Which cnc

[Boovey]

Hi everyone ,
I asked this forum a while ago what cnc should I buy , a Chinese one or have one made . I have £4000 and I want a cutting area of 1220 x1220 .
so I went and bought a Chinese one gm cnc and I wish I hadn't as I took it back 2 days later for a full refund , I have my refund and I'm looking for a decent cnc router good enough and accurate enought to build furniture and one off shop fittings .

I live in the midlands so travelling to see machines running isn't a problem , I just don't want to spend my hard earns on junk , all info would be greatly appreiciated as I'm new to all cnc machining ,
thanks

[Boovey]

Jazz cnc do you mean ?

[Jonathan]

Jazz cnc do you mean ?

Yep.

To get a good machine for a remotely reasonable price you have 3 options (in order of cost):
1) Make and design it all yourself
2) Pay someone to make the more difficult parts and assemble yourself
3) Pay someone to make the whole thin.

You can make a good machine with any of those options, it just depends how much time you can devote to it. With any of these options the forum will help you a lot to make decisions and find what works best. Currently I can't take on any more parts as I'm busy making another CNC router, which will take a long time to complete with the limited amount of time I can devote to it.

As you have found the hard way, all the Chinese machines make compromises and a lot of 'proper' machines in our price range do too. They're designed to be cheap so they skimp on important parts, but if you make it yourself or get it made to your specification you can make sure it is up to the job. Whichever way you decide it's a good idea to read around on the forum (and other sites) to see the common mistakes. Virtually all build logs start by making the same mistakes, and after much discussion they are generally corrected.

[Boovey]

What do you think to this on eBay 270995632021 if you have a minute to look at it as I'm too busy to build one , even if I had an idea to build one I haven't the time
thanks

[John S]

Doesn't look bad and Worksop is only 3/4 of an hour away.
I'd make the trip and see.

[Boovey]

Will do And thanks for your time

[Boovey]

I will go have a look

[Jonathan]

It's certainly worth a look. It's better than most, however the X-axis drive is worrying:

'All machines have Ballscrew x axis with rotating ballnut'

Having a rotating ballnut is excellent for good feedrates, but the description and photo appear to show only one ballscrew on the X-axis. This will severely compromise the rigidity of the machine. Think what happens when the tool is cutting towards the ends of travel on the Y-axis - there is a force pushing the gantry, but the support (i.e. the ballscrew/nut) is a long distance away so it will bend and 'rack' the gantry. If you're only cutting MDF then you would get away with it, but it will still limit your productivity and surface finish. For £5k you should be able to do better than that. This is a typical example of the manufacturer trying to save money since it would cost them (very roughly) £250 more to add another ballscrew and motor (has to have another motor as rotating nut).

The only person whose objective is to ensure you have a high quality machine is yourself.

[John S]

For £5k you should be able to do better than that. This is a typical example of the manufacturer trying to save money since it would cost them (very roughly) £250 more to add another ballscrew and motor (has to have another motor as rotating nut).

The only person whose objective is to ensure you have a high quality machine is yourself.

I disagree with this strongly. it looks a nice machine, well made and made in the UK so higher costs.
There is a limit where a manufacturer can throw in all the bells and whistles and still make a profit to stay in business.
Jonathan's estimate of £250 is insane as he's only counted the cost of the screw, nut and motor.

Now throw in all the mounting hardware, driver, building up etc and that £250 is no where near.

Presumably Jonathon you are paying business rates on that 100' x 80' shed in your back garden just as you are reporting everything you earn to the revenue ?

It's a no win situation, buy Chinese and it's crap no matter what level you buy at, buy British and you are getting ripped off and attacked by the garden shed brigade wanting to buy everything for nothing but sell their product at high prices.

[JAZZCNC]

Bovey this machine looks well built . . BUT. . don't be seduced by the sight of all the trimmings it shows in the picture and the description.

It says Vacuum and dust extraction built in but it doesn't actually say comes with Vacuum pumps or dust extraction machine.? . . It does say starts from £4995.
Vacuum pumps can be very expensive and it shows 2 so I would be asking some questions to exactly what you get for 5K.?
I would also want to see the machine in the flesh and if you don't have much experience with CNC machines then suggest you take someone with you who does.? It very easy to blind newbies with science and bull shit and unfortunatly lots of company's rely and pray on this.!!

Every thing Jonathan says regards single ballscrew I fully agree with.!!