CNC retro fit kit

Hello to all!

I very much enjoy and appreciate this user group. I am a SolidWorks Drafter / Designer with some experience in AutoCAD and Rhino 3D.

I was recently laid off due to two circumstances. First was the downturn in the economy. The construction equipment manufacturing business has taken a real pounding. Second, was a so-called "lack of skills".

What they meant by that was that I had all the skills needed to be a Drafter / Designer, but don't have broader skills like CAM and CNC machining skills. I am taking manual and basic CNC machining night courses at the local tech school. They don't have a current CAM program, software or equipment.

I'm using a portion of my severance package / savings to convert a benchtop manual mill to a CAM/CNC mill. I have found several vendors for retro kits for Sherline and Taig mills, but mine is a much beefier "Grizzly" ( http://www.grizzly.com/fcgi-bin/lookup.fcgi/products/lookup.cfg?q=item&kw=G1126 ) type benchtop mill.

Does anyone know of a well made, 4 (yes, Four!) axis CNC retrofit control system that is strong enough to operate a mill with a 9 1/2" X 32" table? And simple enough to plug into the back of a computer, load the software and begin working?

Also, I've heard positive feedback on the Master5ATP software. Before I commit what resources I have left, I'm interested in knowing what other CAM/CNC software programs people have found to be both user friendly and solid performers. I have an older Windows 98 SE PC I can dedicate to this mill. I do most of my design work on a Windows 2000 professional workstation.

Basically, I'm looking for some practical knowledge of CNC/CAM retrofit systems so I can get the best bang for my buck.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Scott


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