Quote Originally Posted by trounce View Post
Hey guys,
The machine I need will be mainly used for cutting 8' x 4' sheets of 18mm MDF using a 8mm bit and maybe thin perpsex but nothing more than that.
I don't know how realstic my budget of £1000 is but that's really all I have to play with.

Any advice or where I should start would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers in advance.
Hi,

First what tools do you have access too and what skill level or experience do you have working with metal.? . . . IE: Welding etc.

Building what you want is just about do-able for a grand but will need you to have the right tools and skill level, OR friends that do.! . . Along with some savy purchasing. Plus you'll need a rock solid design that you know will suit your needs along with good plan of attack because you'll have no room for error if your wanting to do it for around £1000.

Steel box frame and Rack & pinion on the X&Y Axis with ballscrew or lead screw on the Z axis is the route I would take for a Really strong accurate machine of this size.
Belt drive would also be an option which is relatively cheap and very accurate and lends it's self well to machine this size.

Best advice DONT BUY A THING untill your 110% sure the design you have choosen will do what you need, then have it checked out by others for reassurance.
Then and only then start buying materials needed and even then dont buy to far in front because plans have a nasty habit of changing on the fly very easlily rendering some parts or materials unsuitable purpose. . . . . It's like eating an elephant.? . . . best done in small bytes.
Like any good constructuion it all starts with good foundations(the frame), weak foundations will tranfer into a weak machine. . . . Equally poor materials will render poor results.
Also like any other construction the methods and skill levels of the builder will have a massive affect on the end result. I've seen some very good strong designs built with very high quality components that have been completely FUBARD due to poor skill levels built with caveman tools.
Equaly I've seen fantastic machines built with basic tools and cheap components when mixed with good skill and reasonabe tools, mix with a good dose of imagination and the results can even blow away some big buck machines.

Don't rush and ASK Q's then some more Q's and then more Q's not matter how dumb you feel or think they sound, keep asking untill you fully understand and are comfortable to go.