Re: Need advice: MaxNC or Sherline or other or nothing

sherline is very good, problems you'll find are
table is not very sturdy, tight that tnut a little to much and there
you have a deformed table, leadscrew wear out very fast thus you'll
need to adjusting for backlash almost every day if you use all day
long.
One alternative would be a Grizzly minimill, with bascrews on it.
I've done that before and it works great.
I think this group still hold a picture of it look in the photos, or
files for grizzly minimill.
Making a new table won't help much but, shure you can do it.
I made a new sadle for the sherline to fit bigger nuts on it, but it
was a waist of time.


--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, "CrazyDudeII" <apullin@h...>
wrote:

> Hello. So I am looking for advice on which machine I should

purchase.

> As you can see from the title of the post, the machines I am
> considering are:
> MaxNC 15CL2
> Sherline 8020 CNC
>
> So I'm probably going to do most of my work in aluminum, but it

would

> be nice if I could do work in copper/brass/steel, even if I have to
> go super slow. I do have access to GibbsCAM, so adapting my

toolpaths

> for a large number of passes should be fairly easy.
>
> I'll go through my though process here, so if you see anything
> glaringly wrong, please let me know... that's why I'm here!
>
> - It seems from what I've read that the sherline machine is built
> better, more solidly, and would probably end up being more

repetable

> and able to work with steel when I need to.
> - However, the two major shortcomings of the sherline are the
> reduced X travel (only 9" as opposed to 12" on the maxNC), and the
> stepper motor drive.
> - I can probably live with the reduced X travel, as I am not

making

> anything that is too huge (yet)... I also have >some< access to a
> large FADAL machine... is it realistic that maybe I could fabricate

a

> new X table and retrofit the machine? I dont really want to have to
> do that though, unless I know it'll work nicely.
> - I worry about stepper motor drive in the event that I do miss a
> step and throw the whole program off. Should this be a realistic
> concern? Would the closed loop servos on the MaxNC really deliver a
> more reliable operation over these sherline steppers?
> - I'd have to set the spindle speed manually on the sherline, and
> can't do it with the program... but I dont think thats >too< big a
> deal, is it?
> - So, like I said before, I have access to GibbsCAM, so software
> isn't an issue here. I am pretty good with Linux, so I should be

able

> to set up EMC with the sherline system without a problem.
>
> With all that being said, I am seeking advice on which machine I
> should go with. I am leaning towards the Sherline because I've

heard

> good things about them, and they are a fair bit cheaper.
> I would greatly appreciate any advice or input on this decision....
> if you could address any of my worries, that'd be great.
>
> Thanks,
> Andrew Pullin