[sp1nm0nkey]

I've been looking at various CNC machines, but none of them really quite fit the bill... I'm going to be mostly cutting carbon graphite and aluminum, probably no steel. I'd really prefer servo motors, I just plain don't like open loop control. I'd really like tolerances to be 0.001, ideally 0.0005 or lower. I'd like at least 12 inches of travel in the X and Y axis, and at least 5 in the Z axis. I have a taig lathe, and it feels really, really puny, so I'd really prefer to go with something a little more substantial than the sherline or taig line. I looked at the K2Cnc machines, they seem pretty nice, but how are they for cutting aluminum? I really don't want to do a conversion or have a converted machine, since it's certainly nice to have a machine engineered to accept servos. I really like the tormach, but I don't like the open loop control. I realize this is a lot to ask for my $8,000 budget, but I'm willing to go a little higher.

Thanks in advance,
Evan

[ShawnsM]

IMO, Tormach for that price. If you found you had issues with the open loop you could make it closed loop on your own later with encoders.

I haven't been able to use mine yet, but it seems to be a great bang for the buck compared to anything else I've found.

Shawn