Hi there, First of all apologies, if this is a frequent thread style around here, I'm new to the whole world of CNC and just looking to get myself set off in the right direction. I currently build guitars as a hobby, but I'm looking at doing some different things and starting it as more of a business so would like to build my own CNC machine as I've seen some have great success with it, and it would suit the business a whole lot more. But, it is a lot to take in and finding a starting point is a little tricky. I'm not looking to build a particularly large machine, maybe about 3ft by 3ft? I understand the main structure, the table, bed, extrusions etc but finding it hard to know where to start with the rest. I'd like to make a list of parts to investigate and was hoping this community could help I look forward to sharing future builds and projects with you, when I get up and running! Calum
The most important aspect of machine design is defining the required working area. The smaller you can keep the machine the stiffer it is and thus the better it cuts. If you only need say 18x36 only build for 18x36. But it's up to you to determine what you need.
I would suggest, if you haven't already done so, Goog searching just "CNC Guitar". There are loads of videos and discussions to be seen and read within this subject. Watch the videos, it doesn't matter which machine make it is, it will give you a better sense as to what you are going to need to create your future models. Once you get the feel of the size, and more importantly, the strength of machine required then you can make a better decision with regard to which CNC is for you.
I need to go back in and update this with some modern pricing and correct some inaccuracies as I've learned over the last couple years, but this could be a place to start finding terminology if you're unsure about motion control in general: The Big Thread O' Linear Motion
Thank you for the help, that thread on linear motion is a big help to get started. Looking to get a machine setup this year so will keep this forum updated!
