CLANK

Clank is a research mule for a modular CNC controller project and (at the time of writing, January 2022) should be undertaken as a project by those who are excited to get "a little greasy" in the metaphorical sense. The hardware designs are stable, but controllers (and their configurations) are not. That's a job for Q3 2022... Clank is an Open Source CNC Machine Platform that uses completely 3D Printed components with a low cost off-the-shelf BOM. Clank implements a live toolchanger that allows it to perform almost any CNC process, and runs a completely modular controller... Clank aims to bridge this gap, providing a boot-strappable motion platform that is modular by default, implementing a tool-changer that allows almost any process-specific tool to be mounted. Using Clank as a common platform, we can quickly develop new end-effectors for the "long tail" of specialized CNC processes, and - to boot - we could develop the "fab-lab in a box" wherein one machine, with one small BOM, can..