cnc machine

zx24

zx24

Cue Maker Apprentice
Silver Member
I am interested in a cnc machine. Since there is no Hightower deluxe:D cnc available, and there are so many other makes and models to chooses from, i would like some input from you guys that have them allready..Keep in mind, i try to use the K.I.S.S. method if at all possible..

Benchtop
Parts availability
customer support
simplicity
turnkey

max
 
Well I think that we need a little more information. Will you be tapering on the machine or is it for inlay only? Whatis your budget? Machines run between $3000-$30,000 for single cue machines.
 
i would like it to be able to do it all...my budget is CHEAP...I'm Just like everyone else, i want as much as i can get for the least amount of money..
max
 
I think the biggest question would be what type of cues are you going to want to build? Intricate cues like Tikkler's Black Boar or cues with simple designs and/or round inlays?

I'm just about to order a new machine this week. The spindle alone is more than the total cost of my current machine. Hell, I'm paying more for a custom upgrade that' going to delay the delivery of the machine by a couple of months than I paid for my existing machine.

You could buy the Breeze or Storm from Lee. You can't do tapers on the Breeze, but you can do inlays. If you already have a taper bar on your lathe, you really don't need the CNC for tapers anyway. You can cut points with it, although I'd recommend the Kress Router for that over the stock spindle. I don't really recommend the Kress for inlays though unless you're going to do everything into Ebony and use a lot of black epoxy.

I'm not sure what lee is charging for either machine, but then you're going to have the software expense on top of that. I think no matter what, you're looking at $3-$4K to get started.
 
zx24 said:
i would like it to be able to do it all...my budget is CHEAP...I'm Just like everyone else, i want as much as i can get for the least amount of money..
max
Click to expand...
I don't know if there is a cheap cnc taperer at all.
 
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Alignrite is probably the best turn key machine in it's price range, that includes good customer service, but it's price range is on up there. Why would you need one that does tapering when you just got a good manual tapering machine? Since the price is at least double for getting that extra capability. If you wanted to go spend some time in Clarksville, TN, Donald Bludworth would be able to build you a machine for in the $10,000 neighborhood and teach you how to use it. It would be one of the more solid machines as he builds his stuff heavy duty and he really knows CNC.
If CNC inlay work is all that is needed you could do it for half that with a huge learning curve and no customer support on a modified mill. That is how we do it. If Lee at Brianna offers in shop training on his new machines they are priced really good for what they will do. I have never seen one in person, so I am only judging off of pictures.
If I was going to buy a ready to go machine in the next couple of months I would buy it from Donald and pick it up in person and stay there a few days until he had me up to speed running it. But I have known the Bludworths for years and tend to buy from the same people over and over if treated right.
Donald and Leonard built one machine for me and I have ran it for almost 4 years now.
So here is my take on it:
Best price= Modified CNC Mill.
Next best price for a more advanced machine= Brianna
For ease of use and light weight in the next price range= Unique Cue Monster
Solid well built machine for a little more money= Donald Bludworth
Another well built machine with good customer support= Alignrite
 
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CNC Software

Hi,

I have a Cue Monster and recently upgraded to BobCad 23. To me, BobCad seems to be the way to go for cue makers because it is pretty easy to learn compared to MasterCam type programs out there. Making inlays (profiles) and doing pocketing is not a big deal compared to the total capability of BobCad Cam.

My partner Ray has been doing our inlays and pocketing for the last 3 years and I have stayed away from the CNC as it was not my job. Because of curiosity my friend and I just took the BobCad training while they were here in Chicago. The instructor Sorin is a very good teacher and will give you support after the class. BobCad has online and phone support to help you get started.

Sorin gives you a training disk that is narrated on a power point video. If you go over it until to can duplicate the part he shows you how to create, you will be able to create inlays and pockets once you buy your machine.

Make no mistake, to get up to speed with CNC you need to put a lot of time on task. There are a lot of experience curve hurdles you must get through because this is not something that you purchase and you are making nested inlays the next day.

AlignRight, CueMonster, & Brianna CNCs all use BobCad. You can sign up for BobCad Cam training and get a copy of their demo version from them. With your laptop or desk top computer you can become familiar with the Cad (drawing) and the Cam Tree functions that writes your program or G-Code. When you do buy a machine at least you will understand the nomenclature involved in the operations.

Personally I don't make shaft and butt tappers on my CNC because I have other dedicated machines for these processes. When I first got my cue monster we did cut some shafts and butts on it but I decided that I wanted to limit the long term wear and tear to only doing inlays and pockets with the small milling tools. The CueMonster, Brianna Storm, and Alignright will do those tapering functions without any problem because you can hold a part (butt or shaft) over 30 inches long between centers on the X axis.

Good Luck,

Rick Geschrey
 
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Chris is right, i just bought his tapering machine, and i just love it. So i just need cnc for inlays. So, maybe a modified mill is in order.So many to choose from..My only fear is the learning curve..I know absolutely nothing about C.A.D. Its scarey looking..I like the point and click method..Has anyone purchased a Brianna CNC?
Thanks for the responses.
max
 
zx24 said:
Chris is right, i just bought his tapering machine, and i just love it. So i just need cnc for inlays. So, maybe a modified mill is in order.So many to choose from..My only fear is the learning curve..I know absolutely nothing about C.A.D. Its scarey looking..I like the point and click method..Has anyone purchased a Brianna CNC?
Thanks for the responses.
max
Click to expand...


