Where is a good place to start?

[Binow]

I would like to learn about the DIY side of cnc routing. I currently oversee an area at work that has two cnc routers depaneling PCB’s, which are built by ATI and cost about 80k a piece. As capacity increases so will the need for at least another machine or two. I'd like to have the option to maybe go a cheaper route and build a DIY one instead. These are strictly for cutting tabs on PCB’s to take them out of a paneled form. We don't need anything near as heavy duty as we currently use. Any suggestions on where I should look to start learning about what I will need and how to assemble all the pieces? Obviously reading here is a good start but any other info/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[jeffs555]

First off, I am a relative novice at CNC, but not at DIY. From my experience, I would not even consider a DIY machine for what you have in mind. DIY is great for home projects or start-up businesses where you have more time than money, but in a going concern where up-time is important, and labor actually costs money, DIY is rarely the way to go, unless it is something you can't get commercially.

I do agree that 80k machines are probably overkill for what you are doing. How big are the panels? How many boards are cut from each panel, and how big are the tabs, ie how much cutting do you have to do? There is probably something available commercially to do the job for a lot less than 80k.