Features Video: CNC Machine Unboxed!

I need the brand, specs, and time of delivery of mine.

 

Thats pretty nice. If you don't mind me asking, how much was that one? Any plans to use it for other peoples projects to recoup some cost?

 

Let me check the tracking, I swear it should have been there by now?

I plopped £8k on this one, actually I bought it entirely with the view to doing exactly that, it’s going to be put to very good use believe me

 

Yikes 8k for all round unsupported rails...

 

Ballscrews and linear rails on every axis, proper spindle, properly aligned bed yeah it was worth it. This machine 100% outpaces every one I’ve seen folks buying from kits and the like, that price also includes the upgrades and accessories I added.

I’m able to do things like threadmilling in aluminium no problems, which I’ve found out from actually doing it. You’ll see the results soon enough.

 

How much of that was software?
For that much I'm assuming you have torque and constant position feedback, and a whole box of elves.

Also:Get that big red button placed in a more handy spot. If/when your keyboard dies you will need it fast. -And turn off your internet connection since you can't turn off windows update anymore.

 

Huh. Well I thought 8k seemed cheap to me but going by others reactions, that doesn't seem to be the case. I was expecting 10k - 12k tbh. I don't really know the value of these things though as I would never get enough use out of one to justify buying it. Still pretty cool though.

 

Aha I have emergency stop buttons on both the X and Y axis as well as the main controller and the spindle control. I’ve used the X axis one a couple times, it’s in a really handy position as it’s right in front of me.

Internet is now off too, albeit for the reason that the connection dies (wireless, can’t wire up reliably in the shop) when the machine’s on, just switched it off to prevent any glitchy behaviour, no win update is a definite bonus too haha.

Yup got the full suite of metrics available, which is nice. CAD/CAM software is actually free, I use Fusion 360 which is free for hobbyist/small business use. Really great software actually, the CAM features are really quite advanced and make things so much easier.

Eh it’s so so. In terms of CNC, 8K is nothing, the show I went to last week had whole halls of machines costing £100k-900k and more. In terms of the hobbyist scene though, it’s on the upper end of the scale. You can get more for your money by making more yourself, but that’s the case with almost anything too. I was worried I’d take months to assemble it and never end up using it like a few folks I know.

 

Yeah 8k sounds like a lot to some people, but i spent hundreds of hours designing and building mine for about $4500 and I still have to go through and swap out my parallel to usb converter to an ethernet Smoothstepper and then reprogram Mach4 so I can hopefully get rid of some electrical interference issues I've been having. Granted mine is probably a little more robust than yours, but having a proven design and a prebuilt machine is worth quite a bit.

Oh and what machine control software are you using? I couldn't tell from the video.

I've messed around a little with Fusion 360 and it is quite capable, but for now I just program stuff at work on Mastercam .

 

£8k seems a lot given the Bridgeport cnc mill at work was £4k (£2k for an old bridgeport, £2k to refurb and bring it up to standards)...then again, our cnc laser cost £148k...

It does look like a tidy machine for an all in prebuilt hobbiest setup though, worth the £8k if you didn't want to fiddle with things for months!

 

£8k is waaayyyyy too much for a mill of this spec - it looks like a bigger version of a 6040 chinese mill. Ballscrews & linear bearings do not make a good machine - rigidity does. do a simple test - get a dial gauge and chuck it in the spindle - them manually touch it to the bed and zero - then touch the head (increase the pressure to a "Reasonable" amount ) & see if the needle moves - any movement means the machine is junk - unless it can resist the cutting forces introduced during milling then it won't be accurate. All linear bearings should be supported - if not there will be flex.

 

It goes without saying I do know more about the ideal qualities of a machine than I think you seem to realise, but there are some honest considerations to make.

Bed size: Find a machine for 8K that has a bed area of 1000x600mm
+
Single phase
+
Able to be brought through a standard width household door by hand, not requiring a forklift.
+
Not taking more than a total area of 1400x1000x1800mm
+
Fully assembled so that it’s ready for action immediately

It’s obvious to anybody that a machine like this can’t compete with the likes of a robust VMC, but it has a specific intended use and most definitely excells at it thus far.

 

For 'cheap rigidity', the major barrier is shipping. Rigidity is heavy, heavy is expensive to get from China to anywhere else. I wonder if there is a gap in the market for shipping CNC chassis with hollow axes, along with with a very carefully chosen but locally supplied epoxy-granite mix to be filled by the end user (would need to have perfectly 0 expansion on curing to prevent deflection).

 

Its not so much "cheap rigidity" but poor design - I've a 6040 which is great - however the x & z axes are unsupported which makes it a devil to do any serious work - that said i've 3d engraved brass blocks to create coins - its just that you have to take much smaller cuts than you would with a "proper" mill (i've also got a denford triac which is awesome). adding proper supported bearings would make a huge difference. I'm not going to bother though as im building a much better mill to replace both.

 

So, if I wanted to browse online CnC Mill shops (we all look at tools when we are procrastinating at work right?) where should I look?

Is there a Workshop Heaven equivalent?

 

Hohoho doggiedoodoo, give this man a raise already!!

 

well... of course it does since it's clearly based on an 6090. and looking at the bed it's a cheaper one too.
it's not much between each cut in the bed so guaranteed not a single-cast alu or steel bed but based of alu-profiles screwed to a plate...
can't see any waterlines from the spindle-motor so mostly an air-cooled unit, but if it's an non-Chinese motor i would not be worried but would give a reason for the price...
could be that this unit is just the mainframe that is a 6090 and everything around is ordered elsewhere, that could make it as expensive as 8k but it would then be like a Lada frame pimped out with Mercedes parts


a "proper" 6090 with single-piece bed for use with T-nuts and coolant collector you can get for just around 2000£, i gave 16500,- NOK (1502£) for mine with shipping from mainland China.
now i got some discount because i bought it without stepper controller and no accessories as im going Gecko there and got most bits etc from my old workplace, i have seen enough to not trust those standard units.
this will though not make mine a 1500£ running unit, but more a 2200£-unit in my case (and that i only use Dormer,Sandvik and Seko tools & bits don't make it cheaper ether even with heavy discount)
mine is not running atm as i still miss some parts as i'm upgrading it and managed break something as i was doing it so waiting for spare parts to see if the upgrade even worked...
(warning for those who think of using coolant on stuff like a 6090, even with barrier on the edges and collector 50% of the liquid will end up on your floor... hence why i'm upgrading it)