Hi from Cumbria..

Hi there everyone..

My name is Chris and this is my first tentative steps into trying to unravel the complexities of the world of CNCs, and i'm hoping you guys can help me..
i've spent the last few of hours trolling the internet and now my head is hurting..I was just about to give up when I stumbled upon you guys..
I'm a 50yr old bench hand joiner with a particular interest in aero-modelling, so i'm used to building things. I've recently started to build planes out of 6mm/3mm depron and realised that if i had a small CNC I could build them a lot more accurately.
I was wondering if you guys could point me in the right direction as regards to assembling such a machine, the material i'm using comes in 1000mm by 700mm sheets and is 6mm/3mm thick, speed is not a problem, simplicity of build and operation would be nice but i realise that CNC by it's very nature is not a simple concept, maybe for some but not for me..at the moment, I am willing to learn and bow to your greater knowledge..

Thanks in anticipation..

Chris..

Welcome to the madhouse Chris.

I stumbled upon the following "School of CNC Knowledge" website last night which contains bits that I found quite helpful... albeit a tad slanted from across the pond... Learn more about CNC terms, technology, systems and advanced CNC techniques

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and now my head is hurting

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youll get a lot of that.... broken down, a cnc router is a little less rocket science however you are at the difficult stages of looking at cnc as a whole... all the options! (not easy)

if you have the time, inclination and the gumption (and enough cash) you will get there

if you are going to exclusivly cut foam you wouldnt need a big sturdy machine however im guessing that if you are going to build a cnc you may as well go for glory and build it to cut a range of materials (plastics wood and small amouts of soft metals is the usual script)

your brain will hurt at first but dont be in too much of a rush and do lots of research, the build logs on this sight are a good place to start

good lock :)

If you are only cutting Depron you may want to look at a laser.
Advantages of a laser over a router is no fixturing problems , don't need to fasten soft stuff down to cut, speed and simplicity of use.
Disadvantages are only thru cuts are allowed, no pocketing.

Sorry to throw another choice into the mix :nevreness:

thanks for the pointer WandrinAndy, i'll have a good read through that..

blackburn mark, I can't ever seeing me wanting to cut anything other that foam, maybe some 2mm ply, was hoping that if i kept it to these materials it would keep the cost down.

John S, never thought of a laser, i'll look into that, would that involve more cost..? I haven't got a big budget..

Thanks for the replies..

[QUOTE=Kickstart;35335]blackburn mark, I can't ever seeing me wanting to cut anything other that foam, maybe some 2mm ply, QUOTE]

im assuming it would make sense to run your axis on toothed belts(light weight fast moving gantry) if you intend using a laser (no cutting force/resonance)
that should keep the price down on the mechanics (no ballscrews to pay for)

i know nowt about lasers, i think john s has a 40w laser, he'll be your man for that side of things :)

Thanks Mark.. that sounds like a plan..