Machine Suggestions-- For Sign Making

L

leftysgirl

Plastic

Joined

Jan 31, 2018

• Jan 31, 2018

• #1

Hi!
Furniture building is my thing. CNC is completely new to me, but I'm a quick learner.

Is there such a machine that can meet these requirements:

Cut individual wood letters and whole words connected up to 1/4" thick, up to atleast 4" high by 18" long?

I would like to use fonts and embellished designs to cut from my images off my iPad or PC.

My budget is under 4K--don't laugh. That's a lot for me and I'm getting the impression that these babies run high

 

V

Valtari

Plastic

Joined

Aug 30, 2017

• Jan 31, 2018

• #2

Im not too sure about the 2nd hand market, but when I was getting into the CNC Router machining we went in on a cheap new machine. We regretted it after about 2 weeks and wish we had invested a bit more.

Now we have 2 Tekcel CNC routers and they never miss a beat. They cost a lot more but we definitely get what we pay for. The software is really easy to use also, we use Vectric Aspire Pro.

From my experience, if you are planning on using this machine all day every day 4k might not get you something too good. But I could be wrong. Hopefully you can find something that fits all your needs.

 

doug925

Titanium

Joined

Nov 21, 2002

Location

Houston

• Jan 31, 2018

• #3

My Father decided on the same budget for his 1st cnc router. After looking at the (low end) offerings, he decided to build his own.
(read: my shop machined all the gantry, Ballscrew mounts, router spindle mounts,...everything.

It was in fact "free" to him, but all totaled up, he ~would~ have spent close to $10K by the time it was all said and done.
The end result? He should have just purchased a $7-8K router, and he would have ended up with a better product.

I know your all-in is $4k, but if you can up your budget a few thousand more, you should be able to get a decent, mid-level machine.

Just my $0.02

Doug.

 

S

Scottl

Diamond

Joined

Nov 3, 2013

Location

Eastern Massachusetts, USA

• Jan 31, 2018

• #4

If there is a larger woodworking store near you they often have demos of machines such as CNC routers. Check their schedule for training and demos.

 

A

adama

Diamond

Joined

Dec 28, 2004

Location

uk

• Jan 31, 2018

• #5

leftysgirl said:

Hi!
Furniture building is my thing. CNC is completely new to me, but I'm a quick learner.

Is there such a machine that can meet these requirements:

Cut individual wood letters and whole words connected up to 1/4" thick, up to atleast 4" high by 18" long?

I would like to use fonts and embellished designs to cut from my images off my iPad or PC.

My budget is under 4K--don't laugh. That's a lot for me and I'm getting the impression that these babies run high

Click to expand...

Don't bother, buy some trade mags, do some online research then buy the letters in cut to your art work, over here in the print - signage trade you can get them cut overnight for only a tiny percentage over what it costs to buy the materials in low sheet qty's, build the business up till you can afford a decent router - have the volume to get a similar cost point!!

 

C

Comatose

Titanium

Joined

Feb 25, 2005

Location

Akron, OH

• Jan 31, 2018

• #6

If you're only looking to cut 1/4" thick and you only have $4k to play with, you may well be better off with a laser than a mill. My 80W gets through 1/4" wood no problem, as well as acrylic which is the more common sign material.

 

A

andehe

Plastic

Joined

Jul 4, 2014

Location

MI, USA

• Feb 19, 2018

• #7

One option

Ive got a german made small router which sits there doing nothing since we got a laser for cutting foam. travel size is 15x28", has a decent spindle, comes with an old windows 10 computer loaded with mach3 and some tooling. Ready to go, Id like around 2k+shipping. it will pack down into a UPS box. more details here
High-Z S-72/T CNC router with ball screw 72x42x11mm

Not sure what software you'd generate your CAM for lettering, but I'm sure G will help you out.

Can send some photos of it setup if interested.

 

scadvice

Titanium

Joined

Jan 16, 2009

Location

"Stuck in Lodi", Ca

• Feb 19, 2018

• #8

You might look into CO2 lasers. See if you can find some hobbyist in NC who has one that can show you what they can do. There is also a forum on them. If you want more info/link PM me as it's more toward a hobby machine than a professional level machine.

 

R

richard newman

Titanium

Joined

Jul 28, 2006

Location

rochester, ny

• Feb 20, 2018

• #9

andehe, I'm interested in your router. PM sent

 

D

DDoug

Diamond

Joined

Oct 18, 2005

Location

NW Pa

• Feb 20, 2018

• #10

I would suggest asking over at "the forum that cannot be named"....(a stoopid rule
AFAIC)

Delete/change the obvious:
world wide web dot see and see zone dot com

 

aj

Hot Rolled

Joined

May 12, 2006

Location

Burlington, North Carolina

• Feb 20, 2018

• #11

digger doug said:

I would suggest asking over at "the forum that cannot be named"....(a stoopid rule
AFAIC)

Click to expand...

Agreed. I've tried to send a couple of noobs there in the past, only to be censored. P/M can't be worried about competition?

 

A

adama

Diamond

Joined

Dec 28, 2004

Location

uk

• Feb 20, 2018

• #12

If PM needs to worry about competition from there well we have bigger home grown problems!!!