I am planing on sonn start building my own CNC router and have the plans and ideas for a mechanicaly great machine figured out, but I am new to the CNC world and the electronic side and a bit lost in the jungel of alternatives when it comes to controller/software/stepper motors choise and really need some advice to guide me into the right direction.

The machine wil be verry simular to a typical "chinese 6040"/CNC shark HD4 but in a larger formate with other bearing type and more over all ridgid with a work area at 80cm x150cm. I wil use it to cut wood and aluminium

I am kinda leaning to the GRBL route and free programs at least to begin with. If possible I want the programs to be downloadable so i dont run the risk of learning programs and getting a good workflow and then sudenly it start to cost a fortune to use or get deleted. What good CAD/CAM/sender alternatives do i have? The carbide create and carbide motion seem good, but can it be used on every GRBL controller free?

On the electronic hardware side I have been thinking about if buying the X-controller from inventables would be a good sulution and more or less plug and play? Will the X-Controller handle big enough steppers for this kind of build? And that leads me to the next question to what type and size stepper to use?

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