Ron, before "starting in the CNC area" make sure you have the time to devote to learning it. So many buy CNC routers and have no idea how to create anything with them, I think many think its automatic and that cant be farther from the truth. You need to learn to be a machine programmer, CAD technician, machine operator and woodworker. I have had mine for a year now and am finally comfortable with operating mine, but I also have over 30 years CAD and CAM experience, but the software was dramatically different than what I was used to. I was also never a CNC operator.