Newbie to CNC...lotta questions!! :)

[venkatdeep]

Hey ppl..
I've been toyin around with the idea of buildin a CNC for sometime now..
Theres a lot of reading material available for cnc as such..but i was hopin for a few pointers in d right direction....
i hav a lot of questions and do bear with me on tht...
I plan to use the cnc for woodwork mainly involving production of musical instruments...
I plan to build the cnc from scratch
Money is quite a huge constraint...so i hope to cut out a lot of frills!
I hav a router which i'd want to incorporate into the cnc...
here goes....
1. the travel of the machine i'm lookin at is 24 x 36 x 12 inches....is that too ambitious??
2. ordering off the internet is not an option...so wud it be too ambitious to consider building using locally available materials?
3. I'd want to build the controllers too....my knowledge of electronics is quite limited...but i do hav a friend whos gonna b helpin me with tht..
too many questions first post....lol...
hope to hear from u ppl soon...
cheers!!

[massajamesb]

Hello, welcome to cnczone. Good to have you here.
There are several designs and plans available, both here, and on the net, available for free download or purchase. Most are already in DXF file, so you will of course need a CAD program. I recommend www.dcad.com for a good demo.
You are only limited to size by your budget. A router that size should not be any problem to design and build.
Look around, talk to other members, many of us were beginners at one point as well. This site is a great place for helpful people and lots of information.
For driver board designs, check with fellow Zone member, PminMO, he has a website with quite a bit of information for you.

[venkatdeep]

hi there...
thanx for the encouraging reply...
i will look around...but theres so much material!!
i'll post up further questions here as and when they pop up...
cheers!!

[Weldtutor]

Originally Posted by venkatdeep Hey ppl.. I've been toyin around with the idea of buildin a CNC for sometime now.. 1. the travel of the machine i'm lookin at is 24 x 36 x 12 inches....is that too ambitious?? 2. ordering off the internet is not an option...so wud it be too ambitious to consider building using locally available materials?

And another welcome to CNC Zone!
This link will take you to a set of free plans for a CNC router table that should meet your needs.

http://www.cnczone.com/modules/Downl...rfile.php?id=4

Member JGRO's plans have helped a great number here.
There are many who monitor the JGRO support forum, that will answer your many questions as you proceed with your build.

All the best, from half-way around this little earth of ours.
WT

[venkatdeep]

Hello...
I went lookin around wid a friend for material...
I dint figure out how much torque the steppers need to have...The main use for ths cnc router would be carving violin plates,guitar bodies and necks...
I found a few unipolar steppers with 5-12V, 2amp, 1.8 step and torque of what the store keeper said was 1kg (kgm i suppose???) Is tht sufficient?
And i somehow seem to have overlooked it...wat is the size of the treaded rod needed???

cheers!