[chbot] CNC kit?

[Chris Hellyar]

'Urro,

I'd say that the biggest obstacle depends on your own skill set really.

The software tool chain is an issue but if you've got an end result in 
mind and a bit of general PC literacy you can navigate that minefield.  
A lot of DIY'ers on the cnczone.com forums seem to have problems with 
the electronics but I imagine most people on this list would be OK there.

For me the hurdle for some ideas is a lack of hand tool finesse. With 
CNC I can skip that, and arrive in a place where if I can draw it on the 
pc I can make it.  (In theory at least)

Hmmm, a kit + DVD sounds way more organised than I was thinking!

I was thinking about a 'flat packed' kit of cnc cut MDF bits, major 
hardware and instruction book/pdf.

FYI, the only 'kit' cnc machine I know of available locally was from 
Craftsman CNC up north.  He no longer kits it, although its on his 
website: http://www.craftsmancnc.co.nz/cnckit1.html

It's quite a complex design, and is quite large at 920x650 cutting area. 
Plus the MDF+ linear hardware kit is listed at $850, which is getting up 
there.  (Not saying it's over-priced BTW. I've emailed the chap a bit 
and I think they are reasonable prices for the complexity of the machine 
and quality of the manual he produced)

Cheers, Me.

On 27/07/11 22:18, Richard Jones wrote:
> Sounds like an interesting idea. Maybe a kit & DVD filling in the gaps 
> between what can and can't be sourced from Molten Media, local stores 
> and web software. I wonder if cutting the MDF is the largest obstacle? 
> I suspect apart from knowing what to use the device for, the biggest 
> obstacle to getting started is understanding the software tool chain, 
> some howto's and example projects would be a great start. Could be a 
> nice kit / product.
>
> Richard
> (Just arrived back to a cool Chch)
>
> On Wed, Jul 27, 2011 at 12:58 PM, Chris Hellyar <chris at trash.co.nz 
> <mailto:chris at trash.co.nz>> wrote:
>
>     Hi-ho,
>
>     Is there be any interest in a modest sized (A4?) MDF CNC platform
>     in kit form?
>
>     I'm thinking suitable for plastics/wood/pcb's.  A cnc cut kit of
>     MDF parts plus some of the hard to source locally linear bits at cost?
>
>     The comments at the club meeting the other night about it costing
>     $1k to bring in the kit from Aussie and the lack of local options
>     got me thinking about it while I was driving to work this morning.
>
>     I'm not looking for commitment of any sort, and I'm not in a
>     position to cut the kits till early next year anyway.  Just
>     chucking it out there to see what people think..
>
>
>     Cheers, Chris H
>
>
>     _______________________________________________
>     Chchrobotics mailing list Chchrobotics at lists.linuxnut.co.nz
>     <mailto:Chchrobotics at lists.linuxnut.co.nz>
>     http://lists.ourshack.com/mailman/listinfo/chchrobotics
>     Mail Archives: http://lists.ourshack.com/pipermail/chchrobotics/
>     Web site: http://kiwibots.org
>     Meeting Time and Location uncertain while Science Alive is out of
>     action.
>
>     When replying, please edit your Subject line to reflect new content.
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Chchrobotics mailing list Chchrobotics at lists.linuxnut.co.nz
> http://lists.ourshack.com/mailman/listinfo/chchrobotics
> Mail Archives: http://lists.ourshack.com/pipermail/chchrobotics/
> Web site: http://kiwibots.org
> Meeting Time and Location uncertain while Science Alive is out of action.
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line to reflect new content.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.ourshack.com/pipermail/chchrobotics/attachments/20110728/2060cab9/attachment.htm