I have recently recieved an old XYZ table that has 3 Vexta stepper motors which I believe are 70 ozin. Would these be powerful enough to drive a CNC table similar in design to JGRO's plans? I plan to make the cutting area aprroximately 24" by 36".

They'd probably move it, but very slowly. You probably want something at least 200 oz-in, or bigger

Thanks, Gerry. I think I may go ahead and build it and upgrade motors if I have to. This may be a long project as I am on a tight budget for both time and money. We'll see how it goes.

Why not just use the XYZ table to do some stuff until you figure more things out (what you really need, software, etc.)?

I could do that I suppose but the table only has about 5" of travel in the X and Y directions. I wouldn't really be able to do anything with it, it's just too small. You are right though... it could be a great tool for learning software.

I could do that I suppose but the table only has about 5" of travel in the X and Y directions. I wouldn't really be able to do anything with it, it's just too small. You are right though... it could be a great tool for learning software.

You could engrave small tags (DogCat etc) with it. Could be fun to play with...

You could engrave small tags (DogCat etc) with it. Could be fun to play with...

Yeah...they get $4 a piece at Walmart, pissed my wife off when she messed up and pressed enter too fast. Pissed her off even more when I wanted to do it again just to watch the machine again!

Yeah, it's a very cool machine, isn't it?

Is that an engraving head, or is it just a drag point? I couldn't tell, and quite honestly the tip looks rather like my carbide scribe point for hand engraving. If it's a rotary tool, then it's SMOOTH!

-- Chuck Knight