Building a CNC mill.

[Ariox]

Hello, I'm new to these forums. I found cnczone while googling the hell out of the Internet for information on CNC mills, stepper motors, etc. I'm not going to ask the "OMG IM A NUB WUT DO I DO" Questions, because I know every forum has plenty of those threads. Rather, I'm requesting experienced readers' advice. If there was one piece of advice to give someone about building a CNC mill, it would be:

[dertsap]

don t spend more than what it costs to buy one

[dertsap]

its a pretty broad question can you be more specific

[posix]

a very nice answer. to elaborate a bit:

by all means - do build one, if nothing then to get the jist of how everything works and fits together. once you've done that, if you feel confident you can build a proper machine for little money then build it. if not then just buy one.

[dertsap]

what can i say , i busted my butt all nite , im feeling a lil gitty ,
there is a ton of information here , if you are a little more specific on what you plan to do ,youll get lots of help here ,
cheers

[posix]

actually I WAS admiring your answer. don't spend more than what it costs to buy one. so true that. I've probably spent two machines worth by now in capacimators and discombobulators alone! and still don't have ballscrews...

[dertsap]

OH ! ya thanks
ya no two ways you look at it ,it s an expensive hobby , most of us start with the idea of robbing printer motors ,then it all explodes from there , once the ball starts rolling it doesn t stop
best suggestion i can make is , buy it once , which means don t cheap out because you will regret it ,

[Ariox]

To be more specific, I was planning on converting a manual mini or micro drill (depending on final budget) and converting it to CNC. First priority is to do things the right way on the first lap (of course), but the price has to be right.

[Ariox]

Hey, back again. This time I was looking at stepper controllers, and my face paled. Xylotex sells a 3 axis controller board for $155, not to mention the cost of a power supply. This cost (plus a power supply, which I havn't looked in to yet, but I'm told will run ~$100, is past what I can spend on this project. To put it basically: I'm looking for an inexpensive but still well functioning way to power and control my steppers. I was considering ebay, specifically
this <see link at bottom>, but the descriptions on many controller boards I come across are vague (at least to me), and I'm having trouble understanding what the exact capabilities of them really are.

I know I'm a tad long-winded, but all I really want is a finger pointing in the right direction.

--Aria

http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-Stepper-Moto...QQcmdZViewItem

[dertsap]

you may want to read post #7 again , i speak from experience ,there is a lot of garbage out there ,do your research before making a purchase , there is a lot of threads here with people using different drivers motors ,machine sizes etc , a lot of questions you may have , have been answered many times over in the forums , if a deal sounds to good to be true , it probably is , but then it may be worth asking as you just have , some good deals do fall from the sky , hobby cnc would be the best cheapest choice , if you can solder
i beleave they are 100 bucks , any thing less will most likely be very disappointing ,
unless you build your own board , at which you can find many links and designs here as well ,steppers you can buy from ebay , at or atx power supplies are cheap and can be run in series for higher voltages

[pminmo]

Originally Posted by dertsap most of us start with the idea of robbing printer motors ,then it all explodes from there , once the ball starts rolling it doesn t stop

How true! I remember making a comment to a coworker about how expensive a certain hobby was. His response all hobbies are expensive. After scratching my head a little I had to agree, so HOBBY = EXPENSIVE.

[Ariox]

I wonder if anyone has a good cost/value power supply they'd like to tell me about. Ebay doesn't seem to have any, or even the classifieds here at CNCzone. I was considering using two of these ATX PSUs I have already, but I don't really feel like ending up 2 power supplies and $50 down before I have to fix my mill. Also, it'd be nice if there were a place to buy used, but I'm having trouble finding anything at all with Google.