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Recommendations for a decent, entry-level CNC?

by speg 4y ago

mauvehaus 4y ago
If you don't already have experience, join a makerspace or hackerspace. They'll likely have a far more capable and reliable machine than you can get at the entry level. And a community of people who can already tell you "don't bend your arm that way". And handle the maintenance. Ideally they'll have dust collection and some shared tooling that's in good enough shape to get you off the ground. Once you build some skill, you'll develop a pretty good idea of what you want for your use case and where spending an extra nickel or two makes sense or doesn't. I'll also note that a huge hurdle for a lot of people is grasping the differences between raster data, vector data, and actual CAD data.
- bergenty 4y ago
  This didn’t work for me. I don’t like shared resources and it wasn’t particularly fun the few times I went into a makerspace because you can’t take your time, make additions to the machine etc. I really started doing new things with a machine once I had my own and could run 12 hour jobs overnight. The maker community online is pretty robust so I had no problems being able to pick up the necessary information that way.
  - operatingthetan 4y ago
    >I really started doing new things with a machine once I had my own and could run 12 hour jobs overnight. You are exposing yourself to fire risk by running a hobby machine unattended for any period of time, and you are compounding it by not being conscious.
    - bergenty 4y ago
      I have a sprinkler system in my shop and the shop is isolated. I also only use upcut bits for overnight jobs and the CNC is in the middle of the shop on a concrete floor away from anything else. It’s a risk I’ve considered and tried to minimize.
      - operatingthetan 4y ago
        I'm glad you've planned for it.
- dv35z 4y ago
  The makerspace I’m a member of has been investing in Laguna CNC routers & lasers. They look slick.
bergenty 4y ago
I can swear by the Onefinity (personally have the journeyman). Solidly built, all ball screw rails (not inaccurate belt feeds), great customer service, large work area (32’x 48’) and surprisingly affordable.
dymk 4y ago
I really enjoy my Shapeoko Pro XXL, but it's on the "upper entry" end of entry level.

Recommendations for a decent, entry-level CNC?

by speg 4y ago

Recommendations for a decent, entry-level CNC?

If you don't already have experience, join a makerspace or hackerspace. They'll likely have a far more capable and reliable machine than you can get at the entry level. And a community of people who can already tell you "don't bend your arm that way". And handle the maintenance. Ideally they'll have dust collection and some shared tooling that's in good enough shape to get you off the ground. Once you build some skill, you'll develop a pretty good idea of what you want for your use case and where spending an extra nickel or two makes sense or doesn't. I'll also note that a huge hurdle for a lot of people is grasping the differences between raster data, vector data, and actual CAD data.

bergenty 4y ago
This didn’t work for me. I don’t like shared resources and it wasn’t particularly fun the few times I went into a makerspace because you can’t take your time, make additions to the machine etc. I really started doing new things with a machine once I had my own and could run 12 hour jobs overnight. The maker community online is pretty robust so I had no problems being able to pick up the necessary information that way.
- operatingthetan 4y ago
  >I really started doing new things with a machine once I had my own and could run 12 hour jobs overnight. You are exposing yourself to fire risk by running a hobby machine unattended for any period of time, and you are compounding it by not being conscious.
  - bergenty 4y ago
    I have a sprinkler system in my shop and the shop is isolated. I also only use upcut bits for overnight jobs and the CNC is in the middle of the shop on a concrete floor away from anything else. It’s a risk I’ve considered and tried to minimize.
    - operatingthetan 4y ago
      I'm glad you've planned for it.
dv35z 4y ago
The makerspace I’m a member of has been investing in Laguna CNC routers & lasers. They look slick.

bergenty 4y ago

I can swear by the Onefinity (personally have the journeyman). Solidly built, all ball screw rails (not inaccurate belt feeds), great customer service, large work area (32’x 48’) and surprisingly affordable.

dymk 4y ago

I really enjoy my Shapeoko Pro XXL, but it's on the "upper entry" end of entry level.