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| Question for you CNC guys: buy or build (might have some free linear bearings) |
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| BadMouth:
The cheap 3D printer thread has rekindled my interest in having a desktop CNC machine. A friend of mine has some linear bearings gathering dust. They are this type: They are the type that only has one row of bearings that rides in a groove rather than two rows riding on the outsides of a rail. (one row of bearings top and bottom, rather than 4 rows keeping everything centered) They are a good bit beefier than the ones in the pic. They are much wider and have two rows of mounting holes. IIRC, I worked out that I could have something like a 12x18 work area with what was there. I'd like something that could handle aluminum, wood, & pcbs with reasonably professional results. Would this type of bearing be good enough for that? Is it worth messing with these vs just buying something like a Shapeoko kit? I'm assuming I'd end up with a more substantial machine if built myself, but the quality of my work is far FAR from machinist grade so I could just end up wasting a bunch of material. I do know a machinist that would cut a piece or two for me for free, but I'd feel bad asking him to do more than that. He works at a factory and typically doesn't take any outside work. |
| Nephasth:
12"x18"? Why even bother if it's not at least 48"x96"? |
| Howard_Casto:
planetjay and I have been researching this for the better part of a decade. There isn't an easy answer to your question. Basically the more you spend, the less hassle you'll have up to a certain point and any spending beyond that doesn't make any sense unless you want to do industrial grade stuff. In terms of cost, typically your stepper motors are the biggest part of the cost, followed by rails/rods/bearings, your frame, and finally the controller, which will cost you practically nothing if you go with a simple avr and motor controller setup. Nema 17s are what they use on 3d printers but the weight/size usually needs to be beefed up a bit for cnc. He should still have a youtube playlist out there somewhere with the dozens of builds we looked after. In terms of assembly, the kits are fairly easy to assemble, but of course cost will be at a premium. By far the cheapest method is to build the frame yourself and collect bearings/rails/ect separately, but that will probably require a bit more skill. |
| Typefighter01:
Putting the question of building your own from scratch aside, if you were going to give the Shapeoko kit a serious look, I would suggest looking into the OpenBuilds OX kit first http://www.smw3d.com/ox-diy-cnc-kit/. There is just a massive online community of people building and upgrading these and when you stack the Shapeoko's $1000 against the OX's $1000, your getting alot more for your money with the OX (Nema 23's vs Nema 17's [it does have a Nema 17 on the Z, but is upgrade-able at checkout], larger cutting area-13" x 21" vs 16" x 16" [also up-gradable to 22" x 30"], and it comes with a real spindle...where with the Shapeoko, you need to purchase the trim router on you own, so if you put the $100 cost for a router into the equation, it makes the upgrade to 22" x 30" even more feasible dollar per dollar. There is also a few company's making upgrade parts to the OX that adds ballscrews and Hi-Win style linear railes to the basic kit, making it an even more capable CNC https://snbinc.ca/store/index.php?cPath=32&sid=7764984bc000af2cd417b075e9fd006b. |
| BadMouth:
--- Quote from: Nephasth on August 23, 2016, 05:37:57 pm ---12"x18"? Why even bother if it's not at least 48"x96"? --- End quote --- Because ones that big cost a fortune, take up a lot of space, and most of the projects in my head could be done with a desktop sized one. I'm going to be making pcbs, decorative doo dads, & small parts, not cabs and furniture. --- Quote from: Typefighter01 on August 24, 2016, 06:52:34 am ---Putting the question of building your own from scratch aside, if you were going to give the Shapeoko kit a serious look, I would suggest looking into the OpenBuilds OX kit first http://www.smw3d.com/ox-diy-cnc-kit/. There is just a massive online community of people building and upgrading these and when you stack the Shapeoko's $1000 against the OX's $1000, your getting alot more for your money with the OX (Nema 23's vs Nema 17's [it does have a Nema 17 on the Z, but is upgrade-able at checkout], larger cutting area-13" x 21" vs 16" x 16" [also up-gradable to 22" x 30"], and it comes with a real spindle...where with the Shapeoko, you need to purchase the trim router on you own, so if you put the $100 cost for a router into the equation, it makes the upgrade to 22" x 30" even more feasible dollar per dollar. There is also a few company's making upgrade parts to the OX that adds ballscrews and Hi-Win style linear railes to the basic kit, making it an even more capable CNC https://snbinc.ca/store/index.php?cPath=32&sid=7764984bc000af2cd417b075e9fd006b. --- End quote --- Thank you. That's very useful info. |
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