Are those under $200 cnc machines any good?


#1

Just looking for something that can be expected without too much trouble to be able to cut out a 2d shape in wood or plastic. So are those machine a mirage or do the they actually work for that price? Also, it is for making robot parts. A long while ago I asked for advice for how to use a h-bridge from robomo and I got a quick answer and it has led to a good amount of creative contraptions being built. So thanks for the help in the past.


#2

I haven’t seen any that cheap, but I’d be surprised if someone could make a decent one for that price, given that it will have three fairly beefy servomotors, a power supply, other electronics, plus the structure and hardware. A few years back, when I was first getting into CNC milling, I bought a Zen Toolworks desktop CNC for about $500 and it worked quite well (I’ve since upgraded). That desktop CNC was made from PVC sheet and was a very stable and solid little machine.


#3

I’ve been doing a little research on exactly that a under 200$ cnc and on Banggood they have a couple kits that did fairly well in testing. I think Im going to actually just try to build one but not sure yet.If you find a kit you are going to get would you ping me?


#4

I ended up buying the 3018. Only cnc I have so I nothing to compare it with. It was easy to assemble. The Z value was reversed but that was fixable in the free software that came with it candle. Its slow. The precision of it for what I have done with it so far looks very good to me. There are more powerful versions of the spindle motor that can be installed. Also a laser module can be installed. I view the 3018 as a good purchase.


#5

What are the dimensions of the largest part that you can make?
Many years ago, I bought a “Sherline 5400” mill and converted it to CNC. I had to add stepper motors and motor drivers, and a power supply.
I am very happy with my mill, but it will only make parts that are about 3 inches by 8 inches. (unless I move and re-clamp the part)


#6

The official work area is 11.8″ x 7.1″ x 1.8 . That does not account for clamping the object down. Its probably more like 8 by 6. Its also most likely weaker then yours. There is a option to buy a stronger motor for it. It works fine on abs and pcv. On wood its slower and some people claim to cut aluminum with it on youtube. I think that is stretching someones luck.


#7

Yes - my sherline will cut steel and aluminum. They claim that it will cut titanium with a sharp bit, if you cut very small chunks at a very low speed.


#8

I recently modified my Sherline 5400 - Increased the “throat” size. It will now cut parts about 4.5 by 8 inches.