After researching and designing my machine from the best spindle down to the last bolt length for my specific needs, finding decent suppliers at a good price and shipping them, was in retrospect the "simple" part. Building my machine hardware accurately without a CNC, purely with hand tools, drillpress, tablesaw and handheld router to mill aluminium was another "simple" part. Then came troubleshooting the electronics and safety systems to all talk to each other and work properly, the hardest and most frustrating part, and then learning the cad/cam/cnc software, calibrating the machine and how to use it, not too simple either, I came to a single conclusion:
Next time pm Jazz on this forum and get him to build me a decent machine and I will spend my time just learning how to use it!

Jokes aside, I have learned so much valuable information that I wouldn't do it any other way. I knew nothing of electricity and electronics before I started, but it was a hard and frustrating road for me personally. So many easy mistakes to make. Case in point is I still have my spindle tripping the limit switches randomly. I have everything star grounded including cables, EMI filter on VFD, all electronics in separate cabinet but it still happens. I am beginning to wonder if it is the quality of limit switch and just going Pepperl-Fuchs. So many little things can and do go wrong. I see now why so many home builds take years or end in failure.

If you dont have oodles of time, patience and want to get up and running quickly I would buy a decent build with good electronics. As Jazz has said, good electronics make the machine, I will second that.

W