Looking For CNC Help?

[kinghong1970]

hello thehawk24,

i too am a complete newbie in cnc'ing... been dreaming about this since i've discovered this site back in 2006...

while i thought the plug in play package would have been sufficient, seems that many folks who start off that way, upgrade to a DIY machine that is stronger and whatnot.

i decided to go with a CRP2448 from cncrouterparts. it is not a stock size, but if you contact them, Ahren will be more than happy to give you a quote in the size you want.

i believe my package comes a bit shy of $3000 at the moment...

good luck!

[vtx1029]

Have you looked at fineline automation?

https://www.finelineautomation.com/store/show/FLA100-00

Be advised some here have had problems getting their stuff in a timely manner. I purchased a 4 axis stepper kit from them and had no problems with my order. They use a lot of CNC router parts stuff. Best thing is everything is pre cut for you all ya do is put it together.

[jckstrthmghty]

Going to throw in my vote for a kit. You'll get a decient setup within your budget. Shouldn't take you long to assemble/calibrate and that experience should pay off in itself. You'll be able to trouble shoot potential issues with the knowledge of how your cnc was designed.

[flojor10]

What material are you going to be cutting?

[jckstrthmghty]

What material are you going to be cutting?

He mentioned G10 which is a type of fibreglass. Popular for knife handles.

[louieatienza]

He mentioned G10 which is a type of fibreglass. Popular for knife handles.

It's a fiberglass-based phenolic; stinks like crazy when cut, and murder on tools... And a test of machine toughness. I'm currently processing 3/8" sheets for a client, and experimenting with differrent endmills to improve edge quality and reduce cycle times somewhat. I have some PCD endmills which should last, as well a a PCD drill bit and some fiberglass burr router bits to try as well.

[thehawk24]

Ok guys after all your help i think im gonna go with the fla-100 from fine line designs with motors and software mach3 everything!.

Would that be a good machine?

[RossMosh]

Ok guys after all your help i think im gonna go with the fla-100 from fine line designs with motors and software mach3 everything!.

Would that be a good machine?

Before you buy, read up on FLA. It should answer your questions plus some you didn't even know to ask.

[CarveOne]

G10 is a composite fiberglass cloth/epoxy resin material originally made for circuit board manufacture. It comes with or without copper laminate and in many thicknesses. It is primarily a dielectric material with no flame retardant properties. Over the years it has become much more useful as a general purpose construction material than for its original purpose. FR4 is similar to G10 and has flame retardant properties added to meet fire codes for circuit board manufacture.

The FLA-100 has a good reputation - once you manage to get one. Don't expect to get one in 10 days. Delivery time and missing parts has been a real problem for some buyers here on CNC Zone. There is a thread worth reading to get an idea of these problems.

Check out the kits sold by Ahren Johnson at CNCRouterParts Same parts, much better service.

CarveOne

[FloridaNole]

Another vote for Ahren Johnson at CNCRouterParts. I am building a CRP4848 and have found Ahren to be very helpful before purchase and since. He has answered some very basic questions that I had (I am a complete newb as far as CNC) and the build has gone very smoothly. There are a few CRP build threads here at CNCZONE that have great videos to help along even the very inexperienced builder. I did order some bits and a part from Nate at Fine Line Automoation and it shipped out in a reasonable time. Good luck.

[thehawk24]

I still dont know what to get

[allesg]

A little perspective.

Suppose you had no farming experience and you needed to buy a new tractor.
You'd have a fair amount of reading to do before you could make an informed decision. You'd want to know what the soil was like, how many rocks are in the soil, if you would be plowing, cutting hay, planting seed, pulling a harvester, pulling wagons, if you needed a power take off, horsepower requirements, gas or diesel, etc. If you were a diesel mechanic, a carpenter, an artist or an engineer it would affect your ability to know how and where to start asking questons.
What material do you want to cut? Does it matter how long it takes? How much accuracy do you need? Do you want to cut out parts for cabinets or carve 3D relief work? Want to cut something a few times a week or 24x7? Just want to learn how all this works with something inexpensive and THEN decide? You could get started for much much less than $3000. How much do you plan to spend on software - for which purpose?

Hang in there!