[surfer13]

I am an absolute novice - read "babe in the woods" - to CNC, but I have a small business opportunity that absolutely requires being able to cut EPS foam in repeatable patterns. I am trying to decide whether to build or buy but, either way, I must keep the cost under $5000 (preferably under $3000). All the machines I've seen on the web are in the $20K to $30K range (I have the quotes), and that's WAY too much.

I need to be able to cut shapes from a block of foam (EPS) that is approximately 36" wide, 48" tall, and 12 feet long. I don't need a 12' wire because the 12' length would be the x-axis travel (if I'm getting the lingo right) - the primary curve I want to cut would be along the 12 foot length. So, if I've got this right, I need a machine that will cut/travel at least 12 feet on the x-axis (horizontal), 4 feet on the y-axis (vertical), and have a wire long enough to cut a minimum of 3 feet.

I have seen a few posts on here that seemed to indicate there are individual builders who will custom build a simple machine for a price, and I'm willing to pay to avoid doing it myself, but not more than $5K, AND . . . since I'm a rank novice, I really wouldn't know if I was getting ripped off. I would actually rather do it myself if I had some assurance that I could build it quickly . . . and of course that it would work!! (time is my greatest limiting factor). I'm fairly handy, and a quick study, but I need to be able to move pretty quickly on this (6 months or less) and, like most everybody else, I need to keep my full-time job in the meantime. Again, I know virtually nothing about CNC, other than what I have seen in person and on the web, i.e., I've seen the machines work, but have almost no idea how it comes to pass . . . stepper motors, controller boards . . . all Greek to me, but I'm willing to learn IF there is a way to get the knowledge QUICKLY!

I'm in the Houston, TX area, and any advice is greatly appreciated.

[ward]

I don't want to discourage you at all; I'm in the process of building a CNC wire cutter for sailplane wings, so I'm not anti-CNC, BUT--is it out of the question to use a template and gravity to cut something out like a surfboard blank? Or just slow?

[surfer13]

Yes, I could do it with templates and gravity, but it is slow and inexact, and it requires frequent and time consuming set up for each individual template. Plus, I would have to do some set up over and over again, whereas, with a CNC, I should be able to program the machine to cut several of the same shapes at the same time, without much participation from me (after the data entry).

[esawyja]

Hi Surfer,
Sounds like you need a machine like mine http://www.poly-cor.com/
The way I cut cornices, is to design in AutoCad, save as a dxf file, load the dxf in DESKCNC, generate the G code, (DESKCNC has got a very nice foam module) and then import the G code into MACH3 which controls the machine. My machine can do 2 meters in X and 1.4 in Y. The wire is about 2.5 meters long. I hope that helps you a bit

[surfer13]

esawyja,

Yes, as far as the controls go, that is pretty much what I am after. It sounds like your machine would be somewhat similar in dimensions to what I am considering doing as well - can you give me a ball-park figure on what I am likely to spend building a machine similar to yours?

Thanks for the response!

[esawyja]

Hiya Surfer,
I've spend +- 120 000 Rand on mine so far, that will be 15,807.15 USD, these machines are not cheap, but I see it as a long term investment and the machine should pay itself within the 1st year. I'm sure it can be done cheaper, but my machine is robust and does exactly and precisely what I what it to do, hope that helps
Let me know if you need more info
http://www.poly-cor.com

[surfer13]

Finally found my way to the pictures of the machine on your site. Yeah, that is VERY similar to what I am hoping to come up with, except that my wire doesn't need to be as long, and my x-axis needs to be longer, but my y-axis doesn't need to be as long either. Did you build that machine, or buy it? It looks very professionally made. I'm actually not concerned with mine "looking" as good as yours does, as long as it will get the job done with a fair amount of precision and without alot of headaches.

[esawyja]

Hi Surfer,
The machine was build by meself and my buddy Greg, his website is http://www.cncdirect.co.za/
I know he does export to the States and with the Rand being so weak against the Dollar, you should contact him.
He did all the machining and design on the machine.
Hope that helps
Wynand
http://www.poly-cor.com