Bear with me though I am sure my question has been ask a thousand times I have answered many questions that have been ask that often.
There was a time when I considered myself computing and computer literate but as time has gone by they have become simply a tool in my life much like a fork, I use them all the time but they just work. What I am NOT looking for is another hobby unto itself with a near verticle learning curve, I have more than enough hobbies for 10 men. What I do want is the ability to augment my woodworking hobby.
My question is how difficult is it with someone with zero CAD experience to dive into the CNC pool (on the shallow end). I have kinda been eyeing something like the Shapeoko XXL to dip my toe in. The last thing I want to do is spend $10k+ and never even reach the first plateau of the learning curve because I find better things to do.
Why do I want one? Well, all the cool kids on the tube of yous have them and I actually have a specific use that is driving this. I am huge home theater/AV guy and a hobby speaker builder. One of the rages in DIY speakers is stacked laminate cabinets which allow for complex shapes that reduce internal cabinet reflections and just as importantly allow for visually stunning cabinets.
So like everything else I can imagine it takes a lifetime to go from A to Z but what sort of commitment in time am I looking at to go from A to I can actually get the thing to cut something I see in my mind.
Beyond that if people feel generous they can throw out suggestions for CNC machines that won't blow my self-imposed budget of a couple of grand. Yeah the budget is flexible BUT I know how these things work, you are going to creep my budget anyway so I am trying to anchor it. I ain't spending a fortune on one of these machines out of the gate, it isn't a bandsaw for gosh sake.
Again, no CAD experience but I can do this in Paint without reading instructions...
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