HI,
I suspect that either of those machines are just not rigid enough to do aluminum on a regular basis. Both will cut aluminum but as slow as 'paint drying'
Ballscrew, hands down. There will always be lash with an ACME screw and it will ruin your CNC experience.1. Is the ball type lead screw better or the ACME thread one?
Its going to take a bloody long time to wear either of them out. If your business model is good you'll have upgraded to the 'real deal' long before you wear them out.so the ball type maybe a better option in terms of longevity, which do you think is better?
ABSOLUTELY NOT......STAY AWAY FROM XHC!!! The XHC Mach4 plugin is completely flawed and XHC do NOTHING about it. It does not even support Mach's editable GUI, you are constrained to use .wxMach,connected to a WiXHC (Mach4 USB CNC controller)
avoid like the plague!!. I use an Ethernet SmmothStepper, my own design breakout board and Mach4 and have done so for eight years, it works well......but AVOID XHC.
The problem with Sherline is that the spindle is so small that it lacks the torque to run larger tools. Collets that can hold 1/8th shanked tools and another collet for 1/4 inch are useful as is a 6mm collet and even sometimes4. Is the collet size suitable for most metal milling work, in both machines? Most CNC router uses ER-11 collet, for the Sherline CNC millI was told the feed rate would be slow, is this correct?
a 4mm collet. Most of my tools that I use in my small (800W 24000 rpm) spindle have 1/8 shank. My second spindle (1.8kW, 6.2Nm cont, at 3500rpm) has an ER25 tool holder and can take up to 16mm tools,
I use it for steel and stainless where you need high torque not high speed.
To be honest I don't think the Sherline is going to do it for you. I think you should take a look at some of the drill-mills out there. They are rigid enough to do a good job in aluminum and with care a good job in steel too.
You'd want to convert to CNC, but there are plenty of threads about converting such machines. A well sorted conversion of one of these machines would last you many years whereas you would tire of the limitations
of a Sherline or a CNC router. This is an example....one of many of the same general sort.
https://rongfu.com/mill-drill-machin...-machine-rf45/
Craig