NM-200, 4th axis, ???

[lance-ftw]

So,

I'm looking at my first CNC machine and I've leaned towards the novakon NM-200.

I'm completely new to CNC, I've worked with a lathe but that's about it. I need to be able to make various parts out of wood, soft metals, etc. I'm really looking for 4th axis capability to so I can do custom gears/cogs for steampunk and kinetic art stuff.

I'm having issues with the novakon site and finding the details I want. Can the NM-200 be upgraded for 4th axis relatively easily? anyone know the price of that upgrade? does the mill come with the controller/Cad/cam software? Is it a good machine?

I want something without an extremely steep learning curve, I can figure out most anything I get my hands on but I don't want to be working on it for months just to get 'started' so to speak.

I'm tryin to keep under 8k on the price and it looks like the NM-200 is my best option, if some one has another option out there that you think is better, please feel free to offer it to me

Basic requirements:
At least 6x6x6 working area
4th axis upgrade as an option (built in would be great)
can work at least soft metals (6061AL, maybe brass)
tolerances don't have to be extremely strict, most of what I"ll be doign is art pieces and small electronic housings where they'll be 1 peice + a lid so not real strict 'fit' but I'd like it to be accurate enough that if i make multiple of 1 peice they are identical in appearance to the human eye.

Beyond that, I'm tryin to stay under 8k if possible, (the further under the better, if theres a cheaper device out there that meets all my needs, great)

Thank you in advance!

[azam1959]

i have nm200 on order and will be able to answer a small portion of your question based on my experience in ordering. 1) machine come with three axis controllers, you will have to upgrade to fourth axis 2)on the hw side, there are two pieces. one is the rotary table/tail end and other piece is jaw/back plate. there used to be more details on Novakon site. Give them a call, Khai is good/easy to work with.

as for sw, Novakon come with vm demo version (not sure if it has 4th axis component). i hear getting the 4th axis on a cad/cam SW is pretty expensive.

for rest of your questions, i will be reading the responses with interest from experts.

and one thing more ... you may have to stretch just a little more

So,

I'm looking at my first CNC machine and I've leaned towards the novakon NM-200.

I'm completely new to CNC, I've worked with a lathe but that's about it. I need to be able to make various parts out of wood, soft metals, etc. I'm really looking for 4th axis capability to so I can do custom gears/cogs for steampunk and kinetic art stuff.

I'm having issues with the novakon site and finding the details I want. Can the NM-200 be upgraded for 4th axis relatively easily? anyone know the price of that upgrade? does the mill come with the controller/Cad/cam software? Is it a good machine?

I want something without an extremely steep learning curve, I can figure out most anything I get my hands on but I don't want to be working on it for months just to get 'started' so to speak.

I'm tryin to keep under 8k on the price and it looks like the NM-200 is my best option, if some one has another option out there that you think is better, please feel free to offer it to me

Basic requirements:
At least 6x6x6 working area
4th axis upgrade as an option (built in would be great)
can work at least soft metals (6061AL, maybe brass)
tolerances don't have to be extremely strict, most of what I"ll be doign is art pieces and small electronic housings where they'll be 1 peice + a lid so not real strict 'fit' but I'd like it to be accurate enough that if i make multiple of 1 peice they are identical in appearance to the human eye.

Beyond that, I'm tryin to stay under 8k if possible, (the further under the better, if theres a cheaper device out there that meets all my needs, great)

Thank you in advance!

[steveb946]

So,

I'm looking at my first CNC machine and I've leaned towards the novakon NM-200.

I'm completely new to CNC, I've worked with a lathe but that's about it. I need to be able to make various parts out of wood, soft metals, etc. I'm really looking for 4th axis capability to so I can do custom gears/cogs for steampunk and kinetic art stuff.

I'm having issues with the novakon site and finding the details I want. Can the NM-200 be upgraded for 4th axis relatively easily? anyone know the price of that upgrade? does the mill come with the controller/Cad/cam software? Is it a good machine?

