Under $100? You won’t find one that doesn’t need a ton of work. If you go up to the $1000 range, you’ll probably start finding small, old ones that are in useable condition, without tooling.
Exactly. But you can find usable 3D printers for under $100 these days, so it still represents a lower barrier to entry compared to using a lathe & mill even before you consider the different skill levels needed. (CNC isn’t as simple as loading a file and pressing “go,” but it isn’t as complicated as machining, either. At least not unless you’re designing your own CAD models.)
Trust me when I say that you must understand the principles of machining before you try to do CNC. And unless you are good with CAD/CAM, you’re going to have to program in G-code too. If the only thing you’re doing with CNC is loading a part, and changing tools, no, you don’t need to know much. But if you want to mill an existing 3D model, you’re absolutely going to need to be a good machinist in order to program CNC.
Under $100? You won’t find one that doesn’t need a ton of work. If you go up to the $1000 range, you’ll probably start finding small, old ones that are in useable condition, without tooling.
Exactly. But you can find usable 3D printers for under $100 these days, so it still represents a lower barrier to entry compared to using a lathe & mill even before you consider the different skill levels needed. (CNC isn’t as simple as loading a file and pressing “go,” but it isn’t as complicated as machining, either. At least not unless you’re designing your own CAD models.)
Trust me when I say that you must understand the principles of machining before you try to do CNC. And unless you are good with CAD/CAM, you’re going to have to program in G-code too. If the only thing you’re doing with CNC is loading a part, and changing tools, no, you don’t need to know much. But if you want to mill an existing 3D model, you’re absolutely going to need to be a good machinist in order to program CNC.