your budget is 10 grand what fits the bill. That includes eveything to run it from computer to software
CNC wich one
- Thread starter venison-slayer
- Start date
Well you have 2 choices. The rage as mentioned and it will be right around 10k. Or build your own and learn a world of info.
Brent,
As I've stated in another recent thread, I'm with Joe on the DIY - but it's not for everyone.
Of course, the money can only buy the hardware and software - the knowledge of how to use those tools comes with experience - yes, some training would help fast-track you, but it still takes a lot of time.
Good luck and let us know what you decide on.
:thumbup:
Gary
As I've stated in another recent thread, I'm with Joe on the DIY - but it's not for everyone.
Of course, the money can only buy the hardware and software - the knowledge of how to use those tools comes with experience - yes, some training would help fast-track you, but it still takes a lot of time.
Good luck and let us know what you decide on.
:thumbup:
Gary
"...plug it in and actually do something right now"? Thanks for the chuckle. There's almost no end to the local individuals/companies who call me for consulting help after they've followed this exact advice. Unless you have a decent understanding of CNC - both programming and operating the machine - the only thing you'll be doing "right now" is turning it on and jogging the axes around while you're wondering where the hell to go next.
I've built a good number of 3-axis & 4-axis machines for around 30% - 40% of your $10k budget through online auctions (for parts) and a decent shop in which to fabricate components that can't be purchased. That would leave you a decent bankroll for software, and by the time you finish the machine you'll have so much more understanding of CNC than you ever would buying some "plug-and-play" unit you could have built yourself for significantly less money.
TW
That wasn't TW being condescending.... Regardless of how you took his tone, he is correct. I have a 4 axis machine in my garage that I purchased over a year ago and, with the exception of some wizard based engraving, all I have done is jog it around.
I don't get it .
Why ?
Once you establish X0Y0Z0 for the part, why can't you start milling ?
ps
Those plug and play cue cnc's come with canned drawings/codes . Kinda cheesy but they can be bought.
I was being a little faceitious.... I meant the the machine is ready to actually make something......... while the owner may not be.
It took me a couple of months to get good with Bobcad. Bobcad is very cryptic and not intuitive at all. I already had some experience with G code from work experience years ago that made working with Mach 3 not hard at all.
I am gaining experience and progressing nicely working with my CNC.
Kim
It took me a couple of months to get good with Bobcad. Bobcad is very cryptic and not intuitive at all. I already had some experience with G code from work experience years ago that made working with Mach 3 not hard at all.
I am gaining experience and progressing nicely working with my CNC.
Kim
Do you think you could provide a small bio of your experience and where you are in your cue building journey? The answer to your question depends on many factors. How much experience you have running cnc, what jobs you want to use it for. How long you have been building cues and if the present equipment you have is limiting your capabilities.
RBC
Deceased
I always think this should be an easy question to answer, but I always struggle with it.
I mean, I know what I would do, but that doesn't help the OP.
When I look back to when I started with CNC, there wasn't really anything you could buy so you had to build it yourself. Well, you could buy machines, but they were really expensive and not well suited for cues anyway. By the time I build my first machine I had done research for quite some time so it was an easy decision.
Here are the things to consider.
If you buy a machine, you may be able to get started with some canned programs pretty quick. But, when something goes wrong, and it always will, you will be looking for help because you don't have that intimate understanding of how it really works.
If you build your first machine, you will spend less, but if you don't have a good engineering understanding of how things work, you probably won't build a good machine the first time.
All in all, I recommend buying one if you can afford it. But, you need to already be doing all the research and learning on your own. I strongly recommend the Mach3 manuals. I read them many times before I actually even built my first controller. You will need a strong understanding of how step and direction works as well as how Mach3 controls your machine.
I don't think you can read too much, even before you buy or build a machine.
Good Luck!
I mean, I know what I would do, but that doesn't help the OP.
When I look back to when I started with CNC, there wasn't really anything you could buy so you had to build it yourself. Well, you could buy machines, but they were really expensive and not well suited for cues anyway. By the time I build my first machine I had done research for quite some time so it was an easy decision.
Here are the things to consider.
If you buy a machine, you may be able to get started with some canned programs pretty quick. But, when something goes wrong, and it always will, you will be looking for help because you don't have that intimate understanding of how it really works.
