Newbie to cnc machining


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    Default Newbie to cnc machining

    Hi guys,

    I would love to get a machine that can cut aluminium to various shapes and sizes. I am thinking about 3/400 mm square and who knows how deep.

    I know i want to eventually start making parts for my ute; brackets for some cameras, light and antenna mounts, door trims etc

    I am not afraid of spending a bit of coin on something reliable and can cut well, but what would be a decent machine to start out on?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Headley View Post
    Hi guys,

    I would love to get a machine that can cut aluminium to various shapes and sizes. I am thinking about 3/400 mm square and who knows how deep.

    I know i want to eventually start making parts for my ute; brackets for some cameras, light and antenna mounts, door trims etc

    I am not afraid of spending a bit of coin on something reliable and can cut well, but what would be a decent machine to start out on?
    Maybe a Haas or Milltronics. Both good American machines. Should be plenty of used ones. Make sure you inspect it carefully or hire a pro to inspect for you.

    Good luck!



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    Default Re: Newbie to cnc machining

    Thats ridiculously too large, i am only gonna be a home hobby guy haha



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    Default Re: Newbie to cnc machining

    The Tormachs are pretty nice unpack-it-and-go machines, but shipping to Oz and exchange rate is going to get it pricewise up past $20k once you've got tooling, vices and all the other stuff you need to make it useful.

    I'm in much the same boat: only home hobby so I don't really want my shed overtaken by some monster VMC. And I don't have three phase which seriously cuts down the options. I'm making do with an OmioCNC router for the time being but, if I need to start cutting steel or anything taller than the 140mm I have on the router, I'll probably look at doing a CNC conversion on either an Optimum bench mill or (more likely) a Hafco knee mill.

    Iain (handlewanker) has imported a Skyfire machine and seems to be happy with it, though it took forever and a fair bit of back-and-forth to make it happen. Lcvette has gotten another chinese machine in and there's quite a few of us watching with bated breath to see how that pans out for him too. His is up there VMC size wise but without the Haas price tag so it may be worth a look.

    In the meantime I'm really happy with my OmioCNC router. It cuts ali, not terribly fast but it gets there. It wasn't super expensive but it comes with linear rails, reasonably heavy frame and halfway decent ballscrews so it does an ok job. It's made some useful stuff for me and, more importantly, it's been a cheap way to get started down the CNC road and make a bunch of learning mistakes without crunching or cutting into a much bigger, more expensive machine.



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    Default Re: Newbie to cnc machining

    Quote Originally Posted by dharmic View Post
    In the meantime I'm really happy with my OmioCNC router. It cuts ali, not terribly fast but it gets there. It wasn't super expensive but it comes with linear rails, reasonably heavy frame and halfway decent ballscrews so it does an ok job. It's made some useful stuff for me and, more importantly, it's been a cheap way to get started down the CNC road and make a bunch of learning mistakes without crunching or cutting into a much bigger, more expensive machine.
    Just checked that out now.

    https://www.omiocnc.com/products/x6-...-engraver.html

    Looks to be a decent one to get i think. $2,200 USD isn't too much either



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    Default Re: Newbie to cnc machining

    Budget wise if you're starting with a blank slate, it ended up costing me about AUD5000 by the time I got it shipped here and added a bench with drawers and shield, tooling, coolant rig, vice and clamps etc.

    Some guys have had some issues with their machine and Omio are patchy (as are most Chinese suppliers) with warranty issues but on the whole they've been ok.

    All in all, I'm a horribly tight fisted mothwallet and still the X6-2200L has been a pretty nice unit and I'm pleased with how it's all played out for me.

    :edit: there's also a big old thread about the Omio with a bunch of guys having ups, downs and showing the potential traps with it and how we've worked around them. Support for it here there's a decent community building up.



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