Re: Help on best route for a 4x8 cnc machine -$10,000 budget
Many posts on the subject scattered throughout CNCZone. But in general cost is less than starting from scratch as you would do when building a machine from the ground up. Half of the stuff you would need to buy is already on the machine, limit switches, sensors, a lot of wiring, electrical enclosure, much other hardware. As far as complexity, again no more so than building a control from the ground up as you would do if building your own machine.
In the case of the machine I linked to, those controllers use step & direction control, so you can replace the control and keep the motors & drives, or replace the motors & drives and keep the control in any combination you want. That particular machine is driven by NEMA 34 motors, could be steppers or servos. But compatible with what you would normally build anyway.
Not sure if I explained that well. But the bottom line is normally much less costly and simpler than building from the ground up.
Jim Dawson
Sandy, Oregon, USA