Beginners CNC Kit

[hexdump]

Hello all. Great site here though there are a bit too many forums to choose from so please pardon me if this is the wrong one.

I'm a hobbyist looking for to get some sort of CNC solution up and running on a budget. My needs are pretty much exclusively PCB milling. I intend to do a lot of double sided circuit boards and the big board houses simply cost too much (or take too long) to be practical.

While I'm good with software and electronics, I'm not very good with mechanics. I was wondering if there was any sort of complete CNC kit that I could buy and put together for a reasonable amount of money. The kit should include the table and all the mechanical pieces necessary to put together a working CNC mill. I don't want to have to cut anything or create any holes myself: it should be possible to simply screw the thing together, add motors and electronics and dremel and be done with it.

Is there such a beast out there? I've been looking for quite some time but haven't found anything that quite fits the bill. Most of what's out there seems to be either complete professional CNC machines or complete DIY stuff. The machines tend to be expensive and I just don't feel that I'm ready at this point to do the complete DIY solution. I'd like to have all the mechanical parts worked out so that I can just add motors, electronics, etc.

It should also be pretty small, tabletop size. Since I'll mostly be doing small PCB's I don't need a whole bunch of space for this.

Thanks in advance.

[aztaig]

Try (mikebeck.org). Assembled controllers or kits available.

[hexdump]

Originally Posted by aztaig Try (mikebeck.org). Assembled controllers or kits available.

Are you referring to this: http://www.mikebeck.org/router_info_click_to_page.html

?

[johnmac]

Be careful when shopping for kits. Many, including the one in the link above are not complete. Some are missing all of the pricey parts.

John

[hexdump]

Originally Posted by johnmac Be careful when shopping for kits. Many, including the one in the link above are not complete. Some are missing all of the pricey parts. John

I believe thats very good advice. It's unclear in a lot of kits what is actually included.

How about the Zenbot CNC machine (link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ZENBOT-CNC-ROUTE...3286.m14.l1318).

I know a lot of junk is sold on ebay but that machine actually looks pretty good. It certainly looks better than something I could make myself in a reasonable amount of time/cost. I also like the fact that the seller is very clear about what is included and what's not (stepper motors are) and that you can actually return the thing if you're not happy with it. Plus I just recently bought a Dremel I could use with this. Any opinions on this machine for a beginner on a budget? Keep in mind that I would mainly (perhaps only) use this for milling PCB's.

[baseball43v3r]

yea it is a fairly safe machine, and if you check his seller feedback you can see how other customers have fared. just make sure it would work the size of boards you need.

[johnmac]

That ZENBOT is a nice looking machine. I wonder why they don't include the stepper driver/power supply. One thing I don't like is the Dremal tool. I built my first machine with a Dremal and quickly changed it for a trim router. Much better selection of bits available for the 1/4" collet.

It will take full 3D CAD/CAM software to do what's shown in the videos.

John

[gfc62]

If only want the mechanical components for a small router/engraver I would suggest http://www.widgitmaster.com/

Eric is a retired aerospace machinist who makes very precise aluminum gantry routers as a retirement job.

Search for widgitmaster on this site and you'll find some of his customers for references.

You can bolt on stepper motors and wire up a controller yourself by selecting components from Gecko, PMDX, and other vendors. Or you can buy a CNC motor / electronics package from HobbyCNC, Keling, or others.

[hexdump]

That looks very nice but it's $1095. I'm a poor student so such prices are out of my range. The ZenBot comes with stepper motors for $550.

Just wondering, why are most of these thing sold by individuals, not companies? I'm not saying that means that the quality is lower, it just seems strange that no company is willing to produce a hobby level CNC mill for a good price (sub $1000).

[gfc62]

That's a very good question that I can't answer authoritatively.

My guess is that CNC is far too complex to offer a low-cost product that will be profitable for large companies. This leaves an opportunity for smaller companies that focus on one particular area or niche and for individuals offering more comprehensive offerings.

Just take a look at all of the posts made by new CNC users who are confused, over their heads. Now imagine you were running a company that had to pay tech support staff to assist these people use your product.

[gfc62]

They are very different machines. It may be useful for you to buy a lower cost machine to get your feet wet. This is what many of us do by building our first CNC using skate bearings, allthread, and MDF.

It's too early right now, but if you can wait a few weeks this may be a promising purchase for your needs:

http://lumenlab.com/estore/home.php?cat=272
http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index...0&#entry286890

Do you have a sense of the precision you'll need for your intended application?

[hexdump]

Yes, a low cost machine is really my only option. Like I said though, I don't have the time or mechanical skill (yet) to try to build my own so I'm looking to buy as much as possible.

The lumenlab micRo you link to looks good but I'm not sure that it looks any better than the ZenBot. It's hard to say though since I can't really find any pictures of the machine as a whole. I guess I'm asking: is there any advantage over the Zenbot that I should wait a few weeks for?

Precision is somewhat important. Like I said, I'm going to be doing double sided circuit boards. They're not going to have tiny traces or anything like that, I just don't want to purchase a machine designed for machining huge parts when I just need mostly small circuit boards. It should be able to comfortably do circuits like this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=SlGcgQJRncc (look at the last few seconds of the video).