.
Inked Final Sketch Final Draft
The PCB is both mounted and heatsunk to one of the aluminum plates. Wiring is kept short by the proximal location of all the stepper motors.
Initial Concept Sketch One of Melissa's early sketches
The bottom plastic housing is 3D printed in a single piece. The bottom of the tool. Note the inset rubber pad and the low-profile fan for better heat extraction.
Inked Final Sketch Final Draft
A rack and pinion drives the work table in the Y axis, while four V bearings provide support. Two of the V bearings are spring-loaded into their groove by flexures to prevent over-constraint.
Initial Concept Sketch One of Melissa's early sketches
The H-bot belt path is tensioned by sliding the stepper motors in mounting slots. The belt terminates in cam type clamps.
Inked Final Sketch Final Draft
Shaft parallelism is set by laser-cut delrin yokes. Inspired by David Carr's work, the bushings are epoxied in place to copy alignment from the shafts.
Initial Concept Sketch One of Melissa's early sketches
All of the pieces nest within an 9 1/2" square piece of aluminum plate for water-jet cutting. The tool, along with accessories, fits inside a small travel case.
Inked Final Sketch
Ready for the road.