I am interested in building my own CNC machine. I want to be able to route designs into 2-4" thick white Styrofoam or pink extruded foam. I want a working area that is 24" x 48" and I want to be able to use a rotary tool like a dremel. The designs will use many different fonts and simple clip-art style line drawings. I guess the same requirements for a sign maker but I would like to be able to have some 3-d relief as well. I use Adobe Illustrator to design my layouts now and carve each one by hand.
I am a 46yr old computer programmer and hobby woodworker so I think I have the skills needed to build this. I am considering building my own to make this affordable.
Here are my initial questions given my requirements.
1. What is the best software to use for my application?
2. What is the best controller card to use with the software I choose?
3. What is the best machine design (Joe;s CNC etc) either in kit form or from scratch?
4. What motors would work best and where should I get them.