Got a quote for £7k can I make it for £500?

**Tenson** · 22-02-2014

What size parts do you want to cut?

You might be able to do this with a second-hand CNC3040 and narrow endmills. Probably no help for production but could do some prototypes I imagine. A new CNC3040 could be had from eBay for ~£650. I know they are not sturdy machines but for cardboard it could be easy and cheap.

**GEOFFREY** · 22-02-2014

I think that cardboard requires a drag knife,not a rotary cutter. I have log believed that a drag knife blade could be held in an unpowered spindle would work in a small cnc machine and did indeed intend to try this, but have never yet got around to trying it. My wife uses a a card cutting machine (craft robo) which works well for THIN card, sadly however the blade diameter is too small for my i/8" collet chuck. My intention had been to try to get one of my many (too many) broken 0.5mm cutters reground with an offset point, but the road ro hell is paved with good intentions!!! I still think it would work though. G.

**Clive S** · 22-02-2014

My wife uses a a card cutting machine (craft robo) which works well for THIN card, sadly however the blade diameter is too small for my i/8" collet chuck.

Dremel and others make a very small 3 jaw chuck that might hold .5mm you might be able to hold the chuck in your collet with an adaptor. Just a thought. ..Clive

**GEOFFREY** · 22-02-2014

Originally Posted by Clive S

Dremel and others make a very small 3 jaw chuck that might hold .5mm you might be able to hold the chuck in your collet with an adaptor. Just a thought. ..Clive

Thanks Clive. You have slightly mis-understood what I meant. I use PCB type end mill cutters which all have 1/8" shanks. The 0.5mm cutters have a very short length of cutting flutes so the broken ones leave quite a long length of 1/8" solid carbide shank to regrind as a dragknife with a decent offset to get the knife to follow. from what I read into the comment from Jazz, this may well work, but would benefit from using a modified G code. G.

**JAZZCNC** · 22-02-2014

Originally Posted by GEOFFREY

from what I read into the comment from Jazz, this may well work, but would benefit from using a modified G code. G.

Yep Geoff if you watch the video carefully you can see the machine Jiggle at the corners doing very fine moves so the blade orientates to the direction to cut.
It almost looks like Tangential knife because blade spins before moving in direction of cut but the rotation comes from the machine movements not the spindle and the blade is just held in an Offset holder which spins in bearings held in outer assmebly that's held in spindle collet.

Without this extra code to orientate the blade it can tear or pull sharp corners.!!