Hey guys, I have an idea that may be a bit of fun and hopefully help a few people along the way.
I propose a gentleman’s competition to design and construct the cheapest possible CNC woodworking router...EVER !!!
Before this challenge gets off the ground there MUST be some ground rules.
I also propose the rules are agreed upon by those that are willing and able to compete before "kick off"
Here are some of my thoughts :
The machine must comply to a set job size, obviously we are not talking full sheet machine, but it should be a usable machine, my thoughts are 500mmX by 300mmY and 60mm Z travel.
If commercial components are used, the NEW price must be included in the total, eg "I have 3 AC servo's with drives/cabling just lying around so that doesn't count to the finish price" WRONG !
If DIY electronics are used, the PCB layouts and BOM must be provided, along with the realistic pricing of somebody else copying the design. Remember the idea of this is for others to be able to replicate the design.
Minimum Feedrates : these should be agreed upon from the get go, I don't think rapids really apply, but cutting feedrates have to be realistic, 1200mm/min for X and Y and 300mm/min for Z has my vote.
Cheapest bottom line won't necessarily be the winner, if a design is $5.00 more than another and is clearly a far superior machine then the result should be obvious.
Software/PC/Gcode creation is NOT part of this competition, the controller should be separate, this is a machine building competition, not a software one.
Spindle should be included in the final costings.
Any work done should either be reasonably achieved with limited tools, or a cost added to get somebody else to do the work. I know here in Australia, a carton of beer goes a long way, so that may be a good value to add to the bill...also some beer is better than others and affects the quality of work done
Final tests : to be considered the machine should be subject to a set of tests, I am thinking something along the lines of a sample from V-Carve trial version, and possibly an inlay design created by somebody to test accuracy. Please know I have no affiliation with V-Carve.
Finally this is a Gentleman's competition, I would suggest people speak up with their ideas and plans, and help others if possible, I'm not suggesting fifteen build logs in one thread but quick and to the point descriptions and limited photos should be encouraged.
If this sounds like something you would like to have a go at, by all means speak up and join the fun.
Choosing the winner : after all is said and done the winner should be chosen with a vote from all participants, and also I would imagine others will come up with new designs and improvements as time goes by so there could be a new winner every 6 or 12 months.
Prize : The prize will be something that cannot be bought : the appreciation of your fellow forum members and the knowledge that you may have contributed to somebody being able to build a capable machine that may have otherwise failed in their endeavour.
Lets hear from you, any suggestions for the rules, plans to have a go at the title, friendly sarcastic taunts etc.
If any Mods notice this could this be a sticky ? Also is this the best location for the thread ?
Cheers.
Russell.