Top products from r/CNC

I've been looking into this space (best medium-cost maker/builder/fab tools) over the past couple of months, and here are my recommendations so far...

• CNC Mill (router) - For doing wood, plastic, and some light metal work, the Shapeoko 3 stands above the rest. It runs around $1.2k with a router included and can cut 16"x16"x3". You'll still need mill/router bits and materials, but pretty awesome for the price range. Note that they also just started selling larger versions (goes up to 33"x33"x3") for a few hundred dollars more. To move up to the next professional level but still on a budget, I'd consider building your own via CNCRouterParts Pro Kits (48”x48”x12”, $8k total).
  
  
• 3D Printer - The LulzBot TAZ 5 stands above the rest because of the range of materials it can print (with a special high temperature hot end) and its build area (11.7”x10.8”x9.8”). It's recently been reviewed by Make as the "Best Overall 3D Printer" which is a pretty high endorsement. It runs a little expensive ($2.2k) but looks like it's one of the best bets if you're looking to get into 3D printing.
  
  
• Lathe - You can get a mini lathe (7”x16”, $1.3k) in the price range you're considering, and while it may be a bit too speciality and manual, they're a great tool to have in your workshop. Especially if you like making round things.
  
  
• Laser Cutter - To get a decent laser cutter (not just engraving, but actually cutting materials) that won't break down, catch fire, release noxious fumes, or potentially blind you is currently around $4k minimum. There are a lot of cheap "eBay" laser cutters out there, but when you start to add up everything and weigh the risks they aren't really all that much cheaper. The two stand out models I've been considering are the FullSpectrum (40W, $6k) and the "coming soon" Glowforge Pro (45W, $4.8k).
  
  
• Electronics - You didn't mention this, but if you're looking at getting your hands dirty making things, electronics is now a pretty crucial component to support. The big ticket items (like an oscilloscope) are now a lot more reasonable than they were even 5 years ago and sites like SparkFun carry a lot of electronic components and tutorials that make it easy to get started even if you don't have much background in circuitry (yet!). My short list would include: a Rigol 50MHz, 4Chan, color disp, 4 probe oscilloscope ($450), a nice Weller soldering iron ($320), a soldering fume extractor ($70), some helping hands ($10), a Siglent signal generator ($360), and some nice boxes to keep your parts sorted ($20).
  
  Now go make some awesome things!
  

I'm glad you have machining experience. People who come online and "have no experience" but want to learn always have me wondering. Learning CNC can be a challenge depending on the person but you need ot know how to machine and the intimacies of what is possible, how to hold your work, feeds and speeds etc in addition to learning CNC.

This book is somewhat of a bible on cnc programming though it's pretty dense. If you get the machine, it shouldn't be to hard to pick up basic movements (especially 2axis or 2.5axis G code by hand. Programs like CamBam will do 2.5D work (aka cut a groove a 1/4" deep following this path with this work offset from a dxf file. It gets a bit more complicated when you throw in more advanced programs and 3D contouring etc.

Not only do you need to know CNC and machining, but you're going to want to start thinking about production machining. You'll be making a ton of these parts to sell I assume. Unless you get a ridiculously fancy 5+ axis machine (which you're not with the tormach) you're going to have to optimize your machining for efficiency. How are you going to run your parts? Can you make jigs and fixtures to ease in production. You'll probably learn most of that on your own along with lots of web surfing and time spent making parts. Scour the internet for how people make similar stuff. Learn from other peoples successes and mistakes.

I've used 3 or so different pci and pcie parallel Port cards and they never seem to work with Mach 3. Not sure why but I've never had any success. I've had good success with this adapter though :

https://www.amazon.com/CNCdrive-UC100-Parallel-Motion-Controller/dp/B00TPBGXII

I've been using Nitto Tape and that stuff is pretty amazing.

I recently read this book with a very different stance on how far this future state is from today:

Humility Is the New Smart: Rethinking Human Excellence in the Smart Machine Age

I'm not saying your wrong, it's fascinating to me that every industry is full of people saying "but my role can't be automated, they will still need a human here".

No you would need a router and a mount. CNCRP sells nice mounts also. The Porter Cable 690 would probably be your best bet and you would still be slightly under your 3k budget.

Porter Cable 690 Mount CNCRP $93

Porter Cable 690 Router - Amazon $125

The guy who created the Shapeoko line has written a book that is a great into and how to for CNC starters:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1457183366/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This thing is tremendous. It looks like a chop saw, but it uses a carbide-tipped sawblade instead of an abrasive disc. Cuts steel in seconds, leaves a clean edge, doesn't heat up the stock like an abrasive saw.

I'm a fan of this one from General. It's got a nice solid aluminum handle. I can't stand the ones with the extra cutters rattling around inside. I mean, you have a toolbox you can store those in.

We just give These to the kids that wear glasses in robotics. Meets all of the safety requirements and easy to use.

This is the Bosch variable speed router I have & it works a treat. Just remember that any router is typically too fast to be effective at cutting metal but fine for wood & plastics.

Not a programmer, but gamer and PC tech. I've used trackballs most of my computing life. I recommend the Kensington Expert Mouse (link below) for general use unless you're looking at the engineering specific ones.

Kensington Expert Trackball Mouse (K64325) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00009KH63/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_COgECbHH1BNE6

I'm still learning myself. This book has been incredibly useful.

CNC Programming Handbook, Third Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0831133473/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_S64kDbT3R6PQ6

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I recommend the UC100 for applications such as this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TPBGXII/

Do not have any CAM software in your shop, or are just doing this one job by hand to learn? If it's the former then that's disappointing because there are many inexpensive CAM programs for simple 2D stuff .

If it's the latter, then a really good book would be CNC Programming Handbook by Peter Smid. It covers damn near everything about CNC milling and turning, from machine kinematics to G-Code.

Try this: BOESHIELD T-9 Rust & Corrosion Protection/Inhibitor and Waterproof Lubrication, 4 oz aerosol https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000DD1DV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_VKfECbFZQFBSM

The goal is to get the fastest single core you can, from the latest generation. Buy the 3600X.

To sweep in circular material, bolt hole patterns, etc. This is a fairly cheap one. You can use an indicator to do this also. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002YPA9JG/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1394074669&sr=8-1

To sweep in your material to your cutter. Fairly high-end indicator, very precise. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0006J51CW/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1394074788&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

To sweep (tramming) in your head to your table. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007EMPHVE/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1394075050&sr=8-1

Those are a couple basics for machine shop 101

They are around depending on the diameter, shaft size, etc (three links in this comment)

https://www.amazon.com/Machinerys-Handbook-Toolbox-Erik-Oberg/dp/0831130911

Learning Mastercam X6 Mill 2D Step by Step

This book?

http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Handbook-Third-Peter-Smid/dp/0831133473/ref=la_B001IU4QEM_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1421716024&sr=1-1

No problem, though your mileage may vary. My router is aging, so it's not necessarily accurate. I used one of these : http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I5LDVC (as I'm too cheap to buy a SuperPID)