Eyeball Engineering

[KingGee]

I too have been looking into cnc routers. I keep going back to FireBall X90 CNC Router -

More spendy than the zenbot but appears to be a rigid machine. Curious what some of the other vendors here are using.

[rob_b]

I like this one...

https://youtu.be/_frgwN6SHX8?list=UU...BW1P1Z8W_dFVNQ

[Duuuuuuuude]

Now you're just being ridiculous.

[rob_b]

Haha, fine. I'll second the fireball. Did a quick search a few weeks ago for a buddy looking for "turn key on a budget". It seemed like the best bang for the buck.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Could be, but its out of my budget. Unless I liquidate all my rigs again...

[rob_b]

That's what I did...

[T I N Y]

Where there's space between the leds is there a "flicker"? when it spins? Like a pulsing to the light or is it solid light?

[Duuuuuuuude]

It's attached to the stationary portion of the quill, so it doesn't spin.

[T I N Y]

Originally Posted by Duuuuuuuude

It's attached to the stationary portion of the quill, so it doesn't spin.

DUH.....Sorry I don't know what I was thinking. I must have been looking at it wrong when I was asking my question..Plus it doesn't make much sense that it would spin...lol Sorry for the stupid question.....

[Etype R]

For the type of work your doing, I think you will be happier with a CNC mill over a CNC router.

Here are a few advantages of converting your mill over getting a CNC router.
The ability to use TTS tool holders, and have repeatable tool changes.
A real T slot table, rather then a MDF spoil board.
You can use a vise on your table with soft jaws.
Far more rigid, and repeatable.
Not being restricted to smaller router bits.


Now if you were making delrin parts from 1/4" sheet or thinner, then the router would be the way to go.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Small parts is what I'm mainly thinking here. Delrin sheets and the occasional .125" aluminum.

I understand the benefits of going cnc mill instead, but its just not in the budget.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Purchase date is drawing nearer. Kinda comparing the Fireball and the Zenbot. FB is only a couple hundred more, has more usable travel (though that isn't super important), and faster rapids (also not super important). FB has lead screws, ZB has belts...

I'm also comparing routers. I could spend around $100 for a small one, or around $200 for a larger one. The larger ones seem to have a greater rpm range and can spin considerably slower. I would also think that their larger spindles and bearings would live longer than the small ones.

[CREEPERBOB]

Easy Chris, don't want to end up in rehab .
You do great work by the way.

Originally Posted by Duuuuuuuude

Purchase date is drawing nearer. Kinda comparing the Fireball and the Zenbot. FB is only a couple hundred more, has more usable travel (though that isn't super important), and faster rapids (also not super important). FB has lead screws, ZB has belts...

I'm also comparing routers. I could spend around $100 for a small one, or around $200 for a larger one. The larger ones seem to have a greater rpm range and can spin considerably slower. I would also think that their larger spindles and bearings would live longer than the small ones.

[Duuuuuuuude]

[JohnRobHolmes]

You would be surprised at what a taig can cost if you install your own stepper kit. Have a budget, and what is your travel needs? I just installed a router head on my taig for engraving work. After running the batch I converted it back in a few minutes.

I would vote fireball. Leads crews and higher rapids. You will absolutely hate a belt system if you like repeatable quality. Bits wear faster and finishes are rather poor with belts because of the springiness.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Hadn't thought about a desktop mill...

Budget is less than $2k.

The things I don't like about the FB are the bronze bushings (read complaints about them being sloppy) and the mdf construction (ZB is hdpe).

[rob_b]

Have you considered your options as far as CAD/CAM are concerned?

[Duuuuuuuude]

Kinda, but not a whole lot. I'll more than likely go with Mach3.

If I get the time this week, I need to take stock of all my pc parts and see if I can put together something usable before I go too far. Ideally I would have a Linux machine, realistically, I don't know yet.

[rob_b]

That's the machine control software. I use Mach3. It has bugs but you can learn to work around them. I'd really like to try LinuxCNC but would need to buy some different hardware so have never gotten too excited to switch.

You will need some CAD/CAM software to draw and generate tool paths. It can be done manually (and you should learn G code anyways) but it's pretty painful compared to programming through a CAM program. Maybe look into DraftSight for CAD and Cut2D for CAM. I made it about halfway through this book and learned everything I've needed to know up to this point. Long story short, you need to be able to read/understand every line that your CAM program spits out.

Hope this helps...

[Robbob]

Cut2D ............. so Noob friendly

Id still be spitting out miniature parts if it wasn't for it