slick848 Posted January 27, 2023 Report Share Posted January 27, 2023 Hi im am new to CNC work i have never used one,but my question would be what would be the cheapest CNC machine i could buy to router out some guitar bodies for myself. Im a 100% disabled Veteran and would like to try my hand in CNC work I build them now buy using old bodies but would like to use a CNC machine if not to expensive,i could go as far as $1000, hope this helps, less would be better but my gut says its alot higher RIGHT. Thank You Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GenerativeGuitars Posted November 16, 2023 Report Share Posted November 16, 2023 First thing i learned when researching about which cnc to buy was "Always buy the next CNC before the first". Building you own is entirely possible but this is the wrong forum for that. I could have and decided not to fight a wrong internet design mixed with another mixed design and decided to dip my savings into something i can use for years. Costed about 10K 5 years ago but it was worth it. No regrets, no issues, great precision over and over. You will save money, time, agravation and what have you. I have a cnc-step 1000z. Can't complain, not 1000$ but it does wonders and hasn't broken down or missed a beat (or 0.05mms) in 5 years. Their free included CAM (Construcam) software SUCKS the dogs bullocks (so that's another 1K$ or two to add) but it's free. You can also use Vectrix or Rhinocam with it no problem. The controller software is not bad at all. If you can Gcode you can do it without the other programs. Most CAM softwares have free trials you can check out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GenerativeGuitars Posted November 16, 2023 Report Share Posted November 16, 2023 1000$ is way below what you want/expect. Maybe a used CNC. But you will not like the controller/software matching issues that might ensue... Yes you can build an amazing CNC for 500$ but then comes the design program, CAM program if you have the time. There are free versions of all of them but rarely will they work the way you want. You can find free CNC plans anywhere. Check out FreeCAD. SCAD. There's lots of Arduino controllers and GBLR controllers out there. If you know how to design stuff, go for it, I can but i would rather have a professional engineer do it - it saves times over and over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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