CNC machine

[redneck joe]

anyone have any experience? There are some that look like they would be sufficient in the $300 range on amazon, then an $800+ one. I'm thinking about adding this toy to my collection


https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H2QH17J/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

 

[harringtondav]

I guess the main question is what you intend to use it for? My neighbor built one from kit parts. He uses his for custom circuit boards in his drones. His has very limited power and can only use tiny tool bits. Plunge drilling doesn't work. He has to interpolate a tiny circle that he routes out.

I see this one accepts 1/4" bits and has 0.8 hp router/spindle, so you could do more serious work. Maybe even aluminum if you watch your chip load and feed rates. ...don't know how much force the axis drives can deliver.

 

[redneck joe]

Is just be doing light stuff, with wood. This and even the smaller one usually have a laser head one could add.

 

[Scott Danforth]

the router motor on there is a reasonable brute. assuming the table doesn't rattle apart, would be good for plywood and flat-board routering

not sure I would do aluminum, you would need to wax the tool every few inches to keep it cutting, or wax the edge of the material.

 

[MTboatguy]

I have had 2 of those small CNC's machines to do engraving and neither one of them worked for more than a year. I only used them for engraving my information on guns that I manufactured and sold. Now I just have a buddy who owns and engraving shop do them for me before I work on them. I have a Grizzly mini mill that I am getting ready to upgrade to a CNC machine with stepping motors and a new laptop to control it.

The one you are looking at spins up quite fast, but you are very limited to the smaller bits, which break quite easy and they go dull quick even on wood.

There can be a difficult learning curve with those small machines, you will need to learn about spindle speeds, compound routing routines, and of course how to figure you X, Y, Z coordinates to get everything to come out correctly. They are not plug and play machines, you will have to have a basic computer and the software to interface and run the router/milling head..

Don't get wrong, they are fun to play one, but there is a learning curve that goes along with it.