Home CNC Router Questions

Hello from Newbie!

I am looking to purchase a CNC router for home hobby projects but want to get some feedback from people who have purchased one already. Here are some questions I have:

What kind of CNC router do you have? Where did you purchase it? How much did it cost?
How often do you use your router?
What materials do you like to cut?
What size endmill bits do you use?
What is the longest length endmill you use, when measured by protruding from the bottom of the collet?
What is the shortest length endmill you use?
What is the typical thickness of stock you use for routing?
Do you use any method of dust collection now? If so, please describe your setup?
Did you purchase any additional CNC router accessories such as hold down clamps, table, enclosure, tool height measurements, etc..

Thanks in advance! I am one who really does my homework before making big investments.

Hi Strigg - What we use our machines for is not much relevance. What do you want to do with a machine? Peter

I purchased a 3018 Vevor through Amazon. It works well but did take some time to get my computer to work with it. I use it daily mainly for engraving. I am now working on engraving the back side of glass. I use the standard engraving bits for plastic/wood/etc. 1/4"/-1/8" stock. I have a vacuum but it is so noisy I only use it after milling. As far as accessories I use clamps or just bolt to the t-slots

Quote:

---

Do you use any method of dust collection now? If so, please describe your setup?

---

Dust shoe + dust collector + 4" hose.
The first time I used a cnc router was some pretty aggressive cuts in 3/4" plywood with a 1/2" cutter. Dust was expected but ...wow.
Controlling the dust became a necessity, not an accessory. If doing lighter work it's possible to Shopvac the mess but I don't recommend it.

Quote:

---

Hi Strigg - What we use our machines for is not much relevance. What do you want to do with a machine? Peter

---

sums it up

Hi strigg,
I think the real decision point for you is 'do I want to cut metals?'.

Cheaper Chinese made CNC machines will lightly engrave and even cut, albeit slowly, metals like aluminum and brass but you can forget steel.
The machines are just not rigid enough. Machine rigidity really determines the cost of the machine....there is just no way around that.

If you want to cut wood and/or signwriting materials many of the Chinese machines work pretty well. The weakest point of he cheap machines is the
electronics, they are unreliable and sometimes near impossible to get to work properly. You would be wise to allow several hundred, maybe as much as $500,
in the budget for upgrading the electronics.

Craig