I want something without an extremely steep learning curve, I can figure out most anything I get my hands on but I don't want to be working on it for months just to get 'started' so to speak.

I'm tryin to keep under 8k on the price and it looks like the NM-200 is my best option, if some one has another option out there that you think is better, please feel free to offer it to me

Basic requirements:
At least 6x6x6 working area
4th axis upgrade as an option (built in would be great)
can work at least soft metals (6061AL, maybe brass)
tolerances don't have to be extremely strict, most of what I"ll be doign is art pieces and small electronic housings where they'll be 1 peice + a lid so not real strict 'fit' but I'd like it to be accurate enough that if i make multiple of 1 peice they are identical in appearance to the human eye.

Beyond that, I'm tryin to stay under 8k if possible, (the further under the better, if theres a cheaper device out there that meets all my needs, great)

Thank you in advance!

I have the NM-145 and the Tormach 6" rotary table with tailstock. Total cost for these items can be found on the Tormach website, or from Novakon. Be aware that these items use a lot of space on your milling table when mounted!!
The 4th axis can be operated from MACH3, as supplied from Novakon. You will have to do the cable connections yourself, unless you buy the rotary from Novakon. Of course, you will need the 4th axis stepper controller which will cost extra $$ also.

Please note that you will need a CAM program for creating the machine gcode for the 4th axis.

I am testing DeskProto Cam on its 30 day trial, and it looks promising. The hobby version is about $300 US, which is quite reasonable for such capability.
For 2 and 2.5D machining, I use Vectric Cut 2d $199 and for 3D machining (3 axis), Cut3D $299. These are great programs, easy to learn and to use!

[g29cc]

I have the early NM 200 which was supplied with the 4 th axis at the time. Now they offer it as an extra cost option.

I believe its a must have though.

But anyways, I didn't use their rotary table, I had a sherline small unit I used instead. It works fine. the Bigger unit would probably work the same for me and produce more rigid results, but I mostly do small parts.

I use Mach3 also but I configured it myself for the machine with help from people here.

I can run as fast as 200 ipm if I want, but I believe the machine isn't really capable of that type of speed due to rigidity.

I usually run around 140 ipm rapids and under 70 ipm cuts. I mostly cut aluminum and stainless with the machine. Some carbon steels as well.

Todd

My latest project was some master cylinder covers for Honda Magna V65s and V45s.

These are out of aluminum and show the Z axis problem I was having, which I just hopefully fixed. We'll see shortly.

But notice how bad the tool marks are and the depth of change on them.



Todd

[kvom]

NM200 costs $10K, so unless you're buying used it'll be more than $8K (I know one of the Series 1 machines is being sold by a longtime user here). You need to add costs for shipping/rigging and tooling to get started, plus any necessary software. Perhaps the NM145 is what you want.

For a lot of 4-axis work you can do 2.5D CAD/CAM and then use the CNCWrapper software program to convert Y axis moves to A axis revolutions.

CNC machining can be a steep learning curve no matter what machine you buy. Experience with a manual mill is helpful.

Software I use:

Draftsight for 2D CAD - free download
CamBam for 2.5D CAM - $150
G-Wizard Calculator - feeds and speeds

[tjd10684]

I was in pretty much the same position as you when I got my machine. Its not as intimidating as it first appears. my first project for my mill was making a back plate to attach a 3" mini lathe chuck to the rotary table I got from Novakon. The one "bad" thing I will say about their 4th axis kit is its not really a kit. you buy a rotary table and then a gecko drive. I would have appreciated a true KIT pricing rather than the little run around. anyhow if your doing symentric type things like making hex heads or gears you dont need to have a cam program that can do 4th axis you can simulate it by making the main cutting program a sub program and manually inputting the indexing. again it sounds worse than it is. If you really read and understand the Mach3 manual (several times) and try it on some scrap, or even the air, you will get it down pretty quick. actually once you start to get the hang of it simple 4th axis stuff is sometimes easier to hand code then going through the motions to try and get the computer to do what you want it to.