So I’m the most definitely a beginner at this, I’ve never built a CNC machine before but I’m very handy carpenter by trade and can do electrical. I’m interested in buying the ox kit from smw3d, mainly because I don’t know all the parts to buy and it makes it easy and put all the stuff in one place for me. I love the ox kit and everything that I read about it and the fact that it’s very customizable you can make it bigger and do a lot of stuff with it. I will be primarily working with wood hard and soft but I also like the option of being able to work with aluminum. And my question for everyone is will I be able to put this together? Has anybody else done the kit? The only other option said look that are the x carve and the shapeoko 3 but I don’t like how they are limited on size. Anyway as any advice or information on the ox would be awesome, I’m looking to purchase a kit within a day are so. Thanks in advance. Bryan
Realistically, as we really don't know you it's hard to say whether you can put one together but if you watch the videos you will know fairly quickly if it is within your skillset. OpenBuilds OX CNC Machine | OpenBuilds I bet you'll find the chances are probably in the 98% range. And if you run into a problem halfway through, there's generally someone here that can offer assistance. All you have to do is ask.
Thanks for the reply I have watched some videos on the ox and I feel fairly confident in my building skills of it. Do you think the swm3d is a good route to go for getting the parts of should I piece meal it?. Also I'm trying to understand what types of aluminum it can mill with the standard 400w spindle. Thanks again
It really depends on what you intend to do with it. I understand the obvious appeal of kits but I think the spindle the smw3d kit is centered around may be a bit too light for your needs. Most here are using trim routers (Dewalt 611, Bosch Colt, etc.) which have plenty of power and give the option of using both 1/8" and 1/4" bits but are a bit too heavy for the way the wheels are laid out on the shorter spacer blocks. If you need the power of a bigger spindle it is probably best to move up to a set of plates with the longer spacers. This of course means going to the parts approach. There a spreadsheet in the resources section if you need some guidance on bringing all the pieces together.