Munkul
Jack of some trades, Master of none
- Messages
- 7,491
- Location
- Cumbria
So... I bought a CNC table. It was advertised as ex demo from a supplier of CNC routers and lasers, the company imported a couple of them to see what they were like, presumably hated them immediately and sold this one as a non running but complete project, without a plasma source.
I went to see it. The table itself seemed very well built. Stepper motors with belt reduction. Helical gears and racks on X and Y. Chunky linear rails and central oil lubricated ball slides. I couldn't have bought the components and steel for the price I paid.
Now the downside...
The control is a Starfire SF2100. The cheapest CNC plasma controller you can buy on aliexpress etc
The torch height controller and Z axis - similarly, type the names in and you can buy from china very cheaply.
So I bought all this, knowing that I might have to put another couple of grand into some "proper" controls that I actually like... my preference is something like a Centroid Acorn. I love the centroid system on my mill, and it's a very flexible, well engineered control.
I suppose I could go cheaper, but I don't want Mach3 or Mach4.
On to the table...
I went to see it. The table itself seemed very well built. Stepper motors with belt reduction. Helical gears and racks on X and Y. Chunky linear rails and central oil lubricated ball slides. I couldn't have bought the components and steel for the price I paid.
Now the downside...
The control is a Starfire SF2100. The cheapest CNC plasma controller you can buy on aliexpress etc
The torch height controller and Z axis - similarly, type the names in and you can buy from china very cheaply.
So I bought all this, knowing that I might have to put another couple of grand into some "proper" controls that I actually like... my preference is something like a Centroid Acorn. I love the centroid system on my mill, and it's a very flexible, well engineered control.
I suppose I could go cheaper, but I don't want Mach3 or Mach4.
On to the table...