Looking for the impossible? A cnc router for 1k? is it possible?

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Originally Posted by Tenson

A lot of the DIY machines on here are built with Chinese ballscews, ballnut and linear bearings. Do you have evidence the ones in the 6040 are inferior? The rest of the structure is metal and screws, probably machined on very good industrial kit.

I'm not saying the 6040 is a perfect machine but I think you are going way over the top with your comments in the context of a small run machine for wood parts or light aluminium. Yes DIY will give better results, but only if you are willing and able.

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Ok got to reply to this then that's it from me.!!

Again you don't get it.!! . . . . It's the details that make the BIG difference and I do have the experience to see it's short comings.
Just looking at the pictures tells me everything I need to know but if with your vast experience your so cock sure it's "all that" then go out and buy one, use it in a business type of enviroment (which Andy wants to try to establish) and prove me wrong.! . . . My shoulders are big enough and I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong.!!! . . . ~Go for it.:dance:

It's a common misconception peope seem to have that steel bar / RSJ etc, hardened or otherwise "doesn't bend". People see bridges and buildings made from the sort of size steel that we sometimes see on CNC router frames and assume that if it can hold up a bridge it will hold a cutter steady. The critical difference is the acceptable magnitude of deflection is markedly different in these circumstances. For any CNC router worth owning 0.05mm (perhaps less) of deflection is likely to be disastrous, but in a bridge a few millimeters of deflection won't be noticed. For CNC machining the permissible bending thresholds are very small, hence even though the forces are generally not that great you still need a very rigid structure, which includes the rails. You're not going to actually see the deflection in an unsupported rail until you put a dial indicator on it as the deflection will be small, but you only need a very small amount to make a difference.

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Originally Posted by Tenson

A lot of the DIY machines on here are built with Chinese ballscews, ballnut and linear bearings. Do you have evidence the ones in the 6040 are inferior? The rest of the structure is metal and screws, probably machined on very good industrial kit.

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I doubt there's anything wrong with the ballscrews and I'm sure that's not what Jazz is suggesting. The main problem with the 6040 is it uses unsupported rails on Y and Z. There's a huge overhang on the Z-axis, relying on the spindle for strength, very small spacing between the linear bearings on all the axis', combined with only one ballscrew on the X-axis, sub-optimal direct drive not timing belts, bed is proabably weak towards the center, tiny ER11 collet, etc etc ... all things that are easy to do better yourself. You only really need to read a couple of the build logs on this forum to learn most of the things required to make a good machine as Jazz and I mention the same weaknesses and how to solve them every single time.

I'm also happy to talk to anyone about how to design/build a machine. I regularly talk to several people on the forum via Skype/wlm/email ...

Jazz is right about people being to greedy when it comes to selling machines in the UK. The capitalise on the ignorance of the customer by selling machines which are barely adequate and as a result overpriced. I'd happily be making good CNC routers, but as I'm currently at University my time is somewhat limited. Having said that I will be making a CNC Router, primarily for cutting aluminium and steel, in partnership with a friend from school over the next couple of weeks. I will post a build log when its done to demonstrate what can be achieved if you're prepared to do some background reading and think for yourself.

I guess a lot of it comes down to what you want to do with it.

me? I just need a machine to knock out a PCB inshort order.....also mill the odd bit of acrylic - very modest requirement.

I paid £430 for the frame ...it has already paid for itself in time saved (vs my old DIY nasty), money generated (if I'd gone the DIY route, I'd still be obsessing whether to spec shielded motor cable or not!)....and freeing me up to crack on with expanding my fledgling product range.

Will the machine last? From what I can see yes (I can certainly see me getting a couple of years out of it...at which point I no longer care) ...but like I say, I'm hardly pushing the envelope.

So I think this all need to be put in the context of what the purchasers intentions are.

but hey, Jazz, if you're saying that you can build a much better one for the same Chinese 6040 cost (£1200) ...then when I do go for a larger machine I'll be beating a path to your door! :-)

Jazz, I'm willing to DIY with the help of kind people like yourself, so I don't need to buy one.

