Have you ever stood in the cereal isle at the grocery store and been paralyzed by the sheer number of options? Choosing a CNC machine can be equally challenging. From routers & mills to lathes & 3D Printers, with so many choices which one do you pick?
I used the following process to decide which machine was right for me.
1 – What is your goal for the machine?
That may seem like a strange question. For me I wanted something that I could use to build other machines. A CNC mill seemed like the best fit.
2 – What do you expect to cut with your machine?
I plan to cut wood, aluminum and steel while building my army of mechanical minions. Again a CNC mill can handle those materials.
3 – What are the SWaP limits of your space?
What the heck is SWaP? It’s an acronym that stands for Space, Weight and Power. Often used in industry to define the requirements by which a component to be replaced is evaluated. That is how much space is available, how much does it weigh and how much power will the device consume. In my case it went something like this.
Space – I am fortunate to have a garage workshop. However, there are limits. The shop is a small two car attached garage which also holds the family washer and dryer. Yes, the wife has invaded the hallowed man cave. At least the car port is all mine. The space is also home to my wood working tools, table saw, chop saw, planer and joiner as well as the lawn care equipment, lawn mower, leaf vac and weed eater. I needed something compact. I would love to have a Tormach PCNC 1100 or a proper VMC. Those just are not in the cards yet. A bench top machine was the right choice for me.
Weight – This was less of a consideration given the garage setup. It’s not like I have to get the machine into a basement. I know people have successfully wrangled a PCNC 1100 into the dungeons of their homes.
Side note, I am considering taking the mill on the road to maker fares. This is certainly not practical with anything other than a Mini Mill. If any one has tried this, let me know I would love to hear more about your setup. Leave a comment below or e-mail me at Tim(at)DIYMachining.com.
Power – Ah if only we lived in a perfect world where 3 phase power was available to us lowly residential power customers. There are options to make 3 phase power at home. American Rotary makes phase converters to run industrial equipment in a residential setting. For me, the wiring in the garage is not well grounded. 220 is available but without a solid ground I did not want to risk a machine like the Tormach PCNC 1100. Again, the mini mill with its single phase 110 volt requirement is the best I can do for now.
What SWaP considerations did you face choosing your equipment? Do you run your shop on solar power or other form of non-traditional power source? We would love to hear about it in the comments below.
4 – How much money vs time are you willing to invest?
Most people in our situation only consider the cost of the machine. However, we really need to consider both the time and dollar cost. If you don’t have the time to invest in your machine then your dollar cost will increase. If you don’t have the money to invest in your machine then the time cost will increase. See the equation below.
Time x Money = CNC Machine
For me, I have more time than money. Hence the DIY portion of DIY Machining.
Conclusion
Considering the answers to each of the four questions above, I decided to move forward with a Harbor Freight Mini Mill DIY CNC Conversion. Stay tuned as I go into more detail about the components I will use including an Arduino machine controller.
Thanks for the post. These are some great things to consider before buying a CNC machine. I agree that you really need to be sure what the machine will be used for. I also think it would be a good idea to know what you may plan to use the machine for in the future. That way you won’t up have to upgrade at a latter time.
Bob, I appreciate the comment. You are right. Future growth is an important consideration.
When I had pictured a cnc machine, I pictured a whopping mammoth of a device. I was impressed to find in the article that there are several options to choose from as far as size goes. This would also indicate to me that there are varieties of capabilities offered in the different machines.
Jasper – Thanks for the comment. It’s pretty amazing what’s available to the DIYer.
Hi, I will make my cnc machine. I’m willing to cut 15mm plywood, the cutting table is 1,22×2,44m. Wich kit can you recomend? Thanks! Alex
Alex – That’s a hard question for me to answer. There are so many factors that go into the decision of selecting a CNC kit. What is your budget, what tools to you have access too, what material can you purchase, do you want to spend time building the machine or making parts with it? All of these influence the final choice. For me, I wanted the experience of putting the electronics together and learning how the machine works vs. building the mechanical parts. The best I can offer is to do a google search. Once you have narrows your choice down to 2 or 3, I would be happy to help you from there.
I bought a Bob’s E3 CNC router I’d like to be able to convert it to higher-quality vcarve program. Any body have experience with this?
Roger – Congrats on the CNC router purchase. I have never worker with a Bob’s E3 cnc router or Vcarve so take this for what it’s worth… I understand Bob’s uses GRBL & Universal GCode Sender. That is the same software I use on my CNC mill. I will assume that is what you have as well. If not, let me know. I am a big fan of Fusion360 for both CAD & CAM work. It’s free to makers like us and reasonably priced if you have a business. I really like having the CAD & CAM integrated into one package. There is a generic post processor for GRBL which has worked pretty well for me.
Indeed, it is important to know what are you going to use the machine for. If you don’t know what are you planning to work on the machine might not be compatible. So, come up with a plan on what you want to work on.
Jeff, I appreciate the comment.
Hello there, I was wondering if someone could help me selecting the right cnc machine. I need a cnc machine to make 2000 spoke nut a month (.2inch dia and .25 long) there are 4 across flat. I was thinking about tsugami B0126, please help me if it’s a wise choice to select this machine or there are better machines than that. I’d really appreciate your help.
Thanks
Hi Jay, thanks for the comment. I am out of my league when it comes to purchasing production equipment. I don’t want to provide advice where I don’t have any expertise.
It was helpful when you mentioned that you should consider what you will be cutting with your machine, so you could choose the right one. For our upcoming projects, we will need a CNC machine, so we are looking for the best one for it. When we are looking for one, I will be sure to have considered what we are planning to be cutting.
Jack, thanks for the comment. What type of CNC machine are you planning to get?
Thanks for the CNC Thread. I am considering a Shopeoko as a beginner cnc to make a some small projects to help supplement the cost of an expensive medical procedure for my son. However, I too have more time then money. Do you have any other recommendations on what to look into and consider when starting up as a beginner?
Hi Brad, good question… As with most questions in life, the answer depends on what you really want to do with the machine. You mentioned the desire to make extra income on the side. This suggest you are more interested in building widgets to sell rather than spending time building the machine. I have never used any other hobby grade CNC machine other than my Arduino controlled X2 mini mill. I recommend you check out Winston Moy on YouTube. He owns a Shapeoko and builds and sells items on Etsy. You will also want to consider where you will sell the items you make. Another question to consider is what types of items you want to make. What material will you use, wood, aluminum or plastic? What size will the parts be? All the answers to these questions will help focus your machine choice. The following is a list of ready made hobby grade CNC machines in no particular order
1 – Carbide 3D Shapeoko
2 – Bantam Tools
3 – Inventables X-Carve
4 – Tormach CNC Mill or Router
5 – Shop Bot CNC Routers
6 – Avid CNC (formerly CNC Router Parts)
7 – Mill Right CNC M3 Kit
Let me know what you decide. I hope that helps.