[curiousman]

Hello.

I am interested in starting machining as a hobby. I have previously had some work made for me. I wish to be able to build and maintain my own CNC which would greatly help in my vast array of projects. I was initially interested in buying it but I would prefer to build it to have a better understanding of the machine (and possibly make another one later on). As such I have a couple of questions and went through the forums which are very helpful.

The CNC Itself:
a 4 axis router that is able to cut hard stone (such as granite, marble and others), metal and wood. Needs to be accurate and good resolution. Will be used for both arts/craft and engineering production. Please remember this is for hobby work at the moment and plan to use it for sculpting (if possible), decorative woodwork, and production of gears mainly.
I would like it to be fairly accurate with a good resolution (if possible <0.05 and <0.05)

The software:
I have used cad programs in the past but not greatly sufficient at them. I would like any suggestions of one to start with. Would it be possible to use multiple software for different things?

Price:
Hoping to keep costs under $1800 (AUD) dollars if possible. This is for Hobby purposes and that is around my limit with my current financial situation as a student.

So my questions.
Would this be possible? are there kits that I could purchase to build it?
Is it possible to build it such that the working size is able to be expanded?
What would I need so that this is possible? (I live in Australia if that makes a difference).
There are plenty of instructions, any ones that you could guide me to in particular?

Thank-you in advance for you help, or at least reading this.

[ger21]

Would this be possible?

No.

For $800, the best you could get would be a very lightweight machine capable of cutting wood only, in very light passes.

Cutting granite requires a very heavy, solid steel machine, diamond tooling that costs more than your machine budget, and a flood of water on the cutting tool.

[curiousman]

thanks for the reply, I just realised i typed $800 and it was supposed to be $1800. It may be possible to get some extra funding but I hope to keep it under that price range if it is possible. In terms of stone, granite would only be used for engraving atm, and marble for small statues and busts. Main things are cutting brass (gears and such) and woodwork.

[ger21]

Don't expected to get great results cutting brass on a router.

What size are you looking for?
Expanding the size later would likely require replacing components, or even rebuilding the machine.