I want to buy a small CNC router!

Design Discussions general design discussion
1

Hi everyone,

I want to buy a small CNC router that has a table size roughly A4-A3 paper sized.

I’m googling, but I’m only finding massive CNC “beds.” I want something that can sit nicely next to my printer.

Any ideas?

Michael

P.S. I’m not interested in making one (if you’ve seen the recent DIY CNC blogs recently)

2
3

Check out the carvewright machine. It is pretty impressive for its size and price.

4

Wow, that is an impressive amount of machine for that price.

Do you have experience with it?

Can you import other file types?

What is the final quality, can you use this to machine delicate clean parts and molds like the roland machines?

5

great machines we have three at my uni. The best bit is hte software which comes with the machine is very easy to use you can be up and running in last than a day.

6

I don’t have experience with it myself. I heard about it on another forum and decided to check it out.

If you go to the ‘software’ page on their website, you can download a trial version. You should be able to tell pretty quick whether or not you can import other file types.

Some of the examples shown have pretty delicate parts, but I’m not sure of its limitations. You might ask questions at http://www.carvewright.com/forum/

7

Cheers guys! Thanks for your replies.

Hopefully, I can get one soon.

Michael

8

for anyone interested:

I called the Carvewright people to get some more info.


The machine is capable of handling materials up to 5 inches thick but only supports 1 inch of z travel.

There is currently no support for 3-d files, all information must either be drawn in their basic software or imported as a black and white graphic then a rough dimensional likeness is extrapolated from that.

The samples on the site do not show a capability for great detail, but the machine has both draft and high quality modes.

The machine is very impressive for the cost, but it is not a RP machine it’s just a fancy wood router. It could probably be tweaked to do some amazing things, but it’s probably not the best “off the shelf” choice for someone looking to make models.

9

Cheers for the info BryanBrutherford.

It’s nice that they let you try out their software.

Ideally, I’d like something that can mill plastics too - not sure if the Carvewright can…

Hopefully, I’ll find something on E-bay soon.

Michael