Looking for a Lathe? Why Not Give Maxim Kachurovskiy's 3D-Printable Modulathe a Shot
Built from low-cost precision parts, a 3D-printed body, and cement for added rigidity, the Modulathe offers manual and CNC operation.
Maker Maxim Kachurovskiy is looking to make lathes more accessible with the Modulathe — an open source, partly-3D-printable lathe with both manual and Computer Numeric Control (CNC) operation modes.
"[Modulathe is a] modular digital open-source DIY desktop lathe for processing metal, wooden, and plastic parts," Kachurovskiy explains of his creation. "Commercial CNC lathes are too expensive, heavy, complicated, vendor-locked, hard to repair. Commercial manual lathes use antiquated tech with most parts needing replacement for a CNC upgrade. [But] mass-produced precision parts (motors, linear rails, ball screws) are cheap, [and a] precision lathe body can be 3D-printed."
That thinking is what led to the Modulathe project, which combines off-the-shelf precision components with 3D-printed parts to create a customizable and low-cost lathe. For those wondering about how a 3D-printed body holds up in use, Kachurovskiy has a secret to tell: "rigidity can be achieved by adding low-precision steel, epoxy, and cement," he explains, rating his prototype as only "slightly less rigid than a Vevor WM210 commercial lathe. "Perfect for alu[minum] and softer materials," he adds, "[and] usable for steel but part finish can be poor."
The Modulathe is more than just a manual lathe, too: it's built to also accept Computer Numeric Control (CNC) instructions, using Kachurovskiy's NanoELs Espressif ESP32-S3-based controller. It's designed, the maker says, for "people who like to make their own tools, 3D printing enthusiasts looking to expand their machine park, [and] craftsmen with specific requirements unmet by the commercially available lathes" — but may not be so well suited to anyone who's looking for a usable lathe in a hurry or who needs tactile feedback from the handwheels.
The lathe's current design allows for any length of bed, with a default of 680mm, and uses a 125mm chuck and an MT5 spindle with 38mm through-hole. There's 136mm in cross-slide travel, 70mm between cross-slide and center line, and a 280mm maximum turning diameter — and it comes with "no backlash," its creator promises, plus "four vibration dampening features."
The Modulathe is available on GitHub under the permissive MIT license, as is the NanoEls CNC controller. "This software and instructions are provided as is, without warranty of any kind," Kachurovskiy warns. "Lathes are dangerous."