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  1. #1
    Yes, I know the backup/support will suck!

    Yes, I know delivery & import duties will be excessive!

    but parking that for a mo, what do you reckon to this machine....

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CNC-3040-ROUTE...item19c2929124

    cos bluntly, the one I've built from scrap is not up to it - no surprises there (it's fine for dabbling...but I'm past the dabbling stage now(!) & I just can't justify the time researching & building my next machine.

    I'm only really wanting a machine to mill acrylic, mill the odd PCB (but a small bit of ali would be nice though :-) ) .....noise level is one of my overiding concerns (neighbours!)...I'm figuring that the whirring of the steppers is gonna be loud (the driver seems below par....no microstepping)

    Thoughts?
    Last edited by HankMcSpank; 03-04-2011 at 06:59 PM.

  2. #2
    If the work envelope will suit you then seems ok but nearer £600 with all the add ons.
    Couldnt find what the nuts were made off or what drivers its got!

    Peter

  3. #3
    Actually, I hummed & hah'ed for a while (always a good thing as I often change tack!) then I happened upon a reasonably good site (well, by Chinese Standards anyway).... http://cncdiy.org/ ...they've got a 'which CNC is best for me' matrix listed on there ...and he actually makes some important points. I guess we're all guilty of trying to spec/buy a jack of all trades CNC machine , but as he poijnts out that's a mistake...I really only need a small machine to mill acrylic & PCBs, but I was going to buy a larger one in case I needs to do something bigger, but with size comes weight (obviously), noise, vibration, flexing etc (not welcome if 90% of my stuff is small anyway!).....so I'm just going to buy the minimal I can get away with size wise & go for this one (which his matrix recommends for PCBs)...

    https://sites.google.com/site/cncdiyorg/2520 (I reckon about £600 + import duty + VAT)

    if push comes to shove, I'll get a larger one for my other needs at a later date.

  4. #4
    The only thing to be aware is that is gonna be a noisy machine at full revs

    The noise will be coming from the tool spindle hardly any from the stepper motors/drivers.

    To cut down the noise you need a water cooled spindle but they tend to be bigger in relation to the motor supplied with that machine so a water cooled spindle will not fit that machine.

    Be careful of the shipping cost, the ebay machine looks almost identical and that would cost £746 inc shipping, plus any import taxes

    Phil

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by M250cnc View Post
    The only thing to be aware is that is gonna be a noisy machine at full revs

    The noise will be coming from the tool spindle hardly any from the stepper motors/drivers.

    To cut down the noise you need a water cooled spindle but they tend to be bigger in relation to the motor supplied with that machine so a water cooled spindle will not fit that machine.
    I agree, brushed motors like that are very noisy. Now I've got the water cooled spindle there's no comparison, however the cutting noise is, of course, still a significant contributor to the noise.

  6. #6
    Maybe it's just the way they've all been recorded, but I'm struck at how much noise the Chinese water cooled spindles still seem to put out in some of the youtube videos folks have uploaded ! (perhaps it's just the microphone being too close to the cutter - but for example - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OZCv...eature=related (2m16 in) ...or maybe the acoustic vibration/whine of the spindle is being amplified by the machine frame?

  7. #7
    In the video it makes the point ' with a lot less noise' Best to sak JohnS as he has one of the spindles.

    The noise will vary anyway when its cutting. If its less noise than a router at full tilt ... then its quieter.
    If you cut anything at 24000 rpm then its going to make a noise anyway!

    peter

  8. #8
    No my spindle is the air cooled one, not water.
    These are not as quiet as the water ones, running at 12,000 they are quiet enough to not be upsetting, flat out at 24,000 they do make a bit of noise, about the same as a kress at number 1 or 2 on the thumb wheel.

    I have seen the water cooled ones and they are quiet.

    I think a lot of the noise on these video's is picking noise up you don't hear. I have a video here that was filmed out in the desert in Oman and it's unwatchable because of the noise of the wind and you can't hear the conversation but when we were filming it we didn't notice any wind and were talking normally ??
    John S -

  9. #9
    Thanks guys....well I thought I had this one sorted, but it's a fair point about not being able to mount a VFD water cooled spindle, so that choice above is now in doubt. There's another good, solid little machine here....

    http://sites.google.com/site/cncdiyorg/3018

    but it's a little on the small side & takes a while for them to put together(a bit like ordering a sofa from DFS!), not to mention a lot more expensive, but it'll mill steel, aluminium...the whole gammut!

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by John S View Post
    I have seen the water cooled ones and they are quiet.
    I can confirm that they are very quiet. My 2.2kW one makes less noise than the Sieg C3 lathe when the lathe is at 3000rpm and spindle at 24000rpm. 'Chip' on this forum will also confirm that the spindle itself is much quieter than a router.

    When I had the router running I'd wear ear defenders - not any more!

    It's the cutting noise that's the issue since it's louder than the spindle, though if you're just making PCBs the cutting noise is small.

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