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I'm new to CNC but have decided to get a used CNC mill for engraving, as well as machining brass and steel up to 100mm in each direction; probably using it with Mach3 and/or Vcarve.
So far I'm tempted by the Denford Novamill or the Conect - but should I be looking at anything else, such as the ranges from Sieg or Boxford, or the other Denford models?
What's involved in converting them to work with Mach3 or vcarve?
A lot depends on your budget, are you looking for 2nd hand or new. My brother in law bought a new Sieg X3 and stripped and rebuilt it before he could use it and with the CNC conversion cost him nearly what I paid for my ready to run Wabeco. The wabeco is not a cheap machine but very high quality built in Germany with a 5 year warranty.
I have an F1210E with the pcDreh software, although there were a few bugs when I first started using the machine I have finally managed to get my head round the program. Its pretty quick to draw your object then you can run a simulation and then make the part. I am still learning but it gets easier the more I do.
You can download the software at www.pcdreh.de
Thanks for the info but I took the plunge and bought a Denford Starmill (I also bought a Starturn but this needs some TLC) I've had it moving but haven't had time to cut anything yet. It's a scarily steep learning curve!