Mini desktop CNC mill to engrave custom center caps.

Hi everyone, new to the forum and I'm hoping some people can help me out. Im looking to purchase a small desk/bench top CNC mill. It will be used to engrave center caps that are no larger then 3.5" in diameter. I see there are a LOT of different options. First up I see people are buying the Harbor freight mill and converting it themselves. I really don't have the time to do that so id rather just buy one done already. One that stuck out to me was the setup that Welcome to Midwest Machine Works sells. Any feedback? Also I found one from MicroProto Systems . Im obviously not looking to spend a TON of money. Also it will only be used maybe a few times a week. Last question is how hard is it to use the program? I see a lot of people using a program called mach 3?

Thanks in advance!

For what you describe & other light milling, you should check out the Taig machine Taig Tools - Desktop Milling Machines and Lathes.
Around 2.4K for a machine that's ready to go .. Please understand you will spend a considerable amount for tooling, but after the initial pop for a vise, cutters, & measuring tools .. the rest can come a little here, & a little there as your needs expand. You should start with better quality measuring tools, but would be better off starting with cheaper end mills. You will break some /chip weld some /burn some up /etc, etc, etc. while learning to use your CNC machine. There will be a learning curve for Mach3 & your CAD & CAM software, so don't plan on plugging in a new mill & begin making parts right off the bat. Depending on your level of both computer & machinery experience, & the amount of time you have to put into it, the learning curve could be either relatively short or quite long. Just beware! - Once bitten by the CNC bug, you're likely to get hooked!!
gd.marsh

I have 2 of the MicroProto, they are excellent for the price.

I have a TAIG mill that I've had to heavily modify to prevent the Z-Axis from going out of plumb.

If I had the choice, I'd go for the small Little Machine Shop CNC mill. I've seen it in operation and it is quite good. Ball Screws, solid cast frame and a drive system that just won't quit.

LMS does buy videos from me for resale (so I do have a fiscal relationship with them) but the mill is solid and would be the one I would choose for serious work in a small work envelope.

I recommend you visit the forums for those particular machines before you make a choice. Yahoo Groups for the TAIG at least.

There is a big difference between mills for machining of parts and cnc routers for engraving.

If what you want to do is engrave then research other options. I was engraving six 3" mirrors at a time with a cheap chinese laser ($650).
Here is a short video I made : Laser in Action - YouTube

Good Luck!

Jebus! THe video of the machine is ok, but why the Star Wars text and annoying music? Let us hear the machine burn! And he was asking about CNC machines, not Chinese lasers ....

Since the video has been sped up the audio would not have been representative and most likely not any more enjoyable then the music :-)
Luckily that's why God gave us a mute button.

Just to be clear I was not recommending a cheap chinese laser, the video was simple to demonstrate how maybe something like a CNC router might be more useful for engraving then a mill.
As you can fit more pieces at a time if you are interested in production. Mills are great for manufacturing parts but not as practical for engraving.

Since I own a desktop Sherline Mill and a Larken Camtool. . . well I know which one I choose to use when I engrave. I sold the laser and would not own another 40 watt one, nor recommend it. Purely posted as an example of how one might set up a jig and bang out some product. I don't currently have any video of the router doing engraving or I would have shared that instead.

Ok, makes sense. I did not mean to be rude! The mps machines are very good, but you are right in that not the best if just engraving; kind of over investing.

Thanks for the replies guys. I saw the machine from the little machine shop but I really don't want to spend that much money. I won't be cutting anything just engraving center caps thats all. Does anyone have any complaints that the TAIG isn't direct drive? I was told it doesn't matter because for engraving I'm going to just leave it on the faster side. Thanks again! Also what else would be put in the same category as TAIG cnc mill

The TAIG is direct drive if you mean the axis. If you mean the spindle, the CNC version (if you buy it from their CNC company) has a bigger and better motor. Still belt drive though and about 10,000 RPM maximum which is not fast enough in many cases. Most people doing fine engraving use a faster spindle. It is easy to make a clamp to hold an electric- or air-powered spindle on the side of the normal headstock or just replace it if you will not require big cutters. Depending on the diameter of the cutters, you could need something faster than 50,000 RPM to keep the cutter happy.

I have adapted a Sherline headstock system to my TAIG as I like the DC variable speed drive. I am getting ready to mount a die grinder to the Z-axis for my very small engraving cutters.

I don't think there is anything available turn-key within the size of the TAIG. Step slightly down to the work envelope of the Sherline or up to the LMS mill. Understand, the TAIG does require maintenance if you use it a lot. The screws and nuts do wear.

Take a look at the FlashCut version of the TAIG if they still have it. FlashCut is a step above Mach 3 in many respects although you have to purchase their electronics to run their software. Just my opinion since I have the FlashCut hardware and software on my TAIG.

BTW, engraving cutters from U.S. sources can be priced in the hundreds of dollars for just one. I purchased engraving cutters on e-Bay from a Chinese source and received 10 each 0.010" cutters for under $10 including postage. Took all of 1 week to get here.

It does sound like you're in the market for a CNC Taig (Microproto is a branch of the same family-owned company). For the duty cycle you're talking about - using it a few times a week - it would be a long time before you started wearing out the screws, and the nuts adjust for wear. If you're talking about fine-line engraving, with extremely pointed tools, mrehmus is correct; 10,000 RPM is marginal for that; you'd really want another type of spindle that's faster, but they aren't too hard to mount on the Taig. But if you are actually engraving thicker lines, using a ball-end cutter, the stock configuration might work fine. You can use a Flashcut control system on the Taig, but it adds a lot to the cost; almost doubling it. A less expensive solution with many of the same advantages is the SmoothStepper, which eliminates the need for a parallel port, and allows faster through-put, since it takes over the task of generating the pulses that drive the stepper motors, which it can do a lot faster. If you have more questions about the Taig feel free to ask me directly; we're authorized dealers for all the Taig/Microproto products.

To correct a few items from awerby's post.

Current FlashCut hardware is USB connected to the computer, not a parallel port and it processes the pulses, not the computer. I doubt if you could get it to fail with fast input or a demanding CNC machine. It does not double the cost of the system but its drive electronics and software are more expensive than roll-your-own systems, yes. You get what you pay for and it is a turn-key system.

As importantly is the fact that when you have the inevitable problems, either system or cockpit error, there is only one company to talk with to resolve them. I had plenty of problems with my inherited TAIG because the original owner had purchased a Flashcut Sherline mill, decided the work envelope was too small and replaced the mill with a TAIG and steppers from Microproto. The only problem was the Flashcut hardware and the Microproto steppers were not compatible and the original owner did not know this and never talked with Flashcut or Microproto about his problem (the system never worked properly). I upgraded the Flashcut hardware and promptly blew the tops off of 3 of the driver boards before discovering the problem. Flashcut replaced the boards at no cost.

That said, I think TAIG supports their machine tool products very well and they probably still take a bit more care with their CNC product hardware than with their manual tools.

Also, when you get down to the 1/8" and smaller cutters, 10,000 RPM is too slow although it will work somewhat OK with slower feeds.

Join the Yahoo TAIG Group and take a look at the modifications I've made to my TAIG to correct what I (and others) think are two significant deficiencies in the design. These corrections have made the mill just about bullet-proof and I've abused it learning the CNC art without once moving the Z-axis off-tram.

You could probably get away a LOT cheaper than a Taig, too. Check out the Probotix Fireball V90: FireBall V90 CNC Router - You would not need most of the options for what you are looking at.

Or track down John Hansford, the original designer of the V90 (he is NOT affiliated with Probotix any more, sold them his design). He makes systems and sells them for less than it would cost you for materials!