New to the CNC world and am looking for a machine that will be capable of milling a max wood thickness of 12"
Any recommendations? Budget to USD50k.
New to the CNC world and am looking for a machine that will be capable of milling a max wood thickness of 12"
Any recommendations? Budget to USD50k.
In one hit?????…..that would be some machine.
Normally a block of wood 12" thick is worked on progressively from the top down, so any CNC router that can handle the length and width (whatever) …...and height...... would do the job.
The height under the gantry might be the deciding factor.
Ian.
Before buying a machine get hold of some demo software and learn how to deal with the programming.Two reasons for this recommendation;first it will give you a head start on being productive when a machine arrives and second you need to get familiar with Gcode because you will very likely have to manually edit the programs to avoid a long tool gouging the job on it's way out or back or even refusing to run a sequence that would exceed the working envelope of the machine.It will be less daunting if you are comfortable with the notion of typing a line or two of code.Please also keep in mind that just having a lot of Z axis travel doesn't mean you will be able to cut anything you can fit under the gantry,the geometry of the Z axis backplate and the motor body may prevent getting into some areas.
Hi Dingos - I think you need to describe what you want to do. Do you want to cut 12" or carve shapes, proflies? Sculpture etc. The readers need to know this to be able to comment. You say mill so do you mean facing the timber only? Peter
Mill a square 12" slab of wood on four sides; reduce part of the profile to half its original z height. Each profile milled independently of the other.
I have a few leads for some US machines - CAMaster being one that seems to get good reviews.
Thanks!
You probably want a tall z 5 axis that can drop down on the sides and mill sideways. Something that can swing a 2" or bigger face mill type cutter on a 6" + extension, or one of the big helical jointer heads.
That's going to cost a fair bit, even used or from china direct.
If you are trying to do this on the cheap (as naming camaster suggests) i'm not sure how much luck you will have. Simply having z clearance isn't going to get you there.
What is your work envelope need? Length? Width?
Jim Dawson
Sandy, Oregon, USA
Something in this size Range?