First Attempt help

[sYmbot2]

Dear Friends;
I have been a part of this group for sometime, but have never posted anything. I live in the island of St.Maarten in the Caribbean and I think I may be the only one here interested in this technology. I am okay mechanically and love to build things. Beside being interested in CNC, I also like flight simulator and is also presently building my own helicopter controls.
CNC is interesting because it opens up the possibility of engraving my own flight panels.
I have seen some good designs to follow and can source the mechanical bits, but is the electronic parts I need help in. I do okay in soldering etc so I can build the control boards, but I may not be able to etch the control boards.
Like I said I would like to engrave my own flight panels. I would paint the acrylic and use the machine to make dial faces etc. I do not want to do heavy cutting.
Can any one please help me in sourcing the etched boards for the X,Y,Z axis and any other control boards I would need? Also can anyone advise me on what type of motors in terms of power, torque etc will be best to use? I find a lot of printers that I like to dismantle for the parts and have some stepper motors that I mauy be able to use.
Some of the machines I see built by members are fantastic in terms of complexity and size. In this island I may not be able to do so, because everything will have to come from overseas. Any help given will be very appreciate and thank you all.
Sincerely;

Larry Alexander

[Torque1st]

You might find some info in one of these forums:
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/controller_cards/
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/controller_computer_solutions/
Or one of the other forums here. Scroll down and you may find many other forums here with information. There are more forums here than fleas on a hound dog.

[blackbeard52]

Larry
I think there would be at least a hundred of us who would like to come over and bask in the sun while discussing the possibilities of CNC with you over a cool one......ahhhhhhhhh....lol

Steppers in printers are for the most part too small and would be very dissapointing as a drive motor for most any router/ engraver. The DIY kits are varied so it is hard to determine what (for electronics )you have available there. There are several companies that ship worldwide. From my experience dont buy your electronics from Ebay...its a crap shoot as to whether it will work, and the support usually stinks. Buy from a company that has, not good but, great support on this forum as most here are newbies and they will eat bad support companies in short order. Browse the forums and you will see what I mean....take the time to do this!!! you wont be sorry