Hi all, Ive got a plan, hopefully its a good one!

Ive been lurking here for a couple of weeks and first of all thank you to all for the good advice :)

I want to build a cnc router to begin with.

I started off looking at 6040 type machines but soon worked out they are a waste of time and money. Recently my friend just built a Mostly printed CNC which is great, but the Z is flimsy and it only moves in 0.1mm increments so for me thats out.

So I had a plan, If I buy the right electronic components, a decent controller and steppers. and build a cheapish machine with them, I can later move them over to a vertical mill conversion which is ultimately what I want but cant afford.

Is that sounding like a better route?

Ive been looking at the MDX - 340 as an off the shelf controller which seems good for the money, even after import. But does anyone do something like this in the UK?
Or am I just being lazy, and should build one myself?

For the mechanics, I dont know which way go at all, I dont want to sink I huge amount into it, but I realise I'll have to to an extent. Again it might seem like working ass backwards but if I buy ball screws that will later be compatible with a mill conversion then I can hopefully reduce buying everything again.


Anyway

Glad to finally be able to post :D

Any and all help most gratefully received!

Ben in Hampshire

Hi Ben and Welcome.

Plan is kind of OK in some ways but wrong in others.?

Not bad plan regards buying Electrics which will move with you but NOT the MDX-340.
PMDX make great products but this is limited to some degree because can only use 3A motors and run them with 36V which doesn't give much scope for upgrade and limits to small motors. Simply not enough volts or amps for larger motors, even nema23.
Most of the other things it provides are just bells n whistles you don't need.
You'll build a Much better system for Not much more money which uses 50Vdc Digital drives that will blow the PMDX drives away.

Regards re-using ballscrews, rails then this is were plan goes wrong. You'll be much better just building the machine the best you can and then sell it when finished.
Most mills will use different pitch screws and methods of fixing etc so most likely not usable of more trouble than worth.

Personaly I'd say wait save up and don't build anything rather than use this plan because large chance of costing money.
Better option is to build a machine with half decent everything suited to that particular machine and then sell everything on when ready to move on. You'll get more for working machine than the Sum of it's parts provided it's not made from MDF and Threaded Rod etc..
This way you'll get exactly the right stuff or machine when you move on and often the case the existing machine will pay for it or go big way towards new machine/parts.

Good Luck and Don't go rushing to buy anything it's sure fire way to blow money.!!

Also looks like it is 120 VAC not 240 VAC so you would need a transformer to run it in the UK.

Your best bet will be to forget about routers and straight move to small CNC converted mini mill. Then make some money and move to bigger. Cause you said it- a mill, not a router. Investing in parts for future will not pay, cause for bigger mills you will want servo drives and proper motion control. Which depends with what motors they come, etc...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JAZZCNC

Hi Ben and Welcome.

Plan is kind of OK in some ways but wrong in others.?

Not bad plan regards buying Electrics which will move with you but NOT the MDX-340.
PMDX make great products but this is limited to some degree because can only use 3A motors and run them with 36V which doesn't give much scope for upgrade and limits to small motors. Simply not enough volts or amps for larger motors, even nema23.
Most of the other things it provides are just bells n whistles you don't need.
You'll build a Much better system for Not much more money which uses 50Vdc Digital drives that will blow the PMDX drives away.

Regards re-using ballscrews, rails then this is were plan goes wrong. You'll be much better just building the machine the best you can and then sell it when finished.
Most mills will use different pitch screws and methods of fixing etc so most likely not usable of more trouble than worth.

Personaly I'd say wait save up and don't build anything rather than use this plan because large chance of costing money.
Better option is to build a machine with half decent everything suited to that particular machine and then sell everything on when ready to move on. You'll get more for working machine than the Sum of it's parts provided it's not made from MDF and Threaded Rod etc..
This way you'll get exactly the right stuff or machine when you move on and often the case the existing machine will pay for it or go big way towards new machine/parts.

Good Luck and Don't go rushing to buy anything it's sure fire way to blow money.!!

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Hi Jazz, Thanks for all that, you make perfect sense with the hardware not really being transferable.
I guess I have some more research to do before getting a controller together for that will serve me for sometime. I'll get on it, and thanks for the nudge in the right direction :)

My thoughts are the same regarding throwing money at something without really knowing enough about it which is why i'm here!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by routercnc

Also looks like it is 120 VAC not 240 VAC so you would need a transformer to run it in the UK.

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I actually emailed the maker who will build the controller to suit 240 VAC if required, so thats good to know for anyone thinking of going that way ;)

A couple of months on and I totally changed my plans lol, partly thanks to this thread but partly, because I
knew it would be a steep curve to learn all the skills to even run a cnc. so I bought thisAttachment 18783
Basically just to get going. It cost less than a Proxxon micro mill and runs on LG motion slides. Ive got it running on EM2 using Fusion 360 for the post process, so i'm happy for now... looking longer term to pick up a converted X3 or x2 but still open to suggestions. very much enjoying my first steps into the the world of CNC :D
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