I'm not sure it's 'all that', hence I don't need experience at all to be uncertain ;)

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Originally Posted by HankMcSpank

but hey, Jazz, if you're saying that you can build a much better one for the same Chinese 6040 cost (£1200) ...then when I do go for a larger machine I'll be beating a path to your door! :-)

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Yes but only if you live in Scotland because it give me an excuse for a batterd Mars bar. .!!:joker:

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Originally Posted by JAZZCNC

Yes but only if you live in Scotland because it give me an excuse for a batterd Mars bar. .!!:joker:

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Jazz, you only had to ask! Not had one myself, But I could certainly send you one lol ;-) The fried pizza is also commonplace in the Chippies here. I'm not actually indigenous to Scotland.. I'm a soft southern 'lardee dah' shandy drinker. Moved here three years ago - so much cheaper to buy a house. I do miss sunlight though ;-)

You guys are fantastic and It's great to see the pioneers of the great British shed go from strength to strength. It's definitely something that I can see you guys get rightly passionate about.

I would really like to thank you all for your insights into the pros and cons of self build over cheap imports and not so cheap UK made efforts. Jazz and Jonathan thankyou for your kind words and offers of help, it's fantastic to see this kind of courtesy and friendship offered to others with similar interests. The only thing I regret slightly is that - had I known of this hobby years ago it's something I know that I would love to have done with my Dad, build a real machine. He's a real old school guy who loves his engineering and has "pottered" with various things for years. The only thing that stops me now is he is not well and disabled after a stroke and in his mid 70s now. Plus still living on the south coast so we don't see him as much as we would like. Sorry to digress guys!!

Anyway I've been doing alot of thinking on this matter, I think that despite all the great advice I'm going to go for the Chinese machine -for now.

My reasoning is:

I hate to say this, but for the easy life in my marriage. My wife is a 'quick- let's take the easy option and just buy a replacement' type What I mean by this is should the washer dryer break down (like it did 3 months ago..)She was adamant at buying a new one especially as the old one was 3 years old. I persevered and insisted I would fault find and buy the part myself. I diagnosed it and replaced the dryer element. Cost me £30 as opposed to £400 for a new one. Everything has become disposable. I've always been make do and mend etc. That's because my father in law is useless and could never change a fuse in a plug. I think thats the way her family are. Somethings too much bother or an effort? Get someone in!

Having said this there is a balance to be struck, I have tons of projects not getting finished because of real life, i.e lack of funds, kids, other things always crop up. Car needs fixing for MOT etc.

I don't have the time for a new project from scratch and I'm not sure I could face the uphill battle and grind of having to constantly explain to the wife Why I need to buy this component and WHY so much of my time is being taken up by this 'latest scheme etc". (Sounds really bad when I read this back to myself!! Perhaps it won't be so long till I'm divorced and wandering around in my pants building projects all day..) Doesn't sound that bad lol

Even if I spend £1200 I imagine that after a year of so and it's still working it could be sold to another beginner for £600 or so. So that is limiting losses on the down side.
Plus more importantly having a machine to actually play with, I can learn to discover "just what it is I should be making, what and who my target audience are" etc. This will give me a greater insight into what I need for my next machine. i,e I could then self build something with exactly the RIGHT elements for what I make and what is selling and profitable.

I would like to build my own machine i time, but without the time at the moment and without existing customers or having yet 'found' my own niche in a market which I'm not quite sure of yet.

I've got to get set up as quickly as possible with as little grief from my wife as is humanly possible. Once I can prove my work and the fact I can make money with this project I'm sure that will sweeten the prospect of me actually making my own dream machine whilst having the money coming in to support the project. I really need an 'off the peg' fix to keep up the impetus.

Another of my ongoing projects is a transit van camper conversion I'm doing, it's hard enough to keep up with getting that done. So you can see that I'm a busy boy.

I've certainly found a great site here, with some good guys who I look forward to 'bending your ears' for help and advice with my up and coming endeavours I'm just glad it only costs fried mars bars. I could maybe stretch to fried "curly wurlies" and YES! they do batter them too!

