[OrangeClockwerk]

Hi there, thanks for coming to my thread and giving me a hand!

By low cost I mean like the Fine Line automation price range, where I can spend 1500 at first, then save for the next 600-800 purchase then another upgrade then another upgrade. I suck at managing money and will never be able to save up 4 grand or 5 grand with the current salary I am on while still having money to work on my computer mods. I would rather make a big purchase at tax time then buy the rest piece by piece.

As mentioned I am a PC modder and I need a CNC to take my modding to the next level. I have gotten really good with Bosch Colt palm router but I have a lot of ideas and need a CNC to pull them off.

I would prefer a 2' x 3' ft work area, maybe even 2' x 4' if it wouldn't be much more money. I was originally going to get a 6040 Chinese ebay cnc for 1500$ but I would regret not getting a large enough work area to do every application i need when modding PC's. 2'x3' would cover all my bases for now.

I will be milling mostly acrylic but I would like to be able to mill and cut aluminum and copper as well to make water blocks. The water blocks will be only every once and a while like every couple months or so. It is most going to be milling acrylic blocks, cutting acrylic 1/8" and 1/4" panels, cutting 1/16" and aluminum panels to perfectly square to construct my own cases ad what not.

I ran into the Fine Line Automation kits and thought that looked really nice for what I will be doing.

I am planning to buy the kit when I get my tax return and I am going to start with just the aluminum frame, then save for the motor kit they have, then get a spindle mount and eventually a water cooled spindle. To start I was looking at getting a mount for my Bosch Colt to use until I save up for the spindle.

I mentioned this CNC on the modding forums and someone chimed in and said the Chinese CNC is more sturdy than the FLA. It threw me for a loop because from what I have seen the FLA would kick some major ass for what I need to do.

So please please if anyone has any recommendations that don't involve too crazy of a scavenger hunt on this forum and could make it a little easier for me to make a final choice I appreciate it. I am hoping I am even posting in the correct place.

Thanks in advance for the responses =D

[FineLineAuto]

Hi there, thanks for coming to my thread and giving me a hand!

By low cost I mean like the Fine Line automation price range, where I can spend 1500 at first, then save for the next 600-800 purchase then another upgrade then another upgrade. I suck at managing money and will never be able to save up 4 grand or 5 grand with the current salary I am on while still having money to work on my computer mods. I would rather make a big purchase at tax time then buy the rest piece by piece.

As mentioned I am a PC modder and I need a CNC to take my modding to the next level. I have gotten really good with Bosch Colt palm router but I have a lot of ideas and need a CNC to pull them off.

I would prefer a 2' x 3' ft work area, maybe even 2' x 4' if it wouldn't be much more money. I was originally going to get a 6040 Chinese ebay cnc for 1500$ but I would regret not getting a large enough work area to do every application i need when modding PC's. 2'x3' would cover all my bases for now.

I will be milling mostly acrylic but I would like to be able to mill and cut aluminum and copper as well to make water blocks. The water blocks will be only every once and a while like every couple months or so. It is most going to be milling acrylic blocks, cutting acrylic 1/8" and 1/4" panels, cutting 1/16" and aluminum panels to perfectly square to construct my own cases ad what not.

I ran into the Fine Line Automation kits and thought that looked really nice for what I will be doing.

I am planning to buy the kit when I get my tax return and I am going to start with just the aluminum frame, then save for the motor kit they have, then get a spindle mount and eventually a water cooled spindle. To start I was looking at getting a mount for my Bosch Colt to use until I save up for the spindle.

I mentioned this CNC on the modding forums and someone chimed in and said the Chinese CNC is more sturdy than the FLA. It threw me for a loop because from what I have seen the FLA would kick some major ass for what I need to do.

So please please if anyone has any recommendations that don't involve too crazy of a scavenger hunt on this forum and could make it a little easier for me to make a final choice I appreciate it. I am hoping I am even posting in the correct place.

Thanks in advance for the responses =D

Which Chinese machine is it? Do you have a link?

I think that the 2'x3' or the new 2'x4' would be perfect for you. Either machine can do acrylic, aluminum, and copper. The 2'x4' is much more rigid and I'll stand by the statement that it's one of the most rigid cnc router tables in it's class.

