I am new to this forum, but have been agonising for a couple of years about whether to go with manual or CNC milling. I had almost committed to buying a Tormach 770, however, I can't justify spending $10,000 AUD to get even the most basic package to Australia.

Does anyone have a rough estimate how much it would cost to convert a BF20 vs BF30V? assuming there are mechanical kits for both ( I want to avoid modifying the machine or machining the mounts, I'm not sure I have the skills to design from scratch). As far as the electronics are concerned, there appears to be plenty of options from various vendors. I notice that the BF20 and 30 appear to be the most popular small machines to CNC, so I am likely to choose those because there is plenty of support available online.

another option is to keep it manual and add a DRO and power feed, Which is going to cost about $1,500. I'm guessing thats about 1/3 of the cost of CNC components?

I'd like to be able to machine most metals, including stainless steel. I don't really machine terribly complex parts and mostly do one offs, I do use CAD a fair bit. I do a lot of design 'on the fly' however, so I don't think a CNC is going to be *that* much more productive. I just want to get a mill that gives me options convert in the future, at a lower cost than the Tormach

Thanks

Ryan