- Joined
- Feb 25, 2021
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- 3,138
I'm daydreaming of building a small CNC mill some day. And probably a plasma cutter too, although I could see myself buying one of those, possibly even used. But the CNC mill is likely first.
This would be at least a year down the road before actually doing. I've got a new shop that's schedule to get framed up in January, and it'll keep me busy for quite a few months (and keep my budget slim) as I'll need to finish it out with insulation, electric, etc. So in part I'm just killing time daydreaming until they start building the shop.
I'm inclined toward starting with something like a PM-940V (that's my current thought), hardened ways, get the Arizona Video ball screws and servo motors, then build it up myself from there. I've read a few threads discussing that. I'm fairly comfortable with messing with electronics. I will probably go with linuxcnc. I'm an old Unix/linux hack going back to the early 80's. I have looked at Centroid Acorn too. I'm still kicking around options so none of this is set in stone. I've looked at Tormach, and while the DIY aproach isn't all that much cheaper, I'm just more inclined to do it myself.
I don't currently use any CAD environment for my hobby work. There was a time in my professional career many years ago where I was heavy into AutoCad, hell I've even done a bit of VLSI layout. But the pendulum swing on retirement was to get away from working in front of a monitor.
Right now one of my biggest challenges is internet bandwidth. I'm using HughesNet satellite service. This means YouTube, while a good resource, is pretty much out of the questions (except if I have insomnia, 2am - 8am doesn't count against the usual quota). It also hampers using any internet CAD tools, like Fusion360. I have a deposit in with Starlink, so hopefully that situation improves some in the very near future.
So what are some good learning resources for doing a CNC mill conversion? What advice do those of you with hands on experience doing this wish you would have heard before starting?
This would be at least a year down the road before actually doing. I've got a new shop that's schedule to get framed up in January, and it'll keep me busy for quite a few months (and keep my budget slim) as I'll need to finish it out with insulation, electric, etc. So in part I'm just killing time daydreaming until they start building the shop.
I'm inclined toward starting with something like a PM-940V (that's my current thought), hardened ways, get the Arizona Video ball screws and servo motors, then build it up myself from there. I've read a few threads discussing that. I'm fairly comfortable with messing with electronics. I will probably go with linuxcnc. I'm an old Unix/linux hack going back to the early 80's. I have looked at Centroid Acorn too. I'm still kicking around options so none of this is set in stone. I've looked at Tormach, and while the DIY aproach isn't all that much cheaper, I'm just more inclined to do it myself.
I don't currently use any CAD environment for my hobby work. There was a time in my professional career many years ago where I was heavy into AutoCad, hell I've even done a bit of VLSI layout. But the pendulum swing on retirement was to get away from working in front of a monitor.
Right now one of my biggest challenges is internet bandwidth. I'm using HughesNet satellite service. This means YouTube, while a good resource, is pretty much out of the questions (except if I have insomnia, 2am - 8am doesn't count against the usual quota). It also hampers using any internet CAD tools, like Fusion360. I have a deposit in with Starlink, so hopefully that situation improves some in the very near future.
So what are some good learning resources for doing a CNC mill conversion? What advice do those of you with hands on experience doing this wish you would have heard before starting?