🇳🇱
Anyone know anything about CNC machines (bonus points for 3d printer knowledge too)...
I want to buy a metal-capable CNC as well as a 3D printer to supplement it. Mostly to do random projects. But could use advice on what to purchase.
I am also curious about the software side, ideally id like to get a CNC that is easy to work with from a software level and bonus points if i could somehow use the same software to design for both CNC and 3d printer since parts for any particular project are likely to come from both.
@freemo Hey Freemo! I did a lot of 3d printer modding to my current machine, and I’ve got a few suggestions.
-
For brands, I’d check out Prusa(high quality, high pricetag) or Ender (medium quality, low pricetag). I personally have an Ender 5. It has a modded mainboard with trinamic drivers which make it completely silent. The Prusa board has said drivers, but costs nearly double (even though some parts are 3d printed), whereas my board upgrade was ~30-40 dollars and my machine is all aluminum/steel. I would suggest against a Reprap, the quality tends to be a bit of a crap-shoot. BTW this is all FDM printing, for a plug and play option with high quality, I’d suggest looking at resin printers. They are excellent, and prices have dropped comparable to FDM printers, but the resin process requires some extra equipment (UV lights for curing, a way to store/dispose of waste resin, etc.) But strength, and resolution on resin printers is unmatched by FDM.
-
For CAD software, I use FreeCAD, especially for “engineering” parts. For decorations/sculpting, use blender. FreeCAD is decent at what it does, but if you’re willing to pay for nicer ones like Fusion360 etc. I’d likely suggest those (especially since there are loads of tutorials on them). I’m just cheap and won’t shell out for it. For 3D printer slicer software, I’d heavily suggest Cura (or the Prusa software if you get their hardware). For CNC tool-paths, it depends on which machine you buy typically.
-
For metal CNC, especially if you want steel, you’ll need a serious upgrade, probably even a plasma cutter just for sheet metal. If you’re willing to stick with aluminum and other softer metals, you can try to build it yourself or order something instead. For the DIY route, I’d check out a plan on OpenBuilds,then source your parts from AliExpress/BangGood (or OpenBuilds, but their prices are high). If you just want to buy one, you can easily grab a cheapo off aliexpress/banggood/amazon, or you can go absolutely wild and buy an AVID machine for $5-10K, and throw in that dual plasma cutter head for fun like this.
I hope this was somewhat helpful :)