Thanks guys

Andy

Bloody hell thats 3 out of 3 that I've had contact with in Scotland and none of you are scotish, are there any Scots left.?? . . . . The first was Micheal and I thought " If I have any trouble helping it will be understanding the lingo" and it's was.??? . . . Couldn't believe my ears when this American Accent dribbled down the phone. . :heehee:

Sorry would be a NO BRAINER she'd GO replaced with "Fit bit" on the side and shit load of materials and components .!! . . . DIVORCE. . Best thing that ever happened to me. .:dance: (Except she screw'd me for all my money and half my business, But hey it's true money's not everything and I'm far far happier without her.!!)

Now days if Girlfriend gives me grief I just say "Adios" and go home to my Nag free zone untill she comes to her sense's.!! . . or . . . sobers up. :rofl:

Good luck with your endevours and I'll just have to wait untill I go upto Micheals or maybe Bruce's for my next Fried mars bar fix.!!

Jazz the latest fry up in Edinburgh is.........................................fried butter (need a throwing up smiley).

I think that Andy is right. If you think it through and your needs are met by the Chinese m/c then go for it. If you want to come over to the sunny side of Scotland Michael and I would be delighted to see you.

bruce

Please let us know how the machine works out. I think you are the first here to buy one!You might want to plan putting some vacuum extraction on it, to reduce the mess flying everywhere. Here is a quick shot of hat I did with mine.I did plan to make a dust / sound box for the machine but I'm now building a whole new machine, lol!

(Click for Video)

http://i608.photobucket.com/albums/t..._CNC-Video.jpg

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Originally Posted by JAZZCNC

Bloody hell thats 3 out of 3 that I've had contact with in Scotland and none of you are scotish, are there any Scots left.?? . . . . The first was Micheal and I thought " If I have any trouble helping it will be understanding the lingo" and it's was.??? . . . Couldn't believe my ears when this American Accent dribbled down the phone. . :heehee:

Sorry would be a NO BRAINER she'd GO replaced with "Fit bit" on the side and shit load of materials and components .!! . . . DIVORCE. . Best thing that ever happened to me. .:dance: (Except she screw'd me for all my money and half my business, But hey it's true money's not everything and I'm far far happier without her.!!)

Now days if Girlfriend gives me grief I just say "Adios" and go home to my Nag free zone untill she comes to her sense's.!! . . or . . . sobers up. :rofl:

Good luck with your endevours and I'll just have to wait untill I go upto Micheals or maybe Bruce's for my next Fried mars bar fix.!!

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Lol @ Jazz,

Amen,I can understand you there Brother! I can see where you are coming from for sure. I must go back over my wifes "obedience training" and see where I went wrong ;-)

She's a good un, just doesn't appreciate my hobbies/ or the need to have stuff cluttering up our front room etc. Although I'm fortunate we don't actually use our garage for

the car anymore. That's my "man cave" for tools and projects now. Not to say that at some point I won't be building my own machine Jazz and you will be most certainly

welcome.

As for being are their any scots left in Scotland? lol well, I know a fair few were propping up the bars in my local way done south and good few years ago! Perhaps it's grass is always greener? Living up here is good. Generally well tolerated being English up here... But there are certain pubs I avoid and 'sometimes' it's best not to speak too loudly. There are some people where I live that have never and will never visit the next town along (along 5 miles away) So view anyone with a slightly different accent as 'alien'.
Just waiting for a spot of global warming and this place should be lovely.

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Originally Posted by motoxy

Jazz the latest fry up in Edinburgh is.........................................fried butter (need a throwing up smiley).

I think that Andy is right. If you think it through and your needs are met by the Chinese m/c then go for it. If you want to come over to the sunny side of Scotland Michael and I would be delighted to see you.

bruce

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Thanks Bruce, I will definitely take you and Michael up on your offer! It will probably be when I've done something stupid ;-) HEELLP! lol

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Originally Posted by Tenson

Please let us know how the machine works out. I think you are the first here to buy one!You might want to plan putting some vacuum extraction on it, to reduce the mess flying everywhere. Here is a quick shot of hat I did with mine.I did plan to make a dust / sound box for the machine but I'm now building a whole new machine, lol!

(Click for Video)

http://i608.photobucket.com/albums/t..._CNC-Video.jpg

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Hi Tenson,

Thanks for posting up the vid, it looks like a good idea and I will definitely make something up to clear up the debris. I will post up some pics and vids once I have brought one so that it will help any others looking to buy.. or NOT to buy!

