Re: Accuracy of CNC hobby mill/lathes?


<tritonlogging@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1127523640.554061.250200@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Hi all, I'm considering purchasing a tabletop CNC mill and am looking
> for some thoughts on this. I'm a young mechanical engineer and
> technologist, that would rather be prototyping and building than
> sitting in front of a computer 24/7. Would love to be able to quickly
> and fairly cost-effictively handle my designs, and gain machining
> experience at the same time. Is this a reasonable thing, or am I
> wasting my time thinking about it? Will I be happy with the results of
> a tabletop CNC in terms of accuracy? Thanks! - Scott

[You don't say what tolerances you're shooting for (designers and engineers
tend to spec parts to much tighter tolerances than are really necessary or
even possible) but the Taig desktop mills, for example, are certainly
capable of doing useful work in a variety of materials. . Sure, people who
are used to running giant machines that cost big buck$ tend to sneer at
them, but for smallish parts in aluminum or steel they can be very
effective. They won't remove material as quickly as a larger machine, but
CNC lets you take more light passes instead of fewer heavier ones, for
pretty much the same result. If you really need accuracy under a thousandth
of an inch, you'll probably have to spend (a lot) more money, but if a few
thousandths more or less aren't a deal-killer, you can have fun with these
machines, and learn a lot too. They work pretty much the same as larger
milling machines do, so any lessons you learn are applicable to the bigger
mill you're saving up for, and the CAD/CAM software's the same. There's
nothing like the feeling you get the first time you see something you've
designed on the computer emerge from a piece of material, just like it
looked on the screen, but real...]

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com
>


.

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