Hello, I'm a total noob

[unseen wombat]

So I've been reading the forums and looking around the internet for information about cnc machines and I'm like, totally overwhelmed. Could someone please help me?

I want to buy a machine. I think it's out of the question for me to build one. But I don't want to spend my whole life savings on the thing. I intend to use it initially for making custom moldings and other wooden decorations for my house, like switch plates and such. After that, I don't know. If I'm good, maybe I'll try to produce custom moldings and sell them for a profit.

Anyway, my question is what kind of machine do I need for what I want to do? It's probably a stupid question, but do I need an 8 or 10 foot long table to make custom moldings? I saw the commercial for the sears/carvewright machine, and I know that would work, but I've had bad luck with Craftsman garba... er, power tools in the past (their hand tools are okay though), so I'm looking for something else.

I saw the K2 machines and they look good and I hear good things about them on these forums, but even their desktop machines are $3000 to start, which is about the max I'd like to spend. Is it possible to make a 12' molding on a 30" machine?

Sorry for the stupid questions. Thanks for your help.

[ger21]

If your main interest is in making mouldings, don't buy a cnc router. Buy one of these. http://stores.piamedia.com/Merchant2...ry_Code=MOLDER

Unless you want to make some type of carved moulding. If that's the case, before you spend any money, learn how to model your moulding in a 3D CAD program, and learn how to get g-code from that model. You'll find that learning the software is the hardest thing for a lot of people. Also, carving mouldings on a cnc is not very efficient, and can take quite a long time. (depending on the profile.

If the machine can let you slide a 12' board through it, you should be able to make 12' mouldings on a small machine.

Here's another option for you
http://www.romaxxcnc.com/

[unseen wombat]

Hi man, thanks for the reply and the links. I'm sorry I should have mentioned that the type of moldings I mean to make are the ones that have like patterns with leaves and dentil cuts and such. I have a router table that I'm using right now to make the kind that the W&H molder also makes (though I agree, it probably does a better job than my router).

I've been working with Autocad for my job for like 5 years now, and along the way I taught myself 3d modelling. I'm still not quite sure how to interface it with the machine, but I should be able to draw the model. Thanks for the advice though.

The romaxx machine looks good too and at a better price than k2. Is the quality as good? Also, how do you go about making a piece that's longer than the table? do you cut 24" then move the piece and cut another 24" or is there an automatic feed option?

Also, can either the k2 or the romaxx scan and recreate a piece like the carvewright? That would be helpful on really complicated pieces.

[thkoutsidthebox]

I think I read somewhere on this site that there is an add-on for AutoCAD to allow it to generate G-Code. Sorry I can't offer any more info on it but someone might know more.

[ger21]

Originally Posted by thkoutsidthebox I think I read somewhere on this site that there is an add-on for AutoCAD to allow it to generate G-Code. Sorry I can't offer any more info on it but someone might know more.

I wrote a macro that does it, but it won't work for your application. Converts polylines to g-code. It's in the AutoCAD forum here. Look for Autocad 2 g-code.

What you'll want is a CAM program, something like MeshCAM or Cut3D
www.meshcam.com
http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectr.../c3d_index.htm

To cut long parts, you either need to program the part in short sections, and move it to cut each section. Or, if the pattern repeats, just program 1 section and move it to where the pattern repeats. You may have difficulty lining up the pattern when repositioning the part.

If you use mach3 to run your machine, it has probing ability. You'll need to get a probe like this http://www.cadcamcadcam.com/index.as...PROD&ProdID=10
or make your own http://www.indoor.flyer.co.uk/probe.htm

Mach3 will generate a point cloud file. You may need additional software to convert the point cloud into a 3D model which you can then use to geberate your g-code. A little more work than the carvewright, but it can be done.

[unseen wombat]

Thank you guys. You're very helpful. Are there any other good quality machines that would fit my budget that you can think of