Thanks guys

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Originally Posted by Tenson

That's not really the point is it? There is always something better.Unless going DIY I don't think the 6040 will be easily beaten. It's not that badly made anyway, it uses 16mm solid alu plate and supported Y axis rails. The feed-rates will be quite slow but you have to compromise something when you have a limited budget.

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Have a look at the Denford machines. these are very well made and far superior to any Chineese.

4 times the price

...and not even than good.

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Originally Posted by JAZZCNC

4 times the price

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Sure I put more than that.!!. . . . Did somebody mess with my post.??

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Originally Posted by JAZZCNC

Sure I put more than that.!!. . . . Did somebody mess with my post.??

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Hi Jazz i have looked into this for you and i can confirm that Jonathan edited your post, for some reason there is no "edited by" note on your post like there should be.

To clarify there is only Myself, Irving2008 and Jonathan with access to "post editing" as Jonathan has now joined us as a member of the moderating team.

.Me

Lee does this mean that all post must now run with 10mm pitch screws and run at a thousand miles an hour?

Just to add,cost of the machine is one part of the equation, software is the other.

Ran a licence for Mach3 down to 115 GBP on ebay, without a licence your limited to 500 lines of code,which might slow things down or linux EMC for free.

CAM software, its possible to go for a while on trials but eventually you`ll want to setlle on something, personally went for Meshcam, chew another 175 USD, which from my own survey is good value for what it does.There is a lot of other choices but figure around 100 GBP starting point....

CAD sotware, used Sketchup for a while for other uses, but beginning to figure its not great for conversion to CAM models, probably time to learn something more suited and eat probably another 3 figure number there....

Cheers
Adam

Trials of YooFix it drivers detailed elsewhere ;-)

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Originally Posted by Lee Roberts

Hi Jazz i have looked into this for you and i can confirm that Jonathan edited your post, for some reason there is no "edited by" note on your post like there should be.

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I've apologised to Jazz for the mistake - it was an accident. The 'edit post' button is right by the reply button and I hit the wrong one. :redface: Wont happen again, so 2e0poz is free to post about 5mm pitch screws!

If anyone edits their post within about 2 minutes of it originally being posted then it doesn't display the "edited by" note.

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Originally Posted by Musht

Just to add,cost of the machine is one part of the equation, software is the other.

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There are sufficient pieces of free software for most things. Two extremes are the free edition of CAMbam, which will only do 2.5D and CNCtoolkit which does anything up to 6-axis for nothing...

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Originally Posted by Musht

CAD sotware, used Sketchup for a while for other use

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Can't really help on CAD software as I just use what I got from school, 2D Design V2. It's very user friendly and can draw pretty much anything in 2D, but I don't think you can buy it outside of education.
Just look for one that you export files as a DXF.

Musht for 2D thats free i use QCAD on Linux, there is a windows version here for free http://www.himili.com/blog/downloads...s-gpl-version/. I've never had any issues with this and it works well.

Draftsight is also another good one for free.

Software, out of the apps I've played with these are the ones I've I've kept:

Albatross3D
Free, true 3D modelling sw, a little buggy, out of date, no longer supported but a quick and easy way to view and edit complex 3D models. It supports several file conversion options and is so, so, so much easier to learn than...

Blender
Open source 3D modelling legend but a hell of a learning curve.

CamBam
Lovely sw. I'm still on the trial period because for simple 2D layout I can get away with...

EagleCAD
PCB schematic sw, but if all you need are some holes and simple geometric patterns that fit within the limited 'board size' the free version allows and you are happy with editing and extending the GCode produced by the PCB milling plug in then it does the job.

HeeksCAD / HeeksCNC
Free, CAD + GCode generation. Looks like I don't have it installed right now, maybe too buggy but worth a look.

FreeCAD
Open source. Quite a new entry and under heavy development but worth a play.

MeshLab and NetFabb
Free, used for hacking and repairing complex 3D models.

LinuxCNC
Of course. Not so frightening once you get up to speed, though it is missing the many friendly plugins that can be be used with Mach. Basically, ignore all the complex stuff, use the setup wizard and off you go.

