[ruawake]

Hi,
New to the group, I want to build a cnc for my home shop.......milling metal,mostly brass,some stainless(just when I have to) Any Help would be great. Thanks.............

[DonnieET]

Yes I have SM1 in my garage. It's running on single phase with the help VFD for the spindle. It takes a 30 amp circuit to run it.

How big are the parts your looking at making? A small cnc can be built much cheaper than a mill my size. Are you building it because you want to or you doing so that you can make parts? There a lot of work in building a large 12 X54 table size mill.

Do you have a mill to start with? If it's a larger manual mill then your cost will be way more than a new small mill like a X3 would cost.


Donnie

[underthetire]

Ok, i understand the want to build a CNC. However, prices of used good CNC mills are soo cheap right now, it would cost the same to buy the parts to convert. Look around, I came accross a Tree 325 with a dynapath 20 for 3k the other day. Found a mid 90's Okuma bed mill MC4va for 6k. Hell, I even know where a Chiron pallet machine is that needs a little TLC for scrap price.

[ruawake]

yes, but I do NOT have a mill or lathe to convert, nor do I have the knowledge to know if I am buying a machine in good working condition. I do agree with what you are saying, but I could get burned, if I buy a machine,pay to have it brought into my basement workshop, and only to find it needs major work.........which at this point, I have little knowledge of how to repair.

[Rick Kight]

"which at this point, I have little knowledge of how to repair. "

I am not trying to beat you up but with that statement I am not sure you would be able to do a retrofit or scratch build as well. You do need to get a basic understanding of how the CNC process / electronics works. There is still very good support for the older Hurco's out there both repair and advise. Buddy at AMTS comes to mind. And you can find real good machines for a real good price if you have the patience. I found a KM3p a couple of years back just about in new condition with very low hours and paid about $3000for it. One suggestion would be find someone in your area that works on Hurco's or is knowlegeable about them and pay them to go with you to look the machine over. Most people / businesses selling CNCs will have them powered up when you look at them, so you will be able to check things out.

my $.02

Rick