First Proper CNC Router

[Desertboy]

Thanks for the feedback.
During the design I considered hiwin a number of times as I know they will be loads better, but to get things started at least I will stick with the SBR16 I already have.
If fully expect to upgrade to hiwin at some point, hence the x axis ball screw been fixed to a bolted in piece of tube, not welded, so it can be easily adjusted to suit the smaller rails. The y and z rails can be replaced buy just drilling some new holes in the aluminium plates and a few new spaces I can mill (probably slowly with the sbr16 rails) on the machine before I dismantle it.
This also helps cash flow a little! As you say I expect this to be a rather expensive project, and spreading out the cost a little will please the missus!

I noticed on your build log you mention you wanted to use arduino and raspberry for the controller. Did you do this in the end?

No in the end I spent £300 on a toroidal PSU build and AM882's lol. Now I have I consider this the bare MINIMIUM for any router I would build, the arduino setup (If you use cheapo Polou or equiv) is not going to drive the motors quick enough and with enough torque I tried with mine and it was gutless.

An arduino can drive pretty much any stepper drivers but the question is do you want it to? I'm using a parallel port breakout board <£5 on ebay to connect to the steppers and my PC running linuxcnc is doing the processing which with grbl the arduino would be doing.

The PC even a really old one is a lot faster than the arduino so can drive more pulse per second more pulses== more speed.

Arduino is a really wicked little device and works for an xcarve because it's so flimsy you could never run it fast enough to matter but that steel beast you want to build can cut faster than the arduino will keep up with it and you will want to cut at max speed.

Arduino though might be a good fit for a laser cutter or a plasma.

If I had one word of advice on electronics if budget is the issue don't buy a USB controller for £100 and spend £200 on Mach 3. Instead spend £200 on 4 AM882's and £100 on PSU, Breakout board and sundries and use linuxcnc. I see so many people buying shit drivers and then a £200 controller (On cnczone) and I tear my hair out thinking such bad bad advice from people that should know better.

I spent ~£2k building mine but I also got all the aluminium in my build and a lot of other things already so it would cost me £3k to do it again.

Routers aren't cheap and when they are well you saw yourself with MPCNC, even the upper end like xcarve and shapeoko (Common history intersting read) they all at best finicky and at worst unsable. The age old adage is even more true here you get what you pay for.

If you think about problems you had with 3d printing at the beginning and then times them by 10 and you get to cnc routing lol.

One thing though my microswitches are not moving anywhere and that's what you need.

Although I still like to pay less just check my signature and you'll know where I want you to buy you cnc stuff lol.