Hi, I'm working on Cheap CNC

After rediscovering CNC router tables, then being blown away by the cost of them.
I thought why not make a kit that is simple and easy to put together for those who wasn't loving the price tag.

So then i searched and saw the range of kits complete and incomplete "£1800 for a kit, really!"
Was my first thought. So after a lot of reading watching designing tinkering and the like.

I think I've sussed it! a Chain driven CNC kit that should come in at £900 ish

Do you think it'll be a worth wild idea to provide these (if it works) for such a price?
the size is approx 90cm x 90cm, fyi.

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Originally Posted by CNCKitMan

After rediscovering CNC router tables, then being blown away by the cost of them.
I thought why not make a kit that is simple and easy to put together for those who wasn't loving the price tag.

So then i searched and saw the range of kits complete and incomplete "£1800 for a kit, really!"
Was my first thought. So after a lot of reading watching designing tinkering and the like.

I think I've sussed it! a Chain driven CNC kit that should come in at £900 ish

Do you think it'll be a worth wild idea to provide these (if it works) for such a price?
the size is approx 90cm x 90cm, fyi.

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Hi and welcome to the forum. Why don't you start a build log then we can see how you can possibly make a cnc that will cut anything above icing a cake at 900x900mm :yahoo:

Howdy Clive,

I've not got any technical wording so forgive me if i accidentally use incorrect terminology in advance.
My unit will have a cutting area of 90 x 90 cm.
My rails will all be moved by chain drive for i hear/read this is the best method (backlash, torque, etc)
Using grooved bearings top and bottom of rails.
My stepper motors that i currently have may need an upgrade (which is a bridge to cross when i get there).
Why would it not cut more than icing?

Hi CNCKitMan, it's just our experience of people coming on here saying they're going to make a really cheap CNC Router that can cut hard woods and aluminium etc. etc. (not saying you're claiming to be able to cut that...) They generally fade away after a couple of posts.....like this one....as the feedback given isn't what they're looking for.

If you look at my build log you'll see that I started out with the idea of making one really cheaply out of aluminium square tube and skate bearings and it's ended up slightly different after much learning, listening and discussion.....if you've found the magic formulae for making a cheap useable CNC router then we're all ears as that's the Holy Grail of DIY CNC..... Don't take this as a personal knocking, it's just our experience of building and running DIY CNC Routers...hence why the response about cutting icing :)

All the best...:encouragement:

Nah make total sense now! thanks for the background. I'm looking not to disappear as i'm SURE I've overlooked something.

I've prototyped some of the components that i want to use but waiting on the post man for my grooved bearings.
Do you have a working CNC? if so what would it cost me to have some parts cut?? My actually wood working skill level is NONE or near None. I have stupid ideas hourly and with no way of taking them from either detailed or non detailed drawings. I thought a CNC routing table would/could solve this issue for me maybe other too.

Most people would rather build a good cnc machine, rather than a cheap one.
And the ones that start out building a cheap machine, then go on to build a good one, when they see the limitations of the cheap one.
You get what you pay for.....

I don't know how you come up with a £900 ish price, but just the VFD and the spindle motor costs at least £300 or around that. Add driver electronics, three steppers, a PSU and that's another £300 ish, and you still not even have a single meter cable, motion controller is another £100-150 ish (unless you want to run parallel port in 2017...). I haven't even mentioned any building material yet. A machine that huge demands quite a lot of material for the frame, even if you make it a weak and light one, it will cost more than £300, unless you have some supplier who can give you material for free. What about software? Are you planning on buying one or plan to download/use a pirated Mach3? Buying a Mach3 license costs also about £150 (haven't checked lately, so it can be more), but you can of course buy UCCNC for about £50, assuming you buy their motion controller for another £100... ;) What about the linear rails? Those are pretty expensive as well, even if you buy cheap eBay quality, it will cost you another £300 ish, at least.

Another thing is that chain driven CNC may not be the best when it comes to precision, and also the movements will be very noisy. If you don't want to use direct driven screws than you should at least go for belt drive. Those are much better and also quieter, though I don't know, maybe more expensive as well.

So, my advice is if £900 is the budget limit then don't start, or make a very small one just to learn. For a machine with 900x900 table you must be prepared to spend at least twice that amount, and I think even that is optimistic.

