How about a mycncuk cnc router project?

[wilfy]

MDF, so it's cheap and easy to make.

easy.. maybe, accurate.. depends how much effort you put in. if you are talking about torsion boxes in every place there needs support your talking a lot of effort, is it cheaper maybe.. one sheet of 18mm mdf is £17, 25mm £24 so yes even if you go for 25mm it seems quite cheap. how big are you going to have to make torsion boxes to make sure the strength is there and in turn how much bigger are you going to have to order your screws and rails to achieve the cutting area you want? i plan to make my machine using no more than £100 worth of steel... to me that seems cheap, i havn't even looked at alu but that fact i'm using steel is allowing me to have quite decent amount of cutting area from smallish screws compared to if you made an mdf machine. also there are plenty of designs out there already that use wood/mdf if it was really that good everyones machines in this forum would be made from it, i only know of 2 guys who have made from wood/mdf and one of them ran away from the forum after i presume all the disagreements everytime he mentioned doing something from wood as an alternative

talking of cutting area.. this is what decides the design.. you cant really be universal as everyones needs for cutting area are different.

[Nugget]

Mycncuk project sounds a fine idea. With regards to the of details of a plan and its consequences i.e. not willing to spoon feed and spec might not be suitable for the application. I think the reason why you want a ready design is that the reason for a DIY CNC router/mill is the cost and experimentation with design adds cost. I’m not sure about the worker/freeloader paradigm. As the worker did you generate all the knowledge you use? Are we not all in receipt of the ‘wealth of ages’ from our dead ancestors that we did not earn, pay for or deserve but merely inherited? (sorry for the pomposity).

Design wise I get the impression you either need several categories of machine or perhaps one design that is very scalable. Presumably the design approach is to define your requirements first then define a specification and from that sketch a few designs. Presumably if site users are prepared to define all possible requirements, perhaps from that there are sub groupings. I would like to know myself what the minimum spec for various types of tasks are e.g. what strength of frame/gantry, stepper torque and spindle power/rpm are required for say aluminium sheet cutting (can general rules of thumb be used to simplify the process). My guess at user requirements plus my own are:
Functions:3D recessed shapes, engraving, cutting sheets, etc.
Materials: Copper clad board, aluminium alloy(series? 1000, etc, tempering?), brass, copper, wood(hard wood, software, composite MDF/ply, carbon and glass composites, plastics (acrylic, etc), etc.

[Swarfing]

Nugget i think you need to read the whole thread.....Welcome by the way.

[GEOFFREY]

Nugget i think you need to read the whole thread.....Welcome by the way.

I agree. I would also like to say that the idea was to design a "starter" machine that would encourage "would be cncer's" to take
their first steps into the wonderful world of cnc. G.

[martin54]

I actually think things are pretty good the way they are at the moment but that's obviously just my own opinion. At present people are required to think a bit for themselves & if they are not prepared to do that then they get no where which is probably where they deserve to be. Sorry if that is a bit blunt but you learn nothing if everything is done for you & at present people are certainly encouraged when they show a bit of effort themselves.
It's a steep learning curve but right from the beginning you start to learn just by reading the build logs of others, using software to design your machine & the help & support you get from others on the site.
There are already loads of designs available for free or to buy so why create another one & all the problems that go with that. From what I have seen in the short time I have been here there are quite a few experienced members who could already design & build machines that are far better than some of what is available already. There are already members who will help with cutting parts for anyone who asks.

[wilfy]

It's a steep learning curve but right from the beginning you start to learn just by reading the build logs of others

to an extent thats very true you do learn a lot, but i find a lot of the logs i read get so far like basicly to the point of where they have enough help, and then that person never updates the log to show the machine finished and also the accuracy of the work coming from said machine.. yes its a generalisation and it's not aimed at everyone but there are certainly a lot of build logs that leave you wondering if they ever got finished

[JAZZCNC]

to an extent thats very true you do learn a lot, but i find a lot of the logs i read get so far like basicly to the point of where they have enough help, and then that person never updates the log to show the machine finished and also the accuracy of the work coming from said machine.. yes its a generalisation and it's not aimed at everyone but there are certainly a lot of build logs that leave you wondering if they ever got finished

I often follow up folks I've helped who go quiet and You'd be surprised how many don't actually get finished due to circumstances and general life getting in the way. Thou lots are just having too much fun and can't be arsed to update.

[wilfy]

I often follow up folks I've helped who go quiet and You'd be surprised how many don't actually get finished due to circumstances and general life getting in the way. Thou lots are just having too much fun and can't be arsed to update.

i dont deny that for one minute and i'm not saying it's a bad thing either at the end of the day you make the machine, it works, you forget to take pictures, you then get busy and spend more time designing parts to cut on your cnc and either dont have the time or forget that you didnt finish the build log.. i have to say i'm guilty of this from when i started making homebrew and for that reason i want to stick around here after my machine is finished and try to help people not make the same everyday mistakes, but also to showcase my build as best as possible to give hope to people that it can be done.

one thing i've never found though jazz is your build log

[Iwant1]

one thing i've never found though jazz is your build log

LOL, when I first started searching build logs, I tried to find his log too because when he helps so many with designs errors, you would think his machine will be the almighty. but as you read on about him helping using his machine as examples, you get a mental image of this ali cutting beast, with a stair lift beam gantry, steel box section frame, large motors with pulleys and long belts , interchangeable mdf, ply and ali beds, oh and 5mm pitch screws. Sounds like a strong machine with an unconventional gantry. Put our imaginations to rest. Pics please.

Adil

[JAZZCNC]

one thing i've never found though jazz is your build log

Thats because it got removed with my first BAN . . .