[That's the wrong question. You should be asking "Can I use the same amount of money and make it work better?"]Hopefully this is the right sub-forum to post in. Sorry if it's not, I couldn't find a better forum.
Hello! I am in the process of building a CNC machine for routing aluminum. I have came up with a design for a budget machine with a little less than a 10"x10" cutting area. Links to everything will be at the end of the post. It will be mostly 1" welded steel square tube with .083" walls from McMaster. I found some cheap 1204 ball screws and linear rails from China. The up and down axis (Z right?) has a 1605 ball screw. It will use a Makita RT0701c router. It will run NEMA 17s since I have 5 left over from a 3D printer, with a 3D printer control board (probably Arduino based).
[While it's always nice to be able to use things one has on hand, this machine will probably perform much better with NEMA 23 motors. NEMA 17s are good for 3D printers, which don't have to push through materials, just lay down a bead of hot plastic. CNC routers need more torque.]
I already posted once about my previous design (horrible) on Reddit, got a lot of constructive criticism, and redesigned it version 2. I only have a few questions:
1. Do I need something to cover up the ball screws and linear rails?
[It's not strictly necessary, but would help keep them from clogging up with swarf.]
2. Do I need a 2nd ball screw on for the forward/backward (Y right?) axis, or will the one on the side be enough?
[On a machine as small as yours, one ball screw can work fine to drive the long (X) axis, either a gantry or a moving table. But put it in the middle; driving the axis from one side won't work as well.]
3. The tubes with the 2 M12 screws will be to hold the wasteboard. Will that be enough?
[It's hard to say, since you haven't shared a picture of your design. But if the board is thick and rigid enough on its own, then probably.]
4. Will masking tape and super glue work for workpiece holding? I have seen it done on much, much nicer and more powerful machines on YouTube, but I just wanted to double check.
[I think you'll quickly discover the limitations of that method of workholding.]
5. Is there any way at all to make it cheaper or use less materials? Can I get parts somewhere else for less money?
saddlepiggy