Hello & Apologies for hijacking the thread and not using PMs - but I can't seem to send a PM yet.. I've been reading the forums here for a few weeks now and finally decided to join yesterday!

Mainly @ JAZZCNC & Jonathan - You guys seem to be pretty confident that a better quality DIY CNC can be built for about the same sort of money as a 6040.. I'm really keen to get a CNC project up and running at home for various hobbies etc - and have been considering a 6040 (after reading loads of OK-ish reviews) but TBH am not keen on spending all that money to get a kit that seems to have a lot of common problems (circuit grounding / bed surface / etc).. I am really keen to try and build a comparably sized CNC for similar cost but am feeling more than a little overwhelmed by all that needs to be covered..

Both of you have stated that you are willing to help users with designs, and your many posts in other threads do indeed show this to be the case.. My main point of interest is in the rough costing & BoM that JAZZ said he had worked out, as well as good cheap sources for all the parts (without massive lead times) and any recommended designs for a starting point.. There was also a hint earlier in this thread that such a project could be sourced in a few weeks and then completed in a month (which I think is a little ambitious for me considering general lack of fancy equipment like drill presses etc but am willing to give it a go).. I am very very keen to get started on this project (have a goal for some personalised Xmas gifts!) so would be very interested to hear your input as to how to tackle this behemoth..

Things to bear in mind:
1. My Limited engineering background & lack of access to advanced workshop tools (presses/lathes/mills etc).
2. End project is mainly going to be used for PCB machining (needs to be precise), wood carving and occasional aluminium/brass work.
3. Final machinable area should be of similar size to 6040 (basically anything over 300mm square with approx 10-15cm Z-axis would be perfect for my needs)
4. High Feed rate not of great importance - more interested in precision than speed.
5. Would prefer a fixed bed design..

I know I'm asking a lot from you guys with little to offer in return, but I'm hoping that you may be able to provide me with the needed help to get this project out of my head and into my garage so I can stop saying "if only I had a CNC setup.."

Hope to hear from you..

Ray

Ok well you have clear goals that makes a good starting point. Thou I'd caution against being in too big a rush and say, While It may well have possibly been me that said could be done within a month this would be for a equipped and experienced person having knowledge of what exactly required. Expect for it to take longer before fully working with any kinks worked out.!!

I will gladly help with advice and design ideas along with recommending suppliers but from the start I'll say I can't offer any more than that.? By that I mean I haven't got spare time enough to offer a design that is complete enough for you to follow has a plan.!
When I looked at the pricing and whether or not it could be done for the same money has Ebay 6040 then I worked from my experience and the little details I didn't need to know for pricing but when it comes to building a complete machine these details regard build strategy become very very important.

It can be done and done far far better for approx same money but a clear design plan will be needed.! I will gladly help you come to this design but mostly you'll have to do the work and really for the best chance of success and to make it an enjoyable experience it's very much in your best interest to fully understand the intimate workings.

I will PM you my number has I can help and explain far easier over the phone where has writing these lengthy posts takes lots of time which would only take minutes over the phone (Well maybe several lengthier calls . Lol). I know this doesn't help the others on the forum but it does if you start a build thread and pass on the experience which after all will be more directly related to this size machine and therefore more helpful to others.

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Originally Posted by rdebourbon

Hello & Apologies for hijacking the thread and not using PMs - but I can't seem to send a PM yet.. I've been reading the forums here for a few weeks now and finally decided to join yesterday!

Mainly @ JAZZCNC & Jonathan - You guys seem to be pretty confident that a better quality DIY CNC can be built for about the same sort of money as a 6040.. I'm really keen to get a CNC project up and running at home for various hobbies etc - and have been considering a 6040 (after reading loads of OK-ish reviews) but TBH am not keen on spending all that money to get a kit that seems to have a lot of common problems (circuit grounding / bed surface / etc).. I am really keen to try and build a comparably sized CNC for similar cost but am feeling more than a little overwhelmed by all that needs to be covered..

Both of you have stated that you are willing to help users with designs, and your many posts in other threads do indeed show this to be the case.. My main point of interest is in the rough costing & BoM that JAZZ said he had worked out, as well as good cheap sources for all the parts (without massive lead times) and any recommended designs for a starting point.. There was also a hint earlier in this thread that such a project could be sourced in a few weeks and then completed in a month (which I think is a little ambitious for me considering general lack of fancy equipment like drill presses etc but am willing to give it a go).. I am very very keen to get started on this project (have a goal for some personalised Xmas gifts!) so would be very interested to hear your input as to how to tackle this behemoth..