If you build your first machine, you will spend less, but if you don't have a good engineering understanding of how things work, you probably won't build a good machine the first time.
All in all, I recommend buying one if you can afford it. But, you need to already be doing all the research and learning on your own. I strongly recommend the Mach3 manuals. I read them many times before I actually even built my first controller. You will need a strong understanding of how step and direction works as well as how Mach3 controls your machine.
I don't think you can read too much, even before you buy or build a machine.
Good Luck!
Way back in the 70's and 80's I was a systems repairman for Carrier Air Conditioning. I fixed and repaired NC (numerical controlled) machine tools. They were machining centers, turret lathes, multi drills, and punch presses. After the microprocessor was invented in 1971, the name changed to CNC (computer numerical controlled). Sometimes to fix them I had to write short G code programs to move the machines wile I checked them to see if them were functioning correctly. So I have some G code experience and CNC experience. Granted what we use for pool cues are machines that are many times smaller and many times cheaper. Some of the machining centers I worked on were as big as a small house and cost over a million dollars. Some of the tools these machines used were 3 ft in diameter... These machined made large centrifugal compressors.
Now I have a Cuemonster and it sits in a bench top and has tools that are measured in 20 or 30 thousands of an inch......
As for my cue building experience.... I retired about 3 years ago and told my wife that I was going to build myself a couple of cues and maybe sell 1 or 2 at the local pool hall. Well I bought a hightower deluxe lathe and a few other power tools. I made myself a cue and had to put the pin in it 3 times to get it straight. I played with it at the local pool hall and a few guys saw it and wanted to know if I could build a cue for each of them.
The rest is history. After 6 months, I had 20 cues on order and it varies up to 28 but my back log has not been below 20 for the past 3 years. I am getting better, learning more and more, buying more and more equipment, and the price has gone from $150 when I started with plain janes to the present price. I like to build cues that people play with..... I don't know where this will lead me but I love building cues and I will continue to evolve.
Kim
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Well, Kim, tell us about one single person you know - in the entire history of the world - who had never worked with CNC, but immediately (as in your "right now") began machining parts and pieces the very moment they bought and plugged in their first machine. Do that and I'll revoke my chuckle - condescending or not. Otherwise I'd have to stick to my opinion that your advice was solidly chuckle-worthy.
The steepest learning curve in CNC is designing/programming - by comparison building the machine is child's play, especially with all the websites and forums that now exist for DIY'ers. So I personally think the best approach for anyone wanting to get into home/hobby level CNC work is to build their first machine. As i said, by the time they're done they'll have a much deeper understanding of the entire process AND they'll have some money left to address the design/programming aspects.
I've been doing this for a long, LONG time now - and given the number of guys I've seen who did it your way and eventually gave up, versus the number of guys who did what I suggested and are still going strong I have no choice but to chuckle at your advice. It's like telling someone who has never driven and actually has no idea how to drive to just run down to their local dealership and buy a new car and they can be driving around town "right now". And if you don't think that's worthy of a chuckle then you just have no sense of humor.
TW
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Thank you for sharing your story I appreciate that, although I guess I should have been more specific and quoted the OP. The reason I asked for the history and the experience of OP was so that we could give him the proper recomendations. If the guy has been building for ten years and runs a cnc at his day job the recomendation would be quite different than someone who has put on few tips and decided he wants to build cues and figures the first thing he needs to buy is a CNC. I am not saying he is either of these examples but you get my point.
Cnc
I've had a CNC mill set up for two years....still have yet to cut a pocket or part. I work all day on computer programs and testing. Honestly manually running a lathe, cutting and using a calipers is a wonderful hobby; and the relaxation needed to get up the next day to deal with broken code. I think once I delve into it, it's going the be many, many hours of setting up pattern codes and adjusting code.
I don't think anyone can not be 40-60 hours into CNC before getting an entire cue done right. I mean the first cue. Oh, now let's make a different one....
Just my two cents.
But it's my next step, and the journey of most.
I've had a CNC mill set up for two years....still have yet to cut a pocket or part. I work all day on computer programs and testing. Honestly manually running a lathe, cutting and using a calipers is a wonderful hobby; and the relaxation needed to get up the next day to deal with broken code. I think once I delve into it, it's going the be many, many hours of setting up pattern codes and adjusting code.
