Hi everybody, looking for input on how to do my research


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Thread: Hi everybody, looking for input on how to do my research

  1. #1
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    Talking Hi everybody, looking for input on how to do my research

    Brand new to the forum but have a really strong desire to build a hobby size CNC machine for wax molds and wood carving. This forum is so well established and fleshed out that trying to search for information relating to my situation has been really hard. I have zero experience with creating something like this so I'm trying to start with the absolute basics:

    How to select rails for your machine
    How to determine what torque motor suits my needs
    Information on controllers and their features
    CNC route planning software

    If anybody could point me in the right direction for forum posts I'd really appreciate it, also if this isn't the right place to post this I apologize!

    Similar Threads:


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    Member ger21's Avatar
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    Default Re: Hi everybody, looking for input on how to do my research

    How to select rails for your machine
    Depends on your budget and expectations.
    Cheapest is skate bearings rolling on pipe.
    Best and most expensive are profile linear rails like THK or Hiwin.
    How to determine what torque motor suits my needs
    Again, depends on your budget and expectations. It's determined by how fast you want the machine to be, how quick you want it to accelerate, how much weight your moving, and the type of drive system you're using.


    Since you have zero experience, a kit or ready to run machine may be a better option. What is your budget, and what size machine are you looking for.
    For someone wanting to build a machine, with no experience, I'd recommend reasing every build thread here, and everything else you can, for 2-3 months, before you spend ANY money. You need to have a good understanding of how everything works, and what you need.

    Gerry

    UCCNC 2017 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]

    Mach3 2010 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]

    JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
    [URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]

    (Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)


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    Member KH0UJ's Avatar
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    Default Re: Hi everybody, looking for input on how to do my research

    Yep I definitely agree to our boss around here, though you can try it if you want but you might get stuck in the process, buy first the cheap small kit to learn from it, once you have the experience then you can build a truck size CNC with no problem......no just kidding



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    Default Re: Hi everybody, looking for input on how to do my research

    Quote Originally Posted by ger21 View Post
    Depends on your budget and expectations.
    Cheapest is skate bearings rolling on pipe.
    Best and most expensive are profile linear rails like THK or Hiwin.

    Again, depends on your budget and expectations. It's determined by how fast you want the machine to be, how quick you want it to accelerate, how much weight your moving, and the type of drive system you're using.


    Since you have zero experience, a kit or ready to run machine may be a better option. What is your budget, and what size machine are you looking for.
    For someone wanting to build a machine, with no experience, I'd recommend reasing every build thread here, and everything else you can, for 2-3 months, before you spend ANY money. You need to have a good understanding of how everything works, and what you need.
    Quote Originally Posted by KH0UJ View Post
    Yep I definitely agree to our boss around here, though you can try it if you want but you might get stuck in the process, buy first the cheap small kit to learn from it, once you have the experience then you can build a truck size CNC with no problem......no just kidding
    Thanks for your responses, but I have always put a HEAVY influence on teaching myself so I can accomplish what I want to do so buying a ready made kit is not what I'm looking for. I understand folks are out there to make money on their kits but I really want to be able to custom build what I'm looking for from scratch. Are there any threads you can recommend that have the kind of material I'm looking for?

    For my expectations, really I'm looking to be able to build a setup that can grow with me. So if that means buying heavier duty rails and a better controller I'm all for that, but I'd like it to be able to expand with me if my needs do too. Money isn't too important, but right now I've budgeted about 3k US for parts, and it's not burning a hole in my pocket either so I have time to get spun up and make sure I get what I'm looking for.

    Thanks again!



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    Member ger21's Avatar
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    Default Re: Hi everybody, looking for input on how to do my research

    but I'd like it to be able to expand with me if my needs do too.
    Expanding would usually mean building a new machine. If you want to change the size at all, chances are that many of the components will not work for the revised machine.
    Virtually everyone here that has built a machine of their own design, or even someone else's design, ends up building a new machine when they outgrow their first, or find out that it's not as capable as they need.
    If the machine is decent, you can usually sell it to recover some of the costs, for the new, better machine.

    I can't point to any specific threads, but again, I'd read all of them. See what people are doing, and then ask questions when you have them. It's much easier to get an answer for specific questions.

    Gerry

    UCCNC 2017 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]

    Mach3 2010 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]

    JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
    [URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]

    (Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)


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    Member awerby's Avatar
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    Default Re: Hi everybody, looking for input on how to do my research

    How big a machine do you want to build? For the money you're talking about spending, you can buy a small CNC-equipped mill, like a Taig or Sherline, that would be more than adequate for little wax and wood projects, and would also be able to make parts for a larger machine. Much of what you need to do in the process of building machines like this is making things like motor plates, with accurate bolt-circles. While it's possible to do this with a drill press, it's a lot easier with a mill, preferably a CNC. "From scratch" means different things to different people, but if you're starting with some metal, an anvil and a charcoal fire (see the Dave Gingery books) you'll have to build the tools to build the tools to build the tools that will enable you to pull this off successfully.

    Most of us here would advise you to read a lot before buying anything, to build your frame before worrying about the motors and controllers, and to get your machine running before trying out the various types of CAM software. But learning to use CAD software is something you can start doing right away; it will help a lot in designing not only the projects you want to create, but also the machine of your dreams.

    [FONT=Verdana]Andrew Werby[/FONT]
    [URL="http://www.computersculpture.com/"]Website[/URL]


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    Member CitizenOfDreams's Avatar
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    Default Re: Hi everybody, looking for input on how to do my research

    Quote Originally Posted by Jayson_2016 View Post
    Thanks for your responses, but I have always put a HEAVY influence on teaching myself so I can accomplish what I want to do so buying a ready made kit is not what I'm looking for.
    Believe me, you will have plenty of opportunities to learn things and get your hands dirty even with a "ready made" kit.



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Hi everybody, looking for input on how to do my research

Hi everybody, looking for input on how to do my research