Things to bear in mind:
1. My Limited engineering background & lack of access to advanced workshop tools (presses/lathes/mills etc).
2. End project is mainly going to be used for PCB machining (needs to be precise), wood carving and occasional aluminium/brass work.
3. Final machinable area should be of similar size to 6040 (basically anything over 300mm square with approx 10-15cm Z-axis would be perfect for my needs)
4. High Feed rate not of great importance - more interested in precision than speed.
5. Would prefer a fixed bed design..

I know I'm asking a lot from you guys with little to offer in return, but I'm hoping that you may be able to provide me with the needed help to get this project out of my head and into my garage so I can stop saying "if only I had a CNC setup.."

Hope to hear from you..

Ray

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Hi, i have a Denford Microrouter here that i can do to you at £1200 with Mach3 setup on a computer ready for you to use. I also have a vac bed and axminster extractor available for it.
It's A3, and fully enclosed case, so no mess all over your workshop.

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Originally Posted by i2i

Hi, i have a Denford Microrouter here that i can do to you at £1200 with Mach3 setup on a computer ready for you to use. I also have a vac bed and axminster extractor available for it.
It's A3, and fully enclosed case, so no mess all over your workshop.

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rdebourbon if your serious about a machine and it's in decent condition which I don't doubt it is then snap i2i hand off before someone else does.!!

Hi All,

These machines have started to appear on eBay, they look more sturdy then the Chinese ones and come with UK Support. Black Cat CNC Machine 600x400mm cut area. EU Support / Warranty | eBay

Just a thought,

Cheers,
Geoff

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Originally Posted by JAZZCNC

rdebourbon if your serious about a machine and it's in decent condition which I don't doubt it is then snap i2i hand off before someone else does.!!

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Thanks for the heads up, it is in great condition.

is denford set up still available ?

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Originally Posted by joncdrl

is denford set up still available ?

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Sorry it's been sold

Sorry you will have to excuse me as I am new here but I was hoping Andy might be able to tell me why he decided to buy a machine in the first place. Can understand that it would be something he could do from home but just wondered why a cnc router rather than anything else that could be done from home to generate an extra bit of income. Sure there must have been things that wouldn't require as large an outlay to start with & might also be easier to learn to do.

Hi Martin and all you guys here. Sorry it's been a year since my initial post. I wanted to get into cnc work as I used to use mills and lathes while training as an apprentice 20 years ago. I'm not mechanical by trade, more an electrical fitter and I often have had ideas of things that I've wanted to make or do but been unable to. For me the most important part of all of this is to get my hands on actually designing and making items (ideally for sale at some point in the future) But it's more about hitting 40 and wanting to get creative in my garage and stop wasting evenings watching tv.

Now the reason why I haven't been on for a year has been down to loss of income (unable to buy/build or make) anything. Coupled with a long term illness that has prevented me from working. I've had to concentrate on my health. I've now managed to work full time for the last 3 months and accrue enough money to get this project back on track. Financially for now I cannot afford (my wife cannot stomach me spending just over 1k on a machine) So I'm going to go for a 3040. I know guys that it's not the best, BUT it will enable me to get hands on and grab some valuable experience. Because I realise how difficult it is to keep working as a full time employee I want to throw myself into learning and making my own items so that I may have some protection of income should I lose my employment. I'm grateful to you all for your help and I can only apologise for my absence guys.

I'm hoping to pick your brains guys over the next few weeks.

Thank you

Andy

I was hoping that any of you guys that may have some experience of these chinese machines please point out the differences between these very similar (but different) ebay listings..

1........TONSEN TS3040C-H80 router

3-AXISES 3040 CNC ROUTER ENGRAVER DRILLING / MILLING MACHINE 300*400*80mm | eBay

( All I can make out is that this has a spindle that uses a cable connected to a motor suspended above the machine) BUT despite that appears to use Ball screws)


2...CNC 3040T-DJ Router Engraver Milling Drilling Cutting Machine

CNC 3040T-DJ Router Engraver Milling Drilling Cutting Machine | eBay

Does anyone know what the T and DJ mean or stand for?


