handheld-cnc

Hey HN, I am Cam, and for the past two years I have been working on Compass, an open-source handheld CNC router that brings computer precision to woodworking while keeping the user directly involved in the process. The idea started as my senior design project at UC Berkeley, with the goal of making a more approachable CNC machine—standard CNC machines are expensive, bulky, and remove you from the tactile “maker” experience. Compass solves that by combining a handheld router with real-time robotic assistance. You move the router roughly along a design path, and Compass uses four optical flow sensors (like in computer mice) and a 3-axis motion system to auto-correct for precision cuts. What is different about Compass: - Open source: All plans, firmware, and CAD files are available on GitHub. - Affordable: The DIY build costs ~$600 in parts,

There is this https://www.compassrouter.com Repo here: https://github.com/camchaney/handheld-cnc Not at all associated with the project, just came across it the other day. Look like it uses a single optical mouse sensor and corrects in a single dimension at a time.