dave9408

Hi everyone,

I'm a student currently designing a desktop CNC router for the design and model making markets. From what I've read on here it sounds like there would be a lot of interest in a product that is low-cost and easy to use. My intention is to focus on machining lightweight materials such as foam and balsa and to produce a fully assembled product rather than a kit, but I'm open to any suggestions.

At the moment the main information I'm trying to gather is:

What materials do you typically work with?

How large is a typical work piece?

How much would you be prepared to spend?

Would you prefer a product in kit form or fully assembled?

Thanks,

David

daven

My Feedback: (1)

What materials do you typically work with? Mostly balsa, but the ability to go up to 1/4" thick aircraft ply would be very nice.

How large is a typical work piece? 36" minimum, 48" would be very nice.
How much would you be prepared to spend? Depends on the product
Would you prefer a product in kit form or fully assembled? Either or, depending on the premium and complexity of the assembly.

OldRookie

My Feedback: (13)

What type of software would you be using for programming? Is it included?
Would the software be able to use macros?
Would you be using a Y axis in addition to the X and Z axis?
Are you designing this router for speed or accuracy?
Are you designing the router with production capability, or a less rigid home version?
The price people would pay, would depend on the capability of the machine, like Daven stated.
If you could work on a piece of 24" X 48" it would be nice. I would think 36" X 24" would be a minimum.
I would think most people that would make the investment in this router, would be using it for more than their personal projects.

Greg

yojoelay

My interest is in very unique airframes - A short kit seems to make scratch building so much easier particularly for complicated assemblies (rounded fuselages, scale designs, etc.)

What materials do you typically work with? Balsa, lite ply, aircraft grade ply, hardwoods (for engine mounts, wing spars) lexan (canopies), foam (lots of stuff)

How large is a typical work piece? Balsa sheets are 1220mm x 90mm,Lexan sheets about the size of an A3 sheet. Plywood sheets could be up to 1220 x 2440

How much would you be prepared to spend? Laser cutting set ups would be your main competitor, they seem to sell from 10,000 to 25,000. So, depending on how your tool stacks up against a laser cutter, well, we'll see.

Would you prefer a product in kit form or fully assembled? Ikea sets the benchmark for the max amount of assembly I'm up for. Reliability and Maintainability are big factors as well.

dave9408

Hi again, thanks for the quick responses.

Greg- I am talking to a local company who are getting into the CNC market. They are developing their own CAM/control software which uses standard cad or image files. CAD software would probably not be included but there are loads of options out there. Sorry I'm not too sure about the macros but I could find out for you if it is important. The router will be 3-axis, designed for fairly light use and speed over accuracy.

The work piece size issue is interesting. It may be possible to design a feeding machanism that allows any length of material to be used, the only limit being the width. In terms of width I originally had in mind something like 12" or 18", would this be too small?

David

saramos

I would think that 18" would be sufficient for most home use. This sounds somewhat similar to the Comp-U-Carve from Sears that sells for under $2000, though it is designed for relief wood carving and not specifically for modeling. It would be nice if the Z axis was in the neighborhood of 4-6" and overall accuracy to at least .01"

Scott

dave9408

Hi Scott,

I have looked at the Comp-U-Carve and it is very impressive, but as you say it is aimed at quite a different market. The ability to feed through a long board is something I would like to incorporate into my design, but other than that I expect it to look very different.


Another question for everyone: If the price of the machine was too high for home users would this be something that hobby shops might purchase and offer a part-cutting service to customers?

David

sir crashallot

personaly i wouldnt buy it for cutting parts out for planes if it had been designed for speed rather than accuracy. the main reason is accuracy has a big impact on how a model flys and if its wooden parts for the airframe arnt correct in size and dimention you could end up with a plane that flys like a box of frogs or a plane that flys for a few seconds then turns into an expensive lawn dart.

if i was to buy one i wouldnt mind it taking hours to cut parts out aslong as the part had been cut accuratly as to me its a small price to pay so for me it has to be accuracy over speed.

Cheers Brent

OldRookie

My Feedback: (13)

I agree with sir crashallot.

If the router can't make parts to tight tolerance, there would be no sense in buying it.

Leave the speed for production routers.

What type of tolerances do you intend on holding with your machine?

Greg

sir crashallot

also if you are wanting to build a cnc cutter for use with model aircraft then you want to be as acurate as it can possibly be. i work in thousandths of a millimeter and i dare say most kit builders or scratch bulders on here will work to that same measurment. also another point il make is a friend of mine who is in the enginering trade recons cnc routers will be outdated in 5 to 10 years time due to more acurate processes like water cutting and laser cutting as its cleaner and so forth.Though there will be a small market out there for them but i shouldnt think it would be profitable due to fast and acurate top brand cnc routers droping drasticaly in price to compensate for the lack of sales. But yet again he may be proved wrong as time goes on but it is somthing to bare in mind.

Now il give you a feature that would solve the acuracy problem.
If i had one i would love to draw the part or print the part i need onto wood then the cnc router follow my markings on the wood itself and cut out and follow the lines i have drawn, that could even make it so you dont need a computer to use it and someone that isnt computer literate could use it too so you would open the market to people who cant use computers which would boost sales.

Regards Brent