3.....3040T (Same as above?)

CNC 3040 ROUTER ENGRAVER DRILLING / MILLING MACHINE f5 | eBay

This one appears to be the most common on ebay.


From reading the SPEC I'm tempted with no 1 the Tonsen as its suggests ballscrews and despite its rather weak looking spindle could most likely be easily replaced with something slightly better.

I cannot afford to go any higher in price and £650 delivered is pretty much me at my limit for now. Please let me know what you would think might be the better of the bunch.

Also recommendations of any dealers that you have used or even ones to avoid!!! (Please PM for this as I think it would help prevent spamming/problems etc)

Cheers Andy

I know absolutely nothing about these machines so can't help sorry Andy but as well as the actual machine don't forget you are going to need software as well to run it plus some tools to actually cut with so might be an idea to factor these in if money is tight.

You'll be better of Buying 700 Battered Mars bars than any of these machines.!! :thumbdown:

Seriously I wouldn't buy any of them, the spindles are garbage and will die in short order closely followed by the electronics. You won't be saving any thing has you'll be spending to repair and make work, then you have the down time to consider, then you have the other aspect of the quality of work they produce will be sub standard so chances are you won't make anything worth selling.

Much much better option would be to work another 3-6mths and save another £600 and build your self a real proper machine with minimal but capable electrics & spindle that can produce decent work straight away to get you going then upgrade has it makes it's own money.

Honestly with this level of machine your buying trouble.

Please don't think I'm being negative for the sake of it or just to bash Chinese machines, I've just seen so many others take this route and regret it. Plus I know for £1000-£1200 with a bit of careful buying and right design you can build a great machine that will do everything you want and do it well.!!

Thanks Martin I am factoring in having to pay out for tooling and software also. But that is something that can be done as and when required rather than all up front. I guess most of it is just trying to get my hands on something that I can actually work with and start learning.

Jazz Cheers mate for your honest answer. I know you must see people making these kind of choices every day and regretting it often too I guess. I do want to build my own machine at some point, especially as I wouldn't want to be limited to a really small working area.

Going to have to think on this one. I really did want to just get into experimenting and building. I guess getting a cnc router up and running and whether my ideas would/could come out how I would like them to.. was going to be the crunch for me.

But nonetheless Jazz I appreciate your opinion and will now have a good think. It's just a shame that the quality of the machines are so hit and miss.

I have another Denford Microrouter for sale with Mach3 conversion for £1000.

Thanks Jesse I have sent you a PM and will be online tonight after work.

Cheers

Andy

God ypu lot confused the hell out of me was looking at a 6040z cnc but now want to build a machine but not got a cluewhere to start like what I need where to buy sizes for frame etc any one point me in the right direction please im in kent if that helps thanks all

Dave,

It depends on what you want to cut and figuring what you might want to cut as well. What area do you have for the machine (remember you want to be able to get at least two sides of it easily)? Also what skills do you have and equipment? Just saving money during your design time can add to what you can spend on the machine. Also you can use the build logs and forum to hash out what will work best for you.

If you are doing this on your own I would strongly suggest a grade one square to help insure everything is square which a grade one will do for most folks (IF you want really square go to grade 00 but the price can bite).

Also you need to look at software and purpose, why are you building it? That will affect design, materials and tooling. So while it might seem like a mountain, slow down and take the time and you will be seriously surprised at what you can do with a little bit of help. Unless you are a business that needs this yesterday or to further your production ability and than you might want to look at the buying options, but that road can get expensive fast.

-Michael

Hi Michael. Thanks for the reply To be truthful I'm new to cnc but been a chippy for 15 years and in middle of buildings a home workshop I'm after cutting signs and hobby work etc in timber and possibly a little alloy. My head keeps sending me back to the cnc6040 4axsis machine as I don't have the time and knowledge sourcing parts etc but not to keen on the idea of handing over a large sum of money to a Chinese company from Portsmouth who won't let me collect has anyone else had dealing with them on other hand if anyone is upgradeing front there machine let me know
Thanks dave k