MA$TER_E Makes his mark

[MA$TER_E]

Hey guys

I've been kicking around the idea of getting a CNC mill for a while now. I'm starting to get a little more serious about the purchase and am doing some research. So; here I am

I live in the Portland OR area and work as a CAD/FEA modeler. I'm what you'd call an expert with SolidWorks and dabble with Unigraphics. I have a psychotic passion for sportbikes and enjoy flying RC thermal duration gliders and helicopters (really; if it flies, I enjoy it)...

So you can see where the interest in a CNC mill comes from. I've started working with acrylic/plastics lately and have done some really cool projects but its a real pain with the tools I have. Miter Box, hand held drill, dremel, scroll saw, table saw and a hand full of clamps. Thats it... I can hold a .005 tolerance cut with my table saw though I just don't know how square it is...

I've looked at Syil, Tormach, and this new Levil CNC I found on the forum here. I'd like to get something nice but I'm having a hard time swallowing the 10k... What I know...

1 - It has to be 110v
2 - Mobile... I rent so its going to live in the garage on a stand that will have to roll up the ramp of a U-Haul some day.
3 - Envelope around 14x10x8 or so
4 - Making chips for $5000 would be great but would really need to keep it under or very close to $8000...

As far as what hardware is better or what all the cool kids have, I'm clueless... controllers, motors, ball screws... I know what they are (kinda of) but have now clue what hot and whats not, thats why I'm here

See you guys around

[ger21]

Are you just cutting plastics and wood? Or do you mostly want to cut metals. For acrylic and wood, you can build a decent size router for about $1500.

[MA$TER_E]

Yea thats the thing... I'm going to cut a ton of plastic, wood, and foam but I know for the sportbike world I'm going to want to cut some aluminum. I really doubt it but maybe some steel. Camera mounts, sliders, bracketing, rearsets, housings, etc... Some things can be plastic but aluminum would be a must for the rest.

I don't think it would be impossible to cut the aluminum on a nice router though. (right ) I say this now but; I dont think I'll ever need a 4th axis. Most everything I would do is going to be cut from a plate of some sort and wont have any undercuts.