[farbers]

Hi guys,

I got the MyDIYCNC 130+ page manual for building a DIY cnc machine for beginners, my questions are:

1. Most important : I want to be able to cut soft metals or even iron/steel, what rotary tool should I purchase for the job? is the Dremel 200 / 4000 not up for the job?

2. Are there any manuals online where I can see the process of having a CAD model and transforming it to a code for the CNC machine, controlling the steps depths and paths?

3. Is there a recommended manual for beginners who want a CNC machine being able to cut metal as well as wood?

4. Thanks !

[farbers]

After reading a bit i'll sharpen the 1st question:

Is a spindle a good choice for a cnc mill to cut metals?
Something i've been looking at:
1.5KW WATER-COOLED SPINDLE MOTOR 1.5KW INVERTER DRIVE VFD GRINDING ENGRAVING a5 | eBay

Are the water cooled ones any good? What spindle should I be looking for to accomplish my goals at an appropriate price?


thanks

[aarggh]

That 1.5kw spindle/VFD will do the job fairly nicely for you so far as aluminium goes, a 2.2kw would be even better for another $100 if you plan on doing a reasonable amount of aluminium, but if budgets a real problem, the 1.5kw will do the job, just not as fast or hard perhaps. Some people "may" advise using a Dremel to machine (not just engrave) aluminium, but some people also probably like sticking needles in their eyes. This maybe because they used a Dremel on aluminium machining jobs.

Steel, that's another matter and I don't think I'd like to be using these spindles on steel, unless you really, really want to, and you take very shallow cuts, with lots of lubricant. Cutting steel on a regular basis is really a job for a mill, a home hobby cnc machine built to a price would generally lack the mass, power and rigidity required for machining steel. Not to mention the cost of the cutters you'd go through due to poor machining performance.

I personally only use and prefer the water cooled units, as it's a contained system that doesn't attract any issues with dust or contaminates (to clog fans), but some prefer fan based ones, but they usually have very good dust extraction to suit.

cheers,
Ian