Of course, I selected the Acorn for the heart of the control system. This was something I probably over analysed. After looking at the alternatives, it was clear that the CNC12 software was above and beyond the competition. I very much wanted an Open Hardware/Software solution, but I also wanted something that was going to work, and provide the potential for professional results.
For now, I will not get into budget. I learned the hard way that building a CNC cannot be done on the cheap. What I mean by this is that things need to be sized correctly if you are going to meet your goals. Of course, I had a steady stream of packages from China, but even so, I have blown the budget. May be I will circle back to this later in the log.
Thus far, It has been a very enjoyable adventure, and thoroughly believe the journey is half the fun. I will try to document what I have done with lots of pictures. Please feel free to offer thoughts, advice or suggestions. They are all welcome.
Goals:
I am an ameture woodworker, and want to use the router for building lots of things with wood, but I also want the ability to machine aluminum, so the design goals are with these two mediums in mind. I want something close to 4ft x 4ft, and at least 6in of Z-axis.
To give you an idea of the direction I headed, I'll jump ahead for the first picture and show a later snap of the unit. I'll go back in future posts and start from the beginning with parts selection and the build process. Its very much a build in progress, so I hope you stay tuned...
You can see aluminum is the primary material for the design, with the exception of the table, which I will describe in my next post.