For acrylic, I have found the Onsrud O-flute bits specially designed plastic gets the best finish. We run the 1/8" bit at 50 ipm, 1/8" Depth, and 8000 RPM and the edges need no finishing off the machine. If you want us to cut a sample part for you, let me know.



Nate
Fine Line Automation
www.finelineautomation.com

[OrangeClockwerk]

Thanks for the really quick reply! here is the link to the chinese ebay one. I really would rather go with the FLA.

[pippin88]

You'll have virtually no chance of decent copper cutting on a router, it is not the easiest metal to machine.
Requires coolant.

Aluminium is doable.

[OrangeClockwerk]

You'll have virtually no chance of decent copper cutting on a router, it is not the easiest metal to machine.
Requires coolant.

Aluminium is doable.

Well I have seen quite a few videos of copper being milled just fine. Ill be waiting until i set up my water cooled spindle set up, but once I get that I should have no problem. Just spray coolant on it as it mills and help clear away form debris as it mills...going to just mount my Bosch colt at first to do acrylic and a little bit of aluminum maybe until I save up the 800$ for a decent water spindle system.

[widgitmaster]

Well I have seen quite a few videos of copper being milled just fine. Ill be waiting until i set up my water cooled spindle set up, but once I get that I should have no problem. Just spray coolant on it as it mills and help clear away form debris as it mills...going to just mount my Bosch colt at first to do acrylic and a little bit of aluminum maybe until I save up the 800$ for a decent water spindle system.

Copper needs more than a squirt of water, at high RPM it will quickly melt ans stick to the cutter! A high pressure spray mist with a soluble wax based coolant would keep it from sticking! Brass is much more friendly to machine as it has zinc in it, and doesn't require coolant! The copper is the lubricant which keeps the zinc from sticking to the cutter!
Widgit

[FineLineAuto]

Well I have seen quite a few videos of copper being milled just fine. Ill be waiting until i set up my water cooled spindle set up, but once I get that I should have no problem. Just spray coolant on it as it mills and help clear away form debris as it mills...going to just mount my Bosch colt at first to do acrylic and a little bit of aluminum maybe until I save up the 800$ for a decent water spindle system.

I would actually consider putting a full 2 1/4 HP router like the Hitachi M12VC or the PC 690 instead of the Colt. You won't be able to push the machine too hard because the Colt will be the limitation.

Another option you may want to check out instead of the spindle is using a Super PID (http://www.vhipe.com/product-private/SuperPID.htm) to turn a router into a VFD controlled speed-regulated spindle.

As far as copper, Widget Master has a valid point. You will want some sort of coolant. If I was doing it just occasionally, I would just use a liberal amount of WD40 coupled with some compressed air blasts. Ideally though you would want either flood coolant or a mist system.

You might consider building a enclosure with a tooling plate that acts as a mini coolant enclosure you can do flood coolant in. Think something that just clamps to your table bed. Shouldn't be too hard. I can help you with the design if you want to go that route.


Nate
Fine Line Automation
www.finelineautomation.com

[OrangeClockwerk]

Thanks for the input guys!

Basically I am rarely going to be milling copper, and have no absolute need for it, I was gonna just try it out once and a while. So all the contraptions are not at all necessary just yet. If I see it fit in the future that I should start milling copper water blocks I will look into the attachments to do that. Here is a video I saw of a guy milling copper and he seemed to have little issues. CNC - Milling copper plate - Bird in the heart - YouTube

My main materials are going to be acrylic and some aluminum. Mostly 1/8" acrylic sheets and 1/16" aluminum sheets. The Bosch colt beasts acrylic, I fly across 1/8" sheets and up to 3/8" sheets in one pass, it is only going to be a temporary thing. I will be getting a water cooled spindle set up, and only need to use the colt for about 2 months max, and I would rather save the save the money and put it towards the water cooled spindle.

I mean if you think the Bosch Colt wont be able to make me square acrylic panels out of a sheet, with light engravings and cut outs and stuff, then I will have to get a better router for it.

I have a Rockwell Automation 350M motor heavy duty router as well, if there is an attachment for that.

