Hello Mark;
As to the sixe of the machine for the parts you describe the X3 might make a very servicable machine. The machine doesn't have to be huge to do CNC. It does have to be stiff enough to hold the toleranve you want and the surface quality. I can't comment on the X3 with respect to these issues. I'd suggest visits to the web to look at CNC conversion varous people have done and look at the result of their work.
I really hate to even attempt to mention prices as there are so many options and quality levels that it would be difficult to hit the mark. As you can see Industrial Hobbies has a nice conversion kit with many American components and it costs more than the mill. You may or may not go over the cost of the X3. It depends on many things.
For one thing it is much a tradition in this field for people to scrap up some of the required parts for penneys on the dollar. It is possible to find leadscrew bargans on e-Bay and in retired industrial equipment. Even if you purchase leadscrews new from McMastercarr, Rockford or whomever there are many options that can leave your pricing all over the map. Going the machine it your self route on rolled ball screw assemblies will be relatively cheap, a ground zero bakclash high precision ball screw will cost more than the mill. The best thing I can imagine is that you find a vendor for an X3 conversion kit to provide a cost benchmark. You can then figure out if alternatives you find are a good bargain.
As to routers you can always go the do it yourself approach and build a machine from the ground up. Many have here on these forums. The big but here is that you need a well equiped shop to build a machine to do a reasonably good job in aluminum. One thin to consider is to build a router to do foam patterns and cast the buttons.
As to the X3, the spindle speed is probably a bit on the low side for what you describe, but I suspect you already have a background that is telling you that. It has been awhile since I looked at an X3 up close, so I can't say for sure what you can do to increase the spindle speed. I'd suggest that at the moment you just settle for the best that the machine can do and adjust feed rates. Down the road I'd get a air turnbine or brushless DC auxiliary spindle if this project proves to be viable. As to a router it is just like the mill conversion in that I can't say what it would cost you. Due to the machining of metal you will not be able to go the dirt cheap route like some of the wood routers seen here. On the other hand your buttons are small and doing something like a routeer coverign 12" square would likely cover you needs, especially if you have a lathe to cut round blanks to strat the process on.
Thanks
dave  |