I wish you good luck, regardless what you decide to do.

Yeah Good Vs Cheap Good wins everytime. i'm looking at good + Cheap.

Just from what I've researched so far.
As i'm not an engineer or electrician technical answer you wont get from me.
I've just seen a LOT of DIY builds with reasonable accuracy.

When i see parts i see things that i've seen it in or used often far from the field that i'm researching.
Example would be when i looked at my mates WP site and had to learn the tinyest amount about mild steel.

With this i know that for £20 i can get 6m of equal angle mild steel at 3 or 4mm thickness.
This is made straight and is strong combined with V Groove bearing with a 2.5mm Drop (groove) should work as the roller bed worked in the car garage i once worked in.

Belt or Chain above Ball n Screw so i've been told, so i'm going with it for now.

I have 3 steppers controlled with Gcode and a universal gcode streamer.
Software Easel.com
Simple Pi or Ardunio Set up
Motor Drivers Power supply with plenty of Ampage.

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Originally Posted by CNCKitMan

Just from what I've researched so far.
As i'm not an engineer or electrician technical answer you wont get from me.
I've just seen a LOT of DIY builds with reasonable accuracy.

When i see parts i see things that i've seen it in or used often far from the field that i'm researching.
Example would be when i looked at my mates WP site and had to learn the tinyest amount about mild steel.

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I started my build with the tiniest bit of knowledge (which can be extremely dangerous :wink:) about CNC, after much research, and discussion on here, I came to the conclusion that to get a half decent CNC Router you need £1,500 (mine currently stands at £3k or just over) absolute minimum, and that's begging, borrowing (I'll not advocate stealing!!) materials to build the frame, wiring etc.

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With this i know that for £20 i can get 6m of equal angle mild steel at 3 or 4mm thickness.
This is made straight and is strong combined with V Groove bearing with a 2.5mm Drop (groove) should work as the roller bed worked in the car garage i once worked in.

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It might work for a garage door (or whatever) but believe me it's not straight, flat or even 90°. It won't give you any sort of accuracy without any sort of machining.

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Belt or Chain above Ball n Screw so i've been told, so i'm going with it for now.

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Belt is good for a lightweight 3D printer or laser or a very light small (think of cutting balsa, 3mm ply, or engraving or making PCB's on something with a cutting area of 400mm x 300mm) CNC router.

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I have 3 steppers controlled with Gcode and a universal gcode streamer.
Software Easel.com
Simple Pi or Ardunio Set up
Motor Drivers Power supply with plenty of Ampage.

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What steppers? What Ampage for the drivers, what drivers?

At the end of the day you can throw a CNC Router together using a cheap 3 axis board, cheap steppers, V bearings and unmachined steel and it will cut wood, however it will be slow and innacurate and if you're trying to do anything which necessitates a decent fit between parts then it will be frustrating.

If you're serious about CNC then read all the build logs and then ask yourself what you're expecting to do with the machine. Start a build thread laying out exactly what you want (materials, i.e. size, soft wood/hard wood/aluminium etc.) to cut/make, post up a sketch of what you're proposing and we'll tell you if you're on the right track and point you in the right direction. You might get a few very blunt answers but it's all part of the banter that goes on in this forum!!

Edit... seen you've already started a build thread...

Yea bro,got me a build thread. I'm not Normal I'm a wingitoutsidetheboxman aka Crazy.
It's served me well not going to technical with any of my creations,project or ideas.

So far i have a UGLY reasonably accurate machine,
Attachment 20691
lots of tweaking to do.
Using some 17's 1Amp with the most newton force i could find.
For the reason of them being cheaper than the larger size and i need to see it work to understand it (how my head works).Upgrades will come later better stepper drivers and motors.

I'm currently using some ball screws, as never wanted to use belt but wanted to use chain but hard to find sizes i wanted for the 17's.

Currently cutting 12mm Ply for testing.

Will be upgrading my machine as I go.

As for danger YES it's always good to mention it! But i'm quite aware that a computer guided ROUTER doesn't care if its wood or a HAND! But for those who aren't A ROUTER guided by a motor Will Not Stop if hits your soft easy to chew hand/finger or other body part. LOL

I'm cool with harsh if you state why (no point being a dick), BANTER is all good fun and welcomed.