[FineLineAuto]

My main materials are going to be acrylic and some aluminum. Mostly 1/8" acrylic sheets and 1/16" aluminum sheets. The Bosch colt beasts acrylic, I fly across 1/8" sheets and up to 3/8" sheets in one pass, it is only going to be a temporary thing. I will be getting a water cooled spindle set up, and only need to use the colt for about 2 months max, and I would rather save the save the money and put it towards the water cooled spindle.

I mean if you think the Bosch Colt wont be able to make me square acrylic panels out of a sheet, with light engravings and cut outs and stuff, then I will have to get a better router for it.

I have a Rockwell Automation 350M motor heavy duty router as well, if there is an attachment for that.

The colt will be fine for that amount of time. What's the diameter of the Rockwell router? It might fit in one of the existing mounts.



Nate
Fine Line Automation
www.finelineautomation.com

[wizard]

If money is the big obsticle you make it out to be you really should consider a DIY machine. There is a wide variety of machine designs already out there to select from of you can make one of your own. To me this seems like a better way to piecemeal a machine than to buy a half there machine to have sit around for a long time in between purchases. You instead use the in between time to build your machine.

Beyond that many of the Chinese machines are fine mechanically, for what they are, but suffer seriously in the electrical engineering department. So you kinda piecemeal those machines anyways. This has been confirmed in many forums thought the net, in order to deliver the low cost solutions something has to give even if the machine comes from China. In other words your get what you pay for.

Do take into a few considerations though, no router is ideal alone for machining sheet metal. If the metal isn't stuff enough it will have a tendency to try to ride up the bit leading to all sorts of issues. There are various approaches to combat this but don't think you will get ideal results buy applying four clamps at the corners and going at it. So you might want to review a few techniques for thin gage metal machining to make sure that they fit into how you expect to use the machine.

In any event back to a DIY machine. I'm assuming here that with your PC moding skills you aren't a complete hack when it comes to mechanical and electrical things. As such I don't think a DIY machine is an impossibility though it does require some workshop equipment. Since some of that equipment is usable for PC molding you might be partially equipped already. So I'm going to suggest reviewing the forums for DIY machines to see if that is something that interests you. In the end it is a good fit for machine built over time. It might even change your interests to the CNC world.

[OrangeClockwerk]

The colt will be fine for that amount of time. What's the diameter of the Rockwell router? It might fit in one of the existing mounts.



Nate
Fine Line Automation
Home - Fine Line Automation

I will have to measure it and get back to you, I am not quite sure. For acrylic and the application I found a colt mount for 50$ saves me a few bucks there too.

If money is the big obsticle you make it out to be you really should consider a DIY machine. There is a wide variety of machine designs already out there to select from of you can make one of your own. To me this seems like a better way to piecemeal a machine than to buy a half there machine to have sit around for a long time in between purchases. You instead use the in between time to build your machine.

Beyond that many of the Chinese machines are fine mechanically, for what they are, but suffer seriously in the electrical engineering department. So you kinda piecemeal those machines anyways. This has been confirmed in many forums thought the net, in order to deliver the low cost solutions something has to give even if the machine comes from China. In other words your get what you pay for.

Do take into a few considerations though, no router is ideal alone for machining sheet metal. If the metal isn't stuff enough it will have a tendency to try to ride up the bit leading to all sorts of issues. There are various approaches to combat this but don't think you will get ideal results buy applying four clamps at the corners and going at it. So you might want to review a few techniques for thin gage metal machining to make sure that they fit into how you expect to use the machine.

In any event back to a DIY machine. I'm assuming here that with your PC moding skills you aren't a complete hack when it comes to mechanical and electrical things. As such I don't think a DIY machine is an impossibility though it does require some workshop equipment. Since some of that equipment is usable for PC molding you might be partially equipped already. So I'm going to suggest reviewing the forums for DIY machines to see if that is something that interests you. In the end it is a good fit for machine built over time. It might even change your interests to the CNC world.

Thanks for the info!

I have no time for a DIY this time around, and I dont want to do that for my first build. Basically all that in between time is spent modding PCs, That's why the Fine Line method works great for me. I have a project going on that will be taking about 4 months, Ill be building the PC in between CNC kit purchases.

With the Chinese I may look into the spindle kits they have. Not going to buy an ebay CNC though.

Anxious to make my fine line kit purchase.