On Thu, 2008-12-11 at 10:50 -0600, Luke Scharf wrote: ... snip > My questions are: > > * What kind of a desktop mill (for a hobbyist-sized workload) would > you all recommend for me?
I've had in the back of my mind the thought that a person should have a different machine for each general type of project material. A desktop to Bridgeport type mill for metals, a 4x4 or 8 foot router type for wood and a small router for PC boards. One reason I am thinking this way is because every time I think about putting a wood project on my mill, I talk myself out of it, because I don't like the wood mess and running the spindle flat out for a long time. Wood projects often have pieces larger than my mill's travel. For PC boards, I don't like to have abrasive glass dust getting in the mill's ways. For your situation, maybe a desktop mill should come first so that you can use it to make a CNC router. Just thinking aloud, FWIW. > * Any recommendations for CAD software? Check out: http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/emcinfo.pl?Cam http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/emcinfo.pl?Simple_EMC_G-Code_Generators http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/emcinfo.pl?Case_Studies and more at: http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/emcinfo.pl You can make allot of useful g-code programs manually. > * Are there any FAQs that I should review to get myself up to speed > on the small-scale CNC technologies? > You might think about downloading an EMC2 CD and play with the simulations. I usually run my parts on a simulator first to work out the bugs, so you might want to get used to it. > > Thanks! > -Luke How much of the CNC machine do you want to build yourself or buy of the self? Are you more of a CNC machine builder or machine user? -------------- Kirk http://www.wallacecompany.com/machine_shop/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SF.Net email is Sponsored by MIX09, March 18-20, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The future of the web can't happen without you. Join us at MIX09 to help pave the way to the Next Web now. Learn more and register at http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;208669438;13503038;i?http://2009.visitmix.com/ _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