Max, sounds like the Breeze is the best choice for you. This is basically a Taig mill with some extra parts added. This is the best mill in it's price range. The limitation of this machine is 12 inch travle in the x axis. You will be able to cut inlays in but have this limit. I have yet to cut an inlay that long. Lee has gotten past this issue with adding a top plate to the table that slides back and forth so all areas of the cue can be reached. He also has a modified sherline tailstock that adjust up and down as well as side to side. This tailstock is keyed so it stays aligned well. The storm has alot longer capacity on the x axis in the area of 36 to 40 inche. I have the first storm and am very happy with it. Sunday I was tappering handles and held a tolerence of +- .001" on it over several passes. I wrote a very simple macro program that allows me to take any taper pass that I want. I do know though that I need to move my tailstock over .0025" since my butt of the cue is .005" smaller. I could move tailstock over but it was easier to just adjust the program. I know, I know, I will fix someday. Just too damned easy to cheat.

good luck, Jim.
 
zx24 said:
Chris is right, i just bought his tapering machine, and i just love it. So i just need cnc for inlays. So, maybe a modified mill is in order.So many to choose from..My only fear is the learning curve..I know absolutely nothing about C.A.D. Its scarey looking..I like the point and click method..Has anyone purchased a Brianna CNC?
Thanks for the responses.
max
Click to expand...
CAD as in drawing the parts?
 
i was looking at the breeze on his web site, but, looks like he charges for customer support. I never heard of that before...could be a perpetual charge..
max
 
zx24 said:
i was looking at the breeze on his web site, but, looks like he charges for customer support. I never heard of that before...could be a perpetual charge..
max
Click to expand...

You will find that even bobcad will charge for support after a small time period. You can't sell a machine and spend two solid months on the phone walking someone through every step hoping they understand. Lee will have a buisness to run. I am sure that he will offer some support for free. There are enough builders on AZ that are familiar with Mach3 and Bobcad that should be able to help out including myself. I have help several guys. I do advise that you read up on Mach 3 as much as you can and check out the free videos on their web site. Also the training cd package that bobcad has is great. I hear that Bobcad training seminars are great. You may even want some one on one training with Lee.

Jim.
 
Tony Zinzola said:
I think the biggest question would be what type of cues are you going to want to build? Intricate cues like Tikkler's Black Boar or cues with simple designs and/or round inlays?

I'm just about to order a new machine this week. The spindle alone is more than the total cost of my current machine. Hell, I'm paying more for a custom upgrade that' going to delay the delivery of the machine by a couple of months than I paid for my existing machine.

You could buy the Breeze or Storm from Lee. You can't do tapers on the Breeze, but you can do inlays. If you already have a taper bar on your lathe, you really don't need the CNC for tapers anyway. You can cut points with it, although I'd recommend the Kress Router for that over the stock spindle. I don't really recommend the Kress for inlays though unless you're going to do everything into Ebony and use a lot of black epoxy.

I'm not sure what lee is charging for either machine, but then you're going to have the software expense on top of that. I think no matter what, you're looking at $3-$4K to get started.
Click to expand...

Hi Tony,

You dont recommend kress router for inlay, only kress for points. what router is better for inlays? I am thinking in dremell for less weight and vibrations but it has less rpm and power
 
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I recommend a real spindle with less runout. If you're using a Dremel, you might as well be trying to turn the bit by hand. You can probably get just as accurate results.

There's a guy on Ebay that will sell you a small spindle for around $200-$300. I have that mounted on my breeze and increased the pully size so that it is spinning at 32K RPM's. It works quite well. When I cut a .125" box, it is .125". When I cut with the Kress, it is considerably less.

It's true you can compensate for the Kress's runout, but with a better spindle, you don't have to. I rarely test simple diamonds or dots prior to cutting the pockets in the cue.

I'll be getting an NSK spindle with my new machine, but for the money, the guy on Ebay is hard to beat. However, you can't really cut points with the small spindle, but I don't really use my cnc for points anyway. It also takes less than 5 minutes to switch to the Kress if I want to.

As for Tech Support on Lee's machine. There's not much support you should need. Most of the support issues you are going to have will be either BobCad or Mach3. There's really not all that much to the mill.
 
Something i have tought about is 2 weekends a year sat and sunday tech support at my shop actual working on both machines free to anyone that wants to show up also with purchase of any machine 2 day here at my shop or 30 days with jerry powers via phone inculded in sale i just spoke with jerry via phone and worked a package out with the sale of a machine.
 
If you can't figure out Mach 3 and Bobcad by yourself with a little help here and there you probably have no reason to be playing with cnc. Otherwise put the money up and go to the crash course class that Bobcad runs. If you've never played with cnc before, I would get both programs and play with them a while on your own and educate yourself as much as possible before doing any formal training though. That way it will make more sense when you go do it.

<~~~jmo...............................
 
BarenbruggeCues said:
If you can't figure out Mach 3 and Bobcad by yourself with a little help here and there you probably have no reason to be playing with cnc. Otherwise put the money up and go to the crash course class that Bobcad runs. If you've never played with cnc before, I would get both programs and play with them a while on your own and educate yourself as much as possible before doing any formal training though. That way it will make more sense when you go do it.

<~~~jmo...............................
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Good point. You can download a free trial of Bobcad and try out it's design capabilities and work through it's tutorials without either Mach3, or a CNC machine at all. If it's not your cup of tea at that point, then you just saved yourself a lot of coin. Be aware though, that if you fill in your correct contact info in the Bobcad trial down load request, their sales staff will HOUND YOU UNTIL YOU DIE! :bash:
Mr H
 
Thats sounds like a plan to me...I'm gonna d/load the trial version and play with it.
I believe i am going to go with a taig mill set up..I have had several im's telling me to buy the components and put the machine together myself..`They say there is enough help on this forum to get it done..Thanks fo all the replies..
max
 
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