Clone Advice Needed (1st Post)

Hey CNCZone,

I've been stalking this forum for a while now. Amazing knowledge base!

I'm considering my first milling machine (that I will be converting to a CNC). I've looked at Grizzly's G0704 and PM's PM25MV, saw a comparison video, looked like the PM might be slightly sturdier, belt drive, etc. Then I went on Alibaba/Aliexpress and found something called a HUISN WMD25V-2 and WMD30VB. They seem to be at a better price point, and from what I can tell as a newbie (without a timeconstraint on purchasing), would be similar in quality.

The other thing I'm seeing on here is all these build threads which are very interesting (but might be slightly too adventurous for me).

Wondering if anyone has some advice on an off-the-shelf machine? Budget's around $2k, but if I can get a PM940 clone for that kind of money from China, instead of the $3500 from here, I wouldn't mind spending it.

In any case, just looking for a little bit of advice as a newbie to machining in general. I have a little additive manufacturing experience. Any pointers, feedback, etc. are welcome.

Thank you!

Buy the cheepest version and in a year you will know what exactly you want.

I don't think the 940 is sold in a China clone. The 12Z or the old Industrial hobbies is. It is a 1000 pound mill but has the slow gear head. 10.5" of Y but you can get 12".

No CNC kits are out for it so it would be DIY. I have 2 of them and they are good but need the belt drive spindle and its hard to make.

Shipping from China right now about 10 times what is was 2 years ago. Its just not really worth it right now.

The G0704 is in stock at Grizzly but over priced. Bolton tools sells the same mill for less and might have one in stock. I make kits for them.

These bigger clones are significantly heavier and harder to work on. You will need a engine hoist or overhead winch to disassemble and reassemble. There is a lot of cnc conversion info on the small and mid size mills which will make it a lot easier to do, especially for your first conversion. With bigger mills like the pm940, there isn't a lot of conversion info out there. You will have to do a lot of research. I converted a pm940 and it was my first conversion. It was time consuming and difficult due to the lack of info out there and the fact it was my first conversion which in it self is challenging.

What ever you decide, just keep in mind what you are going to use it for. The smaller mills have little Z and Y travel and can hinder you on machining parts. The mid size mills have adequate travel which means being able to machine bigger parts. The pm940 has a lot of travel in all 3 axis which is great. The conversion is difficult but once finished, it is nice.

The Precision Matthews are some of you more rigid machines. Plus the gears are all steel where as some of the grizzly mills have plastic gears. I put better spindle bearings in my pm940 and can run at 6k without any troubles. I have a 3ph 2hp motor on it and it does okay. Having a good gearbox is necessary if you want to get some higher rpm's out of the mill. When arizonavideo gets around to making a belt drive conversion for the pm940, I will covert mine over to the belt drive. But the gearhead does pretty good and is reasonably quiet.

I am still a newbee at cnc and learning as I go. But I did manage to do a very good job on my pm940 coversion. I bought the ball screw kit from arizonavideo and built my own controller enclosure and wired everything myself. Plus I installed a one shot oiler. I have clearpath servos as well. I am using a Masso controller.