I would like to purchase a small CNC router to use with Vectric software to make a lithophane. Any advice???
Thank you
curt Benzle
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I would like to purchase a small CNC router to use with Vectric software to make a lithophane. Any advice???
Thank you
curt Benzle
Probably need a bit more information to help you. Many CNC machines will work with the vectric suite of software and with photovcarve.
Do you want to build a machine from scratch, buy a kit and assemble it, or buy a completed turnkey machine? What is your budget? How big a lithophane do you want to cut?
Some desktop and larger machines to research
Sharkprobotix fireball or meteor
cammaster anything
cnc router parts kits
shapeoko kit
I did the assembly instructions for the Shapeoko 2 and volunteer on the wiki, and got a free Shapeoko 2 and 3 (and XL upgrade) by way of thank you and have since been hired for part-time tech support on it --- there's a wiki which should have everything you'd need to know about the machine (and I'd like to think about similar machines). I think it's the best bang for the buck for its class, but can't be considered impartial.
The big considerations beyond build/kit/turnkey as noted by Mike would be:
- budget
- work-area / piece size
- materials which you wish to cut (if anything other than lithophanes)
- time expectations --- a more expensive / rigid machine will allow for faster cutting by increasing the federate and speed (which have to be kept somewhat balanced to maintain chipload) and depth of cut
There's also a list of small / hobby-oriented machines on the wiki page for the /r/hobbycnc subreddit.
Love my Stepcraft. They offer kits and fully assembled.
But assembly was a snap with great instructions.
Curtis,
Search this forum and you will find hundreds of posts on this topic, a wealth of information.
I would like to make small lithophanes and use a turnkey machine. thanks
You're exactly describing the Nomad 883 Pro --- there was even a lithophane on the Kickstarter Campaign page.
If you do a search for "nomad 883 pro lithophane" the top hit should be a thread on the Carbide 3D Community Forums "Nomad 883 Lithophane Fun"
For Lithophanes Vectric photo V carve is very affordable and does wonderful litho. I have both Aspire and Photo v carve and for lithos Photo v carve is easier to learn and do. Now the bad news is that there is little to no money to be made with Lithos as they take hours to cut.
Do a Search for the Vectric Forum and spend some time reading over there. Lots of woe sometimes on those kits or builder projects, and the Shark line has been the subject also. I have a small Chinese machine 24x18 inches purchased from a US vender Not off eBay. It also worked out of the box, very impressed. BUT I can build and repair CNC machines. Stay away from any hobby type machines made with a Raspberry Pi, Arduino or the like controllers, and machines that use a lot of plastic parts, aluminum rails (not steel) but frames made of aluminum are fine. Larger of course need steel frames but that's not your market.Quote:
Originally Posted by Curtis Benzle
The Nomad is a lot of money for an extremely limited workspace 8"x8" X-Y ,