CNC beginner options

[Olli-Matti]

Hi,

I would like to have some suggestions or pointers from more experienced hobbyists out there. I am fairly new machinist but have been building model engines now for some time and accomplished three succesfull build projects on small model diesel engines.

I have Emco Compact 8 lathe and a new to me Emco Maximat Super 11 lathe. My mill is a benchtop size Optimum BF-20 mill and all these machines are completely manual. I would like to progress towards CNC and thinking of CNC mill for the beginning.

At the moment I have two options in the top of my list. The list evolves and can change as I get more understanding as I do have most of the funds allready but am in no rush. I have been drooling on Shariff DMC2 desktop cnc mill for awhile and it seems tempting as I am not that much interested in building a cnc machine as I am in learning to use one. Then again my other option is to look for a second hand mill like Emco Concept mill 55 for instance, these obviously dont come by easily but could be worth seeking. If I do find one it could be that to make one such mill work I would need extensive work on making the machine work in the first place.

What do you guys think, should I forget even looking at older second hand mills or is that the way to go.

https://www.shariffdmc.com/

https://www.emco-world.com/de/produ...nen/fraesen/concept-mill/concept-mill-55.html



regards
Olli

 

[Reddinr]

What materials will you be working with and what is the work envelope you want?

I would be nervous that it could take a long time to get the Shariffdmc. It is out of stock and a Kickstarter-start-up. Will they be around in a year? More than one interesting kickstarter-based start-up company I've watched has gone away unexpectedly. It looks like 6mm is the largest end mill they sell for it so that is probably a tell about its rigidity. It looks like it would be a fun machine but probably light cuts in aluminum or other soft metals. They say "cuts any metal" but my gut says it would have a tough (slow/chattery) time with steel. Did you see this note? "The DMC2 assembled unit ships on a pallet, ONLY for sale within Canada and the USA"

The Emco Concept mill 55 has a spindle speed of 3500 RPM max (a little faster than your BF-20). That is about what my little RF-45 CNC-converted mill has and I really wish it was faster most of the time with aluminum. In fact, I bolt a porter-cable router to it sometimes for softer materials. You can evaluate if that spindle speed is good for the materials you are using and your experience with the BF-20.

Have you looked at the Tormach product line? There are a few Tormach owners on this forum that will tell you their experiences I bet.

I've looked over this product from time to time but it is fairly big dollars for what you get, pretty small work envelope -> pocketnc.com

Just to get calibrated, maybe have a look at the fairly stout gantry-style mill that "This Old Tony", (Youtube) made. In later videos, he laments that even that stout build wasn't as rigid as he wished, at least for steel. Later on, he converted a MAHO mill to CNC.

 

[JimDawson]

The EMCO Concept 55 is a very high quality mill, but a small work envelope. Also quite expensive, I think mine was about US$35K when purchased new, I have the original invoice somewhere. If you can find a used one, then that would be a good option. They are built mostly for CNC student training, but would be a nice small home shop machine. I have never actually used mine, so I really don't know the capabilities. I haven't had a need to set it up, but it is completely operational.

The Shariff DMC2 does not look like a very robust machine. A gantry machine makes a good machine for wood and plastics, but are not normally rigid enough for metal work.

I prefer to buy used equipment and repair and upgrade controls as needed. Normally the original controls fail long before the mechanics of the machine wear out. The controls are the inexpensive parts to replace. I have some 30 and 40 year old machines in my shop that are mechanically like new, and will still be OK 100 years from now.

 

[Olli-Matti]

Th

What materials will you be working with and what is the work envelope you want?

I would be nervous that it could take a long time to get the Shariffdmc. It is out of stock and a Kickstarter-start-up. Will they be around in a year? More than one interesting kickstarter-based start-up company I've watched has gone away unexpectedly. It looks like 6mm is the largest end mill they sell for it so that is probably a tell about its rigidity. It looks like it would be a fun machine but probably light cuts in aluminum or other soft metals. They say "cuts any metal" but my gut says it would have a tough (slow/chattery) time with steel. Did you see this note? "The DMC2 assembled unit ships on a pallet, ONLY for sale within Canada and the USA"

The Emco Concept mill 55 has a spindle speed of 3500 RPM max (a little faster than your BF-20). That is about what my little RF-45 CNC-converted mill has and I really wish it was faster most of the time with aluminum. In fact, I bolt a porter-cable router to it sometimes for softer materials. You can evaluate if that spindle speed is good for the materials you are using and your experience with the BF-20.

Have you looked at the Tormach product line? There are a few Tormach owners on this forum that will tell you their experiences I bet.

I've looked over this product from time to time but it is fairly big dollars for what you get, pretty small work envelope -> pocketnc.com

Just to get calibrated, maybe have a look at the fairly stout gantry-style mill that "This Old Tony", (Youtube) made. In later videos, he laments that even that stout build wasn't as rigid as he wished, at least for steel. Later on, he converted a MAHO mill to CNC.

What materials will you be working with and what is the work envelope you want?

I would be nervous that it could take a long time to get the Shariffdmc. It is out of stock and a Kickstarter-start-up. Will they be around in a year? More than one interesting kickstarter-based start-up company I've watched has gone away unexpectedly. It looks like 6mm is the largest end mill they sell for it so that is probably a tell about its rigidity. It looks like it would be a fun machine but probably light cuts in aluminum or other soft metals. They say "cuts any metal" but my gut says it would have a tough (slow/chattery) time with steel. Did you see this note? "The DMC2 assembled unit ships on a pallet, ONLY for sale within Canada and the USA"

The Emco Concept mill 55 has a spindle speed of 3500 RPM max (a little faster than your BF-20). That is about what my little RF-45 CNC-converted mill has and I really wish it was faster most of the time with aluminum. In fact, I bolt a porter-cable router to it sometimes for softer materials. You can evaluate if that spindle speed is good for the materials you are using and your experience with the BF-20.

Have you looked at the Tormach product line? There are a few Tormach owners on this forum that will tell you their experiences I bet.

I've looked over this product from time to time but it is fairly big dollars for what you get, pretty small work envelope -> pocketnc.com

Just to get calibrated, maybe have a look at the fairly stout gantry-style mill that "This Old Tony", (Youtube) made. In later videos, he laments that even that stout build wasn't as rigid as he wished, at least for steel. Later on, he converted a MAHO mill to CNC.

Thanks for your quick reply Reddinr!

I am mainly building model airplanes and parts will be mostly aluminium and fairly small scale like in 5mm to 50mm range mostly with some exceptions ofcourse. On my bf-20 I usually work with alu and have found the spindle speed sufficient as most of the time I am in no rush, precision is what I am looking for at when milling for sure.

I am thinking that with cnc I would first of all learn something new and possibly something that could be of use in the future aswell and not only in my hobbies and would first try to produce some engravings and brackets and mounts

Long term goal could also be some small series of engines or supporting parts.

Some engines and parts I’ve made