CNC...head spinning is correct
Hi Edward,
You've gotten a lot of excellent replies, lots to think about. I agree it is all head spinning, I was there for awhile myself.
I'm in a similar position as you, I'm not looking to break the bank buying a machine not knowing if I'll even enjoy it or I will learn it well enough to make it worth my time. After much looking, reading and youtube I picked the Shapeoko3 XXL. The cost is low enough that I'm not taking a big risk and I've seen the work it can put out, very high quality. But...it's just a machine, you need to design a quality part with efficient tool paths, the correct bit(s), etc. Basically, you get back what you put into it.
I use Fusion 360 for design. Vcrave is great, but it's $600, Fusion is FREE and very powerful. You can go from design to CAM to tool path to g-code in one program, for FREE.
I am planning on using the XXL to learn and if I outgrow the machine it will be easy to re-sell it on the Shapeoko site. The routakit is a great machine, but it was more than I wanted to spend on a new tool, that might just collect dust if I don't use it a lot.
Check out: Winston Moy
Cheers!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Edward Henry
Again thank you all for your patience and replies, I have a bad habit of worrying something to death before suddenly buying.
I might have mentioned before that I had no clue what I wanted to do and this is not totally true.
Craft desires I wish to learn.
1. I do wood burning (Pyrography) I have it in my head that instead of drawing my design on the wood before burning that maybe I could etch a very light outline of my image on the wood then burn it by hand like tracing... I also thought of getting a Laser engraver to try to burn a light outline to do the same but the machine I liked is $28,000 and never going to afford that.
2. Small custom plaques/ awards for my local pickleball club tournaments.
3. Lithophanes, and edge lit acrylic or glass images themed based on specific interests such as astronomy images my friends do like these.
Attachment 359483Attachment 359482
This was done on a Epilog Helix 50 watt before I found out It was way beyond my budget at this time (Hoping I can learn skills on a CNC Router that can earn me funds to buy one)
Can a CNC router do this with a equal level of detail?
Every wood working forum I went to told me laser engravers were nice but if I wanted to make some income a CNC was the better choice but the prices and quality and shear number of brands is overwhelming.
Affordable Option: $500-$2,000 (any cheap DIY kits) Do I buy a kit and try to learn the ins and outs and hope I can build it to work but maybe never get a usable build due to lack of knowledge?
Or $1,000-4,000 (X-Carve, Shapeoko 3, Stepcraft)Do I buy a cheaper prebuilt that I can focus learning to use the machine but might not learn maintenance and hope it is accurate and strong enough to grow with.
Or $7,000-$20,000 (Camaster, Shopsaber) buy a big name brand heavy sturdy and large sizes I can grow into as my skills and desires grow.
Do I buy a small one to learn the basics or as big as I can fit in my garage to grow with. (Also trying to build a garage wood shop one tool at a time looking at about $12,000 for that if I have the room in my Garage
L 21' 7 3/32", W 19' 3 9/16", H 9' 2 1/2" from door to left wall 10' 7 13/32" from door to right wall is 5' 7 5/32" (need to retire garage for its own breaker)
So many thoughts running through my head and more confused every day lol all I know for certain is I want to try.