[jkeith248]

Hi all. This is my first post here.

I am looking to acquire a CNC mill and am having a hard time making up my mind. I have a budget of $1,000 (I know it's not a lot...) and have narrowed down my choices to two. The main purpose of this mill is going to be for PCB milling. As a bonus I would like the ability to mill wood and light aluminum.

The first choice is the Zen Tool Works 12x12 mill with F8 lead screws. The benefit to this is that I get a mill relatively quickly with no waiting time for shipping from China. Plus, when it doesn't work, I get the benefit of added support from the manufacturer. Additionally, I can use this mill to self replicate in a sense, milling parts to make additional mills with...

The second choice would be going with a completely BYO solution. I would use the Chinese made ball screws off of ebay and 8020 to construct the frame and gantry. Steppers drivers and spindle from Amazon... I feel like I would get a more rigid frame with this setup andas well as obtain higher efficiency with the ballscrews. I should mention, that I work for a museum design and fabrication company and have many raw materials at my disposal for below average prices. The fear that comes with this solution is that I will sink money into an idea that doesn't pan out and I will effectively waste $1,000... I do have some experience with "CNC" as I have already built a 3d printer.

What would you do? Any thoughts or experiences to share? Any other solutions or brand of mill I could be overlooking that would be within my budget that may be more befitting?

Thanks in advance for any answers or advice!

[MConner]

Hi jkeith, Good question, with no good answer. I had zero experience with CNC machining two years ago. I had to ask the same questions, and had a similar budget. First off I had to decide how large of an envelope I wanted to work with, in my case it was 24"x24" min, that pushed a ready made system out of my budget, leaving me with the DIY option. The next decision I had to make was the type of motion guides I wanted/needed. Linear guides/lead screws, in my opinion the best means of guides, but also the most expensive. For a 24x24 machine, they would have stressed my budget, however by luck I was given a set for free. If I had not been so fortunate, I would most likely have gone with a cheaper rack & pinion w v/guides. Once I had decided on my guide system, I had to chose my framing system. Which in this case I chose used 8020 AL extrusion from 8020's E-bay garage sale. I love the 8020, cheap to use, and easier to reconfigure then welded steel. After that it was all about finding proper motors, electronics, and software. Long story short, I am sure with some good research and ingenuity you could build a nice system for your price range. Search for my previous post in the new machine thread, I should have some pictures of my DIY build. Good luck, and enjoy the ride.
M.C
BTW your 3d printer experience/software should save you a lot of time.

[Devastator]

The machine you referece is made from plastic. The design is very close to my first CNC that I built and was very unhappy with it. Unsupported rails, cutting tool too small, cutting envelope too small etc. Seemed more like a toy to learn how a CNC was built.

I smashed it with a hammer and started over with this: http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc-wo...4-forum-8.html

My build was not without some frustrations, but I learned a lot. And the bigger machine actually cost less that the smaller one because I was able to repurpose some commonly found materials in its construction.

My advice is to make the decision based on how much time you have, and your skill set. You can certainly build a DIY for under $1000 but the quality of the machine will be highly dependent on your talent.

[jkeith248]

Thank you all for the advice. I have decided to go with the BYO solution. I have just ordered:

SBR20-400/700/700mm linear slide guide shaft
6x Fully-Supported rail+12x SBR16UU bearing block
RM1605-450/750/750/750mm-C7(4ballscrew+4ballnut+endmachine)
4 sets BK/BF12 end supports with locknuts and circlips
4 pcs 6.35mm*10mm(Motor*RM1605) couplers

Hopefully they all come in in good shape. I haven't read too much bad about these. Now I need to find myself some suitable stepper motors and a good controller. I am thinking about the Gecko G540, but I am also very interested in GRBL with arduino uno. Anyone have a good reference for some stepper drivers that work well with the arduino solution? I have heard very mixed things about the TB6560...

How about steppers? I am going to need four with the intended setup. Anyone have a good place to pick these up besides Amazon?

Thanks again for the help!

[Devastator]

, but I am also very interested in GRBL with arduino uno. Anyone have a good reference for some stepper drivers that work well with the arduino solution?

If you are serious about Arduino, you need drivers that will output at least 3 amps. The PiBot drivers look like they will fit the bill, but I haven't heard much about them yet. PiBot sells a pretty attractive bundle you might consider. Personally, unless you are already really familiar with setting up and operating a 3D printer, I'd go with a more conventional route because you'll be able to get more support if you run into problems. Not many people here using Arduino for CNC control.

[jkeith248]

Thanks a lot for telling me about the pibot. That was exactly what I was looking for. I went ahead and purchased the kit today listerd on their site. It actually seems pretty inclusive and very reasonably priced.

I do indeed have a bunch of 3d printing experience, I already have a ramps setup and modified the firmware to suit my needs a couple of times. So to me, having that flexibility is a huge bonus.

Ordered myself some steppers too. Now I just need to decide on a good spindle and order the 80/20 hardware. Thanks again to everyone for the advice. If anyone has a good spindle and collet to start with, I would love to hear suggestions. Much to my wife's dismay.... I am going to go over budget. Surprise, surprise. :wee:

[Devastator]

I do indeed have a bunch of 3d printing experience, I already have a ramps setup and modified the firmware to suit my needs a couple of times. So to me, having that flexibility is a huge bonus.

Good deal. I'm planning a 3D printer build and since I'm more familiar with standard CNC stuff, I'm in the opposite situation where the printer software and hardware is intimidating. I'm trying to figure out a good workflow using what I already know.