Hi All,
I have been looking at many diy hobby cnc kits on the net, and many are now available. Unfortunately, my bank balance does not permit medium to high end machinery. So DIY is the only option. I am a total newbie when it comes to cnc, however I have been cutting vinyl with vinyl plotter for quite a while.
I am not interested in anything big, maybe 3020 or 3040 sized (A4 or A3). I would like to cut 3-5mm plexi or MDF and engrave plastics. Most of my materials would be thin sheet material upto 5mm and would exclude aluminium and metals. So just thin sheet wood and plastics for now.
I have come across some kits on the net so far, and they are:
BluumaxCNC
MyDIYCNC - Home of the DIY Desktop CNC Machine | The Easiest Way to Desktop CNC
GoCNC.de CNC Portalfrsen CNCFrsmaschinen CNC Graviermaschinen
Only one of these kits is European. I am in the UK so importing from the US and China is expensive due to import fees and taxes.
There is another kit called the fireball but the kit costs $100's to ship to uk and that excludes import taxes, so I must rule this out.
I really like the gocnc.de kit as it is small and compact and is a nice looking table, but I have not heard that many good reviews because of all the additional stuff you need to do which is not mentioned.
The mydiycnc kit looks the best and the price is good, the table looks sturdy and compact, but according to the forum the craftsmanship of the kit is not that good, again, this scares me slightly.
The last machine is the bluumax machine. The size of the table is good but a lot of the machine is made from perspex and does not look rigid at all.
So what kit is the best, are there any other kits that I have not mentioned, I am especially interested in any european kits as I am from the UK.
Does anyone have any advice for a noobie!
Thank you very much. Alex