My interest in the CNC world, started in my early days of college, when I saw them at a Tech Expo. However, due to funds allocated to hobbies, I end up pushing this project until around 2014.

My main constraints on this projects where:

1. Budget (aprox 600$).
2. Small footprint (aprox 30" by 30").
3. Rigidity (I wanted this to be stiff enough so I could mill aluminum parts at one point).

I knew my biggest problem would be the moving gantries so instead of building them I decided to buy used linear slides from Ebay and build my cnc around them. For Y axis and Z axis, I managed to find used lead screw linear slides from Parker Daedal on Ebay for $80. For the X axis I scored a Newport ball screw linear table for $120. I used 1.5" by 3" extruded aluminum bought (Ebay) to build the frame around my linear slides. The most expensive part was the GeckoDrive G540 4-Axis ($300). All the electronics related with the cnc where tucked into the PC case (stepper driver and power source, safety and start/stop relay, buttons etc.). I used Mach3 CNC Control Software.

The cnc frame was built from extruded aluminium.

Everything was bolted together with 3/16 screws.

Final product.

CNC Hardware tucked inside the Pc unit.

This was my first project I milled with the cnc machine. The micrometer case design was done in SketchUp.

The final result was really good and it required minimal sanding to remove the end mill marks.

Engraving the company logo on the ticket book.

CNC Halftoning 1967 Toyota 2000GT .

The budget and not having enough space/proper tools made this project challenging. However, in the end, I did stay within my budget and it worked as expected. The next step was going to be getting a vfd controlled spindle and an aluminum fixture table. However, I ended up selling the cnc machine (I put all my effort in remodeling the house I purchased in 2016 and after that I started an E-Commerce Business).