I don't think anyone can not be 40-60 hours into CNC before getting an entire cue done right. I mean the first cue. Oh, now let's make a different one....
Just my two cents.
But it's my next step, and the journey of most.
Been building cues for 3 years. Right now I have been working for a big company in manufacturing for the last 4 years. We do have a full machine shop with big cnc machines, so if I need to ask questions I do have people to go to. I don't have a problem with learning as I go. I know I will have to learn how to run it but all I have is time. I all ready have lots of equipment 2 lathes with tapering capabilities all the wood working tools you can think of.
There is some really good advice here.
I have had some chuckles reading posts.
There is pro's for making your own machine and definite pro's for buying a turn key system.
Either way, you will need to learn Gcode unless you are going Mazak, but not for 10K.
Then there is the learning curve of the idiosyncrasies of your machine and how to get the size and results that you require.
I have seen lots of junk made on CNC equipment because the operator did not know what they were doing.
There are many skilled machinists in the world that can manual mill and turn and make components to 0.0004 inches, assuming basic shapes. Yet there are many CNC produced products that are not made that good, usually due to simple things like the machine warming up, cutter wear,or not being measured correctly.
As long as you can do the math for the shape /profile you do not have to do the cam thing.But manually writing code and then testing takes time, but a cad/cam system can do the Gcode as well as simulate the cutter path.
It is all fun.Read lots and learn what you can while choosing which path to go.
Neil
I have had some chuckles reading posts.
There is pro's for making your own machine and definite pro's for buying a turn key system.
Either way, you will need to learn Gcode unless you are going Mazak, but not for 10K.
Then there is the learning curve of the idiosyncrasies of your machine and how to get the size and results that you require.
I have seen lots of junk made on CNC equipment because the operator did not know what they were doing.
There are many skilled machinists in the world that can manual mill and turn and make components to 0.0004 inches, assuming basic shapes. Yet there are many CNC produced products that are not made that good, usually due to simple things like the machine warming up, cutter wear,or not being measured correctly.
As long as you can do the math for the shape /profile you do not have to do the cam thing.But manually writing code and then testing takes time, but a cad/cam system can do the Gcode as well as simulate the cutter path.
It is all fun.Read lots and learn what you can while choosing which path to go.
Neil
Hi,
I have been doing inlaid cues for about two years.
The secret is putting in a lot of time with a desire to have complete control over the process with no surprises.
I would only suggest one thing for your consideration. Don't use a router as your spindle.
I personally use a cue monster with a NSK Spindle (quiet ) and could not be happier with my inlay and pocket fit ups and the decibel level in my shop. I could not stand the router noise for the times that are involved for CNC work. The noise alone would make me not want to be there even in a closed suction box!!! Just too loud and that creates anxiety. I want a calm environment without a big run out.
JMO,
Rick
I have been doing inlaid cues for about two years.
The secret is putting in a lot of time with a desire to have complete control over the process with no surprises.
I would only suggest one thing for your consideration. Don't use a router as your spindle.
I personally use a cue monster with a NSK Spindle (quiet ) and could not be happier with my inlay and pocket fit ups and the decibel level in my shop. I could not stand the router noise for the times that are involved for CNC work. The noise alone would make me not want to be there even in a closed suction box!!! Just too loud and that creates anxiety. I want a calm environment without a big run out.
JMO,
Rick
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.
Here's a machine that can be built for under $5k - I know because I built it just over a year ago. I used high-quality linear tables found online and a Chinese indexer (which I had to completely rebuild). The cuemaker who owns it provided the NSK air spindle. He loves the system, and now uses it for his main CNC machine station. Jake Hulsey and Royce Bunnell have both seen it in operation, and could give their own assessment regarding self-build vs turnkey-buy.
TW
Here's a machine that can be built for under $5k - I know because I built it just over a year ago. I used high-quality linear tables found online and a Chinese indexer (which I had to completely rebuild). The cuemaker who owns it provided the NSK air spindle. He loves the system, and now uses it for his main CNC machine station. Jake Hulsey and Royce Bunnell have both seen it in operation, and could give their own assessment regarding self-build vs turnkey-buy.
TW
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