Hello all,

I'm Kevin from Derry and I am brand new to CNC machines. My full-time job is in graphic design and I have been a keen wood-work hobbyist for well over 20 years now and I'm well versed in hand-routing with templates and guides. I have wanted a CNC machine for many years and this week I finally took the plunge. I bought the Chinese 4-Axis 6040 sxcnc machine from eBay (Portsmouth) mainly for V-carving and cutting MDF & Ply. I am having problems getting the machine to run correctly. I think the problem I am having is backlash. The gantry freezes and gets stuck at times, particularly at higher feed rates and when cutting circles. I managed to get a decent cut at 20mm/min but I suspect this may cause tools to dull quickly. I'm wondering whether I should just get a refund and look for something better or even better again, build one! I'd really like to build one but I'm afraid that a DIY machine would be less accurate or more troublesome. If it was something that could be easily rectified I would happily keep the 6040 for now as it is probably a good starting point but I'd definitely like something a bit bigger sooner or later. Any thoughts and/or advice would be most welcome. I also look forward to contributing to the community and sharing some of my designs. I'd be open to lending a hand with the software/design side of things if anyone is interested. I'd really love to visit someone's CNC shop and meet anyone like-minded in Ireland! I'd be happy to return the favour although I don't have much to show just yet!
I'm looking for a Dust Collection system too so please PM me if anyone has something for sale.

Thanks, Kevin.