[Gamble]

Is it possible to make a machine to do wood/foam/aluminum for around $500 with everything included (except software)?
Zen toolworks maybe? Any other budget kits out there? 7x7 would be good for a starting point for me. And I'm sure if I upgrade to 12x12 I won't need anything bigger than that.

[acondit]

Depends on how big and well stocked your junk box is.

Alan

[Gamble]

Any other recommendations?

[Dman65]

You might want to take a look at Solsylva 10x9. I am currently building this. The materials to build the structure, bearings, and leadscrews will run about $200 depending on what type of leadscrews you go with. You will have to add the motor and electronics to that. You can probably get everything for around $500. I have been building one for about three weekends now, but if you are at all good with wood working you would finish it faster than me.

[Gamble]

Cool however I SUCK with cutting wood. I can't make a straight cut to save my life. I gave away my table saw, not sure I'll get it back. I have a circular saw, jig saw and that is about it for the time being.

[Mountaincraft]

Cool however I SUCK with cutting wood. I can't make a straight cut to save my life. I gave away my table saw, not sure I'll get it back. I have a circular saw, jig saw and that is about it for the time being.

Most of what needs to be cut for the solsylva plans can be done for you at your local home center when you buy the materials..

Once you get it operational, you can use the machine to make improved parts for itself...

[Gamble]

See my other thread. I started to build one out of metal, I'm just wondering if at this point I should just buy something like the zen toolworks. I feel it's going to cost the same in the end or I'll get to a part that I can't figure out how to build.

[vdoug]

i didnt document everything to a exact amount but this is what i got with softwear.plasma cutter.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K69l15LJ3x8]cnc plasma $650 for driberif85 and cnczone good luck - YouTube[/ame]

here it is in action:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRdZ7aWWPwo]circlecut.wmv - YouTube[/ame]

[louieatienza]

Maybe for wood and foam, but I don't know about aluminum. My original Solsylva 25 x 36 was able to cut aluminum, albeit rather slowly compared to how it should be cut. I think I spent over $600 initially, but upgraded the leadscrews and AB nuts and that tacked on another $200-250... What's nice about the Solsylva is that almost every cut is a straight crosscut (you can do this accurately with a circular saw and large speed square) and the manual has full size part templates that you can glue to your piece and cut out and drill.

Check out solsylva.com. My machine is actually in the gallery page, all the way at the bottom, along with a link to a YouTube video...

[Mountaincraft]

This site is chock full of really nice solsylva machines... The fact that once built and operational, users cut upgrade parts on the machine is what makes it ideal for the 'budget' build.. What some people end up with 'down the road' are some pretty nice machines for the money...

And when I was looking into it, I was very impressed with how much time the guy (Steve if I remember.. or was it Kieth.. wait.. I think it was Dave.. LOL) devoted to answering questions... considering that all he is getting is a few bucks for the plans.. that was pretty impressive to me...

[vtx1029]

Or maybe check out this http://www.cnczone.com/forums/diy-cn...ans_files.html

John's stuff is really nice. I have one of his A4 machines (had it way too long summer and vacations are getting in the way of my software savings plan :tired

Maybe he would sell you the parts you could not build. I know he sells the Z axis separately.

[Gamble]

Or maybe check out this http://www.cnczone.com/forums/diy-cn...ans_files.html

John's stuff is really nice. I have one of his A4 machines (had it way too long summer and vacations are getting in the way of my software savings plan :tired

Maybe he would sell you the parts you could not build. I know he sells the Z axis separately.

It's a nice kit, but doesn't come with the motors like the zen kit does. Also he doesn't recommend it for aluminum.

[Dman65]

I stink at wood as well. That is actually one of the reasons I am building a CNC router so it can cut the wood projects out for me and put in any holes I need to line things up. I am hoping to have my Solsylva 10x9 finished this weekend. I am up to the Z carriage assembly so I think I probably have another 3 hours of putting everything together and then about 12 of tuning it up lol.

[Dman65]

It's a nice kit, but doesn't come with the motors like the zen kit does. Also he doesn't recommend it for aluminum.

I think the general consensus is that you need supported rails for cutting aluminum. Also, if working in wood is not your thing, I doubt getting the pockets cut into the MDF would be trivial. Of course you could always find someone locally to do that, but I don't know how much that would add to the build cost. Is the Zen recommended for cutting aluminum?

[Gamble]

This is what he said when I asked about aluminum.

You can cut aluminum with end mill. The feed rate will be not as aggresive and a regular milling machine. I will say 1/8 cutting depth is managable.

[louieatienza]

Here is the thread to the zen machine in regards to aluminum:

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/zen_to..._aluminum.html

[vtx1029]

It's a nice kit, but doesn't come with the motors like the zen kit does. Also he doesn't recommend it for aluminum.

Cheaper isn't always better... I'll also say John also provides great support.

Both machines are similar in construction from a design stand point, one being made of MDF and aluminum the other made of PVC.

FWIW here's a couple of videos of one of john's machines cutting aluminum.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzcBg8zCD-o]Microcarve A-10 CNC - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_99V0SVjVg0]Microcarve A-10 CNC router - YouTube[/ame]

[jm82792]

I'm in the same boat and think spending the $10 on the plans mentioned is the best idea.
Crosscutting wood isn't bad and that's coming from a person who is poor at working with wood.
The nice part about those plans is there isn't any router work and it's just basic cutting.

[beone]

look up the jgro and the joes 2000 or 2006

[roy_okc]

Depending on how soon you're wanting to buy/build, there's an interesting project taking shape at Blog | Shapeoko | Precision by DefaultShapeoko | Precision by Default. The target price, still to be confirmed, is $300 which, I believe, includes everything but software.