Newbie- how mutch am i looking at?

[weisyboy]

i am thinking of building a cnc router for cutting house name plates etc.

it ould need a cutting area of about 4' x 2'.

i dont have a clue about the electronics needed.

what do i need and how mutch am i looking at to buy the electronics and stepers and screws needed to make a cnc of this size?

[appicnc]

Hello Wiseboy

Since you only have a finished size in mind, the cost to you could be in the $500.00 to $5000.00 range.

Why the variance?? how much can you do yourself?, how much can you scavenge? how " good " do you want your machine to be? you mention house signs, if this is a business then do you want reliability and repeatability? if you do then you pays for what you get.

What software are you going to use? 2D lettering will be easy with any CAD program, you can use a CAD program right? if you are thinking anything fancy though then the cheapest software ( and possibly the best ) is the Vectric range, the recently released Aspire would be the way to go but at US$1995.00 or Au$3069.00 might cause you some sticker shock. They do have cheaper options but again, you gets what you pays for.

So now you are looking at somewhere around $8000.00.

You could look at a Mechmate machine, there is at least one in Oz, has a bed of around 3.0m by 1.3m, make it yourself, appears to be straight forward to build, not sure of cost but I think around US$6000.00ish ( Au$9300.00 )

Oh, I forgot the spindle, you can use a router but as you know they are a bit noisy, an ER20 collet spindle ( takes 1/2" bits ) water cooled, 0-20000rpm could set you back another Au$1200.00ish, best part is they are quiet, one thing that isn't often mentioned when speaking of spindles is the power supply, I have a 20amp circuit feeding mine, a 15amp will work but a 10amp won't ( not for long - the vfd trips ( or mine does ))

Questions???

Ed

[Jayson]

Hi Wiseboy,

there certainly is a Mechmate in Australia and I would totally recomend building one. The cost thus far, without electronics is around AU$4500. Motors and controllers would add about $4000 on top of that so about AU$8500 (good guess Ed). A smaller machine like you want to build would not be a whole lot cheaper if you built a Mechmate. Going larger (or smaller) does not change the price substantually. I would invite you to take a look at the Mechmate but it would be a long drive

Regards,

Jayson.

[nikbrewer]

i built a full 80/20 aluminium machine with 27" x 52" x 5" working area for about 3200$ US

[bkboggy]

I'll tell you this much. Even before you start looking at things and trying to build things, set a budget. Stick to it and don't go over no matter what (unless you're financially stable and flexible). Let's say your budget is $2,000 and you decide that things you want are more than that. Sit back and think, can you really afford more than your set budget? Do you really need what you want? "Want" and "need" are two different things and "need" should be your priority.

I am building Joe's '06 Machine and originally thought I'd spend around $1,500. Suprisingly enough, without controlling my price table I'm coming close to that but it will be more like $2,000 now. Didn't hurt me much, but I should have looked at my "need" a bit more.

Do I need the 48x24 cutting area? Yes.
Do I need a Hitachi 2.25 router spindle that I got? No. I would actually be fine with a dremel tool for now.
Do I need the precision of the ACME 5 start screws I got? I think so.
Will I use this machine for the kind of worked it's designed for? I hope so, otherwise I just wasted $2,000. But, of course, I will use it it to its full capacity. CNCs are a ton of fun from what I've seen and building one is just half the fun.

This is just an example of a checklist you can do.

Research this stuff and decide, what is it that you will use this machine for and then build up from there.

You can honestly build a beginner machine for under $800 or even way less:

http://buildyourcnc.com/default.aspx

Just watch all the videos (tabs on the left side). It will teach you a lot of about CNC construction.

Here's another website for cheap designs:

http://www.solsylva.com/

I've heared people are very happy with his designs and the book is very cheap. It contains the bill of materials, where to buy them, how to build the machine.

So, it can be anywhere from $600 (without software I believe) up to infinity. Up to you.

[weisyboy]

ok let me refaze the question and add a few more.

what do i have to buy to build it. say i had all the materials to build the main table and gantry.

things like leadscrews, stepers, elecronics is what id need.

if i built a 2 axis machine it would be easy to upgrade it to a 3 axis latter right?

for doing house names atc on a 2 axis machine what would i do between letters? do it manualy.

i am on acerage and run a sawmill so noise is no problem.

[weisyboy]

forgot to mention i have a couple of old computers here will parts form them be useable?

[appicnc]

Hello wise boy

Yes you could go down the 2 axis route, X & Y say, then you would have to stop and lift the router on every letter, move to the start of the next letter, get the machine to stop then lower the router by hand, sort of gets away from CNC a bit, or you could buy yourself a LASER, they only need 2 axis's and a switch to turn the beam on and off, I had a 25 watt CO2 laser a few years back, it to migh blow your budget, it was Au$10000.00 the $ was around where it is now so that price might be accurate. Better off going straight tto 3 axis's.

Whan you say you have the parts to make some ( frame ?? ) what design are you going to use? there has been some good suggestions to you already, the Mechmate is " doable " as are the Slosyla (sp????? ) designs, you need to do some reading as none of us can tell you what is best for you, this is basically a buildyourselfmachines group, you need to do some research yourself as you alone know what your needs and capabilities are ( and budget for that matter )

Ed

[CarveOne]

weisyboy,

No one here can give you a reasonably accurate cost estimate due to just having too many unknown variables to consider. You will need to determine for yourself which design you want to build, which parts you want to use, how many of each part you need to buy, where to get the parts, and whether you have the needed skills and machinery to build and operate one of these potentially dangerous machines. Please don't think that I'm getting on your case or being snobbish. Just explaining the facts.

A two axis cnc machine is not such a good idea in my opinion. If you can't commit to building a full three axis cnc machine then you would be better off buying or building a fully manual sign making pantograph instead. Trying to use a two axis cnc machine and manually moving the router height between letters would quickly end in utter frustration. The manual pantograph would actually save you considerable setup and cutting time. The three axis machine allows you to walk away from a cutting job (that may take hours to complete if there is any 2.5d carving) and do something else.

Many of the older computers just can't run the software that you will need to use for CNC operation. You should have a computer that (at a minimum) matches or exceeds what Mach3 and Vcarve Pro requires.

CarveOne

[appicnc]

Hello Wise boy

Like carve one we are happy to help but you need to ask the right question/s and do some work your self.

For example.

I have a used saw blade here, how much will it cost to build a saw mill, how long will it take to build the machine, I have some old motors will they work the machine too?

Ed

[weisyboy]

Originally Posted by appicnc For example. I have a used saw blade here, how much will it cost to build a saw mill, how long will it take to build the machine, I have some old motors will they work the machine too? Ed

well if y gave me a size and what you wanna do then i cold tell you how mutch it will cost. but i understand what you are saying.

i like the buildyourcnc.com desighn but i asume as with most kits /sets you buy you can get the parts cheeper if buy them yourself.

so instead of a price what mecanical and electrical stuff would i need to buy to build a 3 axis cnc with a cutting area of about 4' x 2'.

say i can make the thng that you can push around by hand what do i need to make it move and do what i want.

[alien_X]

I think you need to do alot of searching and reading of these forums

Originally Posted by appicnc Hello Wise boy Like carve one we are happy to help but you need to ask the right question/s and do some work your self.

Originally Posted by appicnc Hello wise boy you need to do some reading as none of us can tell you what is best for you, this is basically a buildyourselfmachines group, you need to do some research yourself

Originally Posted by bkboggy Research this stuff and decide