Hi guys. New here and am looking to get into CNC routing. My time will be spent between wood and aluminum. So I'm most interested in a table top machine that will mill out some AL shapes in 2d and 3d. I understand that these machines are not built to handle these jobs like a mill, but I've seen enough to know that these types of machines can do what I want.
So I came across a General CNC 40-915M1 machine that is listed for sale for $1500. The owner doesn't know too much about it and never used it. From what I can find General CNC went out of business or stopped making these units, but I really can't find too much about them. A thread on here mentioned firmware updates, but nothing really came of it.
I guess they came with their own software. Will I be able to use my own software? I have CAD software, but no CAM software yet. Am I stuck with their software?
Finally, are these machines any good? It looks pretty stout so maybe it would hold up well to aluminum. The other machines I've considered are the Shapeoko and X-Carve. My budget is under $3000. How do these machines compare? Is there another machine I should consider?
Thanks for any help.