What machine to buy for beginners?

[diggerboy]

Hi all,

Great to find a forum like this, and I apologise in advance if a fire off a few stupid questions as I go! I'm new to the world of CNC but getting hold of a table would help me out a lot at work and I really need a bit of guidance as to the best budget machine for starters.

One of my problems (of which I have many!), is that I'm in the UK, and I really haven't found anything here that would come close to the sort of equipment the US is blessed with.

I've been looking at PlasmaCAM, PracticalCNC, Dynatorch and Torchmate. I'm leaning toward the PlasmaCAM unit, but I'm ready to take on board some experienced advice.

I'm pretty sure I want X-axis facility, and it would be nice to be able to swap out plasma for a router (something I know the PlasmaCAM doesn't do). I guess I'm still at the stage where I need a checklist of criteria to compare products.

Bear in mind we are talking the budget end of the market, but I'm definitely not just going to go for the cheapest.

Any thoughts gratefully received!

[SHADOW042]

Hi diggerboy

What type of manufacturing u trying to do

Ie.. engraver, cut, cut out shapes, machine 3d Etc..

Shadow

[diggerboy]

Shadow,

Thanks a lot for the reply.

In general, we're looking for the capability to cut accurate shapes from metals from CAD drawings. That's the primary purpose.

If we could have the facility to swap for a router for woods, that'd be useful.

Third on the wish list, and not critical, is facility for the Z-axis usability for 3D cutting.

Any thoughts? As I said, the PlasmaCAM product looks great to us, and we are working to that approximate budget.

Diggerboy