Newbie needs CNC advice

[Steel]

THANKS for the info Dave, it's much appreciated
We are mainly wanting a cnc for engraving HDPE & Plastic (similar to stencils) that we can then use in patterns for casting silicone Moulds, so that we have some txt embossed into the side of the mould, the max size for these is about 50mm x 130mm, also we are would like to be able to engrave wooden pen cases & hopefully cut sections out of wooden & acrylic pen blanks! I.e. a take a acrylic blank approx 20mm diameter x 130-150mm long & cut out (with Valentine's Day coming up I'll say) hearts around the Blank then recast it with red resin so we get the red hearts in the blank when turned, also ideally maybe engraving pens & the bands but that maybe pushing it to far without a dedicated tiny machine? I realise the 30/40 machines I'm now looking at are bigger than required but if possible I'd like the option of being able to do other woodworking projects like plaques & clocks.

I wouldn't say it's for commercial use, but the penturning & moulds etc is a serious hobby that we are turning into a little sideline to boost our income.

I did order one of the parallel port 30/40s of Amazon, but cancelled it when I suddenly realised that my laptop that had been stashed in the cupboard for 6 years didn't even have a parallel port! I started looking on eBay at these two USB ones
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182425912226 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182253604089. I was thinking the 800w looks a lot better quality all round (as far as these Chinese ones go anyway) this is about at the top end of my budget!

So the big question is, Do you recon this 800w should do the job for us?

From what i understand the spindles on the 3020 and 3040 machines are not that good im using a KATSU 3/8" & 1/4" router got it from ebay for 40 pd new on my 3020T machine
Im running a old ibm T42 with that bit of software i mentioned and it runs fine that cost me 18 pds on ebay, the cd didn't work nor the wifi but don't need those for cnc use.
on ebay now there's this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CNC-Engrav...AAAOSw5cNYl4~S
worth buying if you can get it for under 250 pd, i paid 235 for mine and apart from a little slack in the x axis bearings its fine so far.
I think its a good place to start as there's only these 3 and 6 series machines for under a grand that have good ridged alloy structure and you can replace the bearings for under 70 pd for all axis's so really no point buying one new, some people have wiring problems but again if you have to replacing the wiring is not going to cost you more than a trip to the scrap metal yard and a quick look in there wire bin !!
Other points to remember if your using the spindle that comes with the machine you should be fine buying end mills to fit but if like me your using a router with 1/4 chuck you need to get a 1/4 to 1/8th adapter less that 10 pd
what size fonts will you be using on your text ?

[Bucks]

To be honest I'm not really one for buying used gear if I can help it, I am seriously thinking of this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182253604089 it's USB, 800w water cooled spindle & has ball screws, but I'd be hoping if I bought this I wouldn't have to spending much on it for a while!
Font size I haven't even thought of that yet but I would be thinking of probably about 8-10mm high on these stencil type things!

[Bucks]

Even this 400w air cooled USB one seems to be higher spec than the standard parallel with 230w spindles http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182425912226

[Bucks]

Hope I'm ok adding links to items on eBay?

[Steel]

have a look on youtube at the kind of text quality you get on a 3020, 3040 or a 6040 and also on a proxxon MF70 mill converted to cnc
I think second hand is great because just think what you can buy to upgrade the secondhand machine like a kress spindle bigger steppers better driver boards full alloy plate bed conversion lol you could make a really nice pimped up 3020T for the price you would pay new you could even buy a ton of end mills of every type just for a kress spindle too.
Just a note some plastics will melt through friction when cutting so you need to investigate that further

you could just someone with all the equipment to do all the cnc work for you ?

[Bucks]

Have been looking at YouTube videos but not really seen much txt will have to have another look!

Still not convincing me on secondhand lol, as I don't want to have to start looking into replacing everything almost as soon as I've bought it.

I know the HDPE seems to machine with my router really well so that should be ok! the plastic stencil type thing I mention could be done with the HDPE aswell.

I did think about getting someone to do the cnc for me, but where's the fun in that lol, once I get sorted with a machine & set up I'm sure the whole family will have fun with it! My 10 year old daughter is already coming up with ideas she wants to do with it lol.

[Steel]

Heres a sample something i made last night, its not text but you can get an idea of the finish i can get on my second hand 3020T using a 1/4 inch end mill, i dont have any smaller end mills yet so i cant do text

[Bucks]

Heres a sample something i made last night, its not text but you can get an idea of the finish i can get on my second hand 3020T

THANKS for that! Don't know if I'm not searching right but for the life of me I can't really find any examples of txt with these machines! (probably because all these machines break down before anyone has chance to use them lol)

[Bucks]

I did start looking into the proxxon that someone had suggested, We might have just about managed with the size of it just for the bare minimum we would want to do, but certainly wouldn't be able to do the extra stuff like plaques & clocks etc plus i an thinking we would need a 4th axis for these pen blanks & pens etc

[Clive S]

Even this 400w air cooled USB one seems to be higher spec than the standard parallel with 230w spindles http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182425912226

I suggested that you did some research and it does not look like you have. This one you linked to does not have ball screws so how can it be a higher spec? These machine will not make moulds are not reliable and will break down within weeks. They are telling you that you do not need a Mach3 license which is a lie.

Have you thought about the CAD & CAM side of things.

If you ask enough people you will get the answer you want but if you hell bent on throwing your money away then good luck.