Need a cnc machine for prototyping. Any suggestions?

Question

I need to find a cnc machine that I can use to create prototypes. Our company already has many cnc machines but these are large, designed for production purposes, have all the bells and whistles on them and require very skilled workers.

My department often needs to have a piece of plastic milled out, holes drilled - all the basic things you would do with virtually all cnc machines. My department does everything from designing electronic ciruits to building prototypes of products, so we are not cnc skilled people.

What I am looking for is a cnc machine that is relatively small. It should either sit on a bench or desktop or on its own table that can be carted around. It should allow me to mill out surfaces and drill holes. It should either come with software that I can use to create 2D parts. I'm not interested in milling 3D. If it gets that complex, then it can be done on our production machines. It would be nice if the Z axis can move up and down at some variable speed for drilling holes, depending on the material to be cut.

In summary, the cnc machine should be simple and can be programmed by someone not skilled as a cnc operator.

A friend of mine says that cnc machines out of Taiwan are pretty good and low cost (relative to other countries). Any suggestions on manufacturers?

Thanks Johann

Gunner · Accepted Answer

Fairly hard to do with the average CNC lathe. Ya might want to be a bit more specific...

Gunner

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ff · Answer

Charlie Gary · Answer

Here's a CNC knee mill that might be just the thing. Program it right on the control if you like. Made in USA, too. At least retrofitted in the USA. Or assembled. Something like that.

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Later,

Charlie

sinoline · Answer

Have you looked at engraving machines? They are essentially XYZ light duty milling machines and usually have software that allow for functions other than alpha numerical outputs. I used mine for some fancy wood milling at times.

Rolf

PS. If you Skype, we can talk about it.

Will · Answer

Roland makes some  light duty desktop machinesWill

Bryce · Answer

Who said anything about "Lathe"?

Bryan · Answer

You could look at the Tormach machine (once you have seen the ad you know as much about it as I do.)

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You might also pay a visit to desktop cnc ->

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My personal machine is a centroid controlled ATRUMP, which would be great for what you describe, except it weighs 4000# - moving it around on a cart would be iffy.

bmw

Need a cnc machine for prototyping. Any suggestions?

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