Some months ago I asked a question of this group on CNC machines and specifically the Inventables unit that has hit the market. I got some insightful responses,( as I expected), most of which drove me away from that machine toward something bigger. The problem with that is price, and most machines (well, actually all of them) that are of any size are priced over my budget.
So… in my searching I found a plan to make a CNC machine, a nice sized one for a small shop. The plans come from Kronos Robotics, and are laid out very nicely. There are actually two versions of the machine that one could make, one is a lead screw style, the other is a rack and pinion driven machine. I chose the lead screw version as it was more in my budget to build than the other. This machine most closely is like a shop-bot that I saw somewhere so far as size goes. The actual table size is 40" wide and 48" deep with about 8" between the table and router bit tip.
After about two months of building, and a month of playing and learning the software, I’ve managed to make a few things with it, and it works really nicely. I’m using V-Carve desktop for CAD software, (easy to learn) and Mach 3 for my CAM software, (also very easy to learn). My total cost is about $2800 which includes everything from the building materials to the software and electronics to run it.
Now that I’m into the CNC world a little bit, I hope to put this machine to some good use and make some profitable items with it. And I can see now that the suggestion to go bigger than the Inventables machine was great advice!!
So… in my searching I found a plan to make a CNC machine, a nice sized one for a small shop. The plans come from Kronos Robotics, and are laid out very nicely. There are actually two versions of the machine that one could make, one is a lead screw style, the other is a rack and pinion driven machine. I chose the lead screw version as it was more in my budget to build than the other. This machine most closely is like a shop-bot that I saw somewhere so far as size goes. The actual table size is 40" wide and 48" deep with about 8" between the table and router bit tip.
After about two months of building, and a month of playing and learning the software, I’ve managed to make a few things with it, and it works really nicely. I’m using V-Carve desktop for CAD software, (easy to learn) and Mach 3 for my CAM software, (also very easy to learn). My total cost is about $2800 which includes everything from the building materials to the software and electronics to run it.
Now that I’m into the CNC world a little bit, I hope to put this machine to some good use and make some profitable items with it. And I can see now that the suggestion to go bigger than the Inventables machine was great advice!!
