Hello,
My name is Quinn, and I'm a CNC addict! Around 4 or 5 years ago I owned a small Zenbot. It was okay but ultimately it left me feeling like I needed more. These days my 9-5 has me working with a Haas Super Mini Mill, a couple of Chinese CO2 lasers, and a full smd line with a Yamaha YS12F at it's heart.
I'm in the market to purchase a cnc router of my own with the intent to run a small side business making things out of wood, plastics, and aluminum(budget around $2500). Contract type of work, as well as one off's, and personal projects. I'm looking for a footprint of at least 2'x4' so I can build some guitars, and also work on bigger projects than the typical desktop routers are capable of. I've spent a lot of time reading these and other forums.
I'm no stranger to building mechanical, and electrical systems. I use to build motorcycles. I'd fabricate steel parts from flat stock, figure out the electrical systems from scratch, and TIG weld.
I'm hoping to use the machine I purchase to eventually help me build a 4'x8', and smaller steel capable, 5 axis mill down the road. Dream big right?
I've found myself very interested in what Fineline Automation is doing. I've recently stumbled upon the Routakit SDX as well which looks interesting, has a bigger footprint for the money, yet it looks to be much less sturdy than the 2'x4' kit from Fineline Automation. I'd prefer the rack and pinion, but I'm more interested in the Planet CNC controller than the G540/mach path. It looks like I could get the FLA 2'x4' kit, source my own motors, control board/drivers, spindle, and come in around the $2500 mark. I would love the bigger footprint of the Routakit SDX. They also come with a decent spindle and the Planet CNC architecture. But I don't see a very active community over there, and the design looks to have some weak spots that make me nervous for the money. The guy making things happen over there seems very passionate though, and users on the forum seem happy.
I would love some real world experiences from users of these routers. Opinions are welcomed too but we've all got them right? I'm open to other machines or options but I'm not looking to engineer my own from scratch right now. I want too but I realistically don't have the time. I want to make a solid investment, spend a couple weeks assembling and wrestling out the gremlins, and then make some money so I can keep food on the table. Who knows, maybe I can make enough to buy a couple new pairs of pants too. Thanks for listening, Your advise and wisdom are genuinely appreciated.
Quinn Hale