A Mouse-Controlled… CNC Mouse Controller
Gantry mouse controller acts as a useless machine.
You normally use a mouse to control a computer, but as shown in Jeffrey Bernath's project, you can also use a mouse to control a CNC gantry setup. For what, then, would you use such a gantry? While you might consider some sort of robotic manipulation or cutting, in this case it moves… another small wireless mouse around on a flat surface. The CNC mouse’s dongle is plugged into a computer, for a rather roundabout method of operation.
If you’re wondering what the point of all this is, according to the description, it actually has no purpose. It instead acts as a useless machine.
To accomplish this feat, the human input mouse is connected to a Raspberry Pi Zero. This translates movement into G-code, which is sent to a an Arduino Uno running grbl firmware. The Arduino then commands the gantry with the help of a CNC shield, copying the motion of the human mouse to the CNC mouse. Actuation is handled by stepper motors and belt drives, and the CNC shield is set up to use two steppers for one of the axis, wired backwards as these two motors have to spin in opposite directions.
STL and laser cutting files for the build can be found on Thingiverse, and the Fusion 360 model is also available for your further perusal.