Hi
I am Mike from Techserv in Dewsbury. We build large gas and plasma cutting machines for industrial users but are also starting to manufacture stepper based machines for the education / hobby market. It is interesting to compare the 'home made' to 'business made' machines as the emphasis on costs is somewhat different. I will spend more on materials in an attempt to get the labour cost out whereas for you guys labour is effectivly free, also the control systems tend to be easier to operate on the larger machines as the hobby user is prepared to spend more time programming rather than cutting . It is amazing to see the level of complexity an individual can build into a 'hobby' machine. Sorry to use terms like 'home' and 'hobby' but they sound better than home brew or similar.
We have quite a bit of technical info, spares for plasma packs, control systems etc and may be able to source parts if required generally f.o.c.
I would welcome any feedback on my videos on youtube (miketechserv) and a few pictures on www.techservcnc.com.
Having spent the past 4 years designing a control system, I have picked up a few utilities that may be of help to someone and I strongly promote the power of Labview for machine control.
Cheers
Mike