MPCNC and steel

Hi all,

I Have been researching a DIY CNC setup for the past couple weeks. Im currently a bit split. Either MPCNC or holding out to do a grizzly/clarke300m conversion. I plan to mainly manufacture aluminium and hopefully steel components, all within a 450x450x80 work area (I could bring this down).

Would be really interested to know what successes people have had going for heavier duty milling and machining.

My main concern is rigidity - has anyone gone full reprap and machined aluminium parts to replace all the 3d printed ones? in terms of the frame as well, I would really like to beef it up as much as possible. Are there any stronger tubing/extrusions people have used?

I plan to use a stainless steel laser cut Base plate on top of a piece of old worktop, and start with high infill PETG or ASA for all the bracketry. Im not really sure about the long term use of PLA - any drawbacks?

Any pointers/links advice greatly appreciated.

Best,

T

If you want a MPCNC to be as rigid as possible then PLA is the way to go. My original is still working fine after 5 years of operation. As noted in the forums PETG is tougher but not as rigid, I think ASA would have siimilar properties to PETG and is a good engineering plastic but would still lack the rigidity of PLA.

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I don’t think I’ve seen anyone use ASA yet. It’s stiffer than PLA though. If all you’re going to do is aluminum, save up and get the grizzly.