Just wondering, how much does a used CNC machine go for?

And where would I find one? Just quietly day dreaming to myself about an idea I had, but will not actually happen. In this dream I would be machining designs out of 3/16 or 1/4 " steel. Not very large, maybe max 2'x2'? How much would that cost?

http://diylilcnc.org/

I've seen several DIY setups for under $1000 in materials.

I don't see prices often when we sell machines, but knowing the ones I've seen pricing for that were massive, ill assume the 10-30k window for small used ones.

With that diy setup, id be worried about tool life.....cnc uses coolant like its going out of style to make the endmills, inserts, and boring bars last longer than a day. Also, those in the industry know how salty the cnc carbide stuff is.

space permitting you could get a Bridgeport CNC machine. my boss did that and it was a recently gone through machine for something like $4k or less perhaps.

In reply to Enyar: Are you asking about aquiring a CNC machine or what CNC machine time usually goes for?

I believe the OP is interested in cutting 2D shapes from steel plate vs. 3/4/5 axis CNC machining.

For that look at PlasmaCAM and Torchmate.

These are very basic stepper motor driven X-Y robots that produce pretty accurate and repeatable parts. They start at a couple grand. There's many online communities that are all into these.

See cnczone, pirate 4x4

CNC milling machines, turn-key, start at the bottom w/ a small Tormach machine at under $20k w/ tooling + SprutCAM software. Next up would be the smaller Haas machines starting at about $30k, Full size machines w/ a seat of masterCAM are $50k on up.

There's a huge market for used machinery where it's possible to buy a good used machine for $4k or 6 tons of scrap iron for $20k.

The main thing I'll offer as someone with a full machine shop of manual machines w/ digital readouts is: A machinist can learn CAM and make parts w/ a CNC machine. A CNC machine cannot, however, make someone a machinist.

getting an old Bridgeport mill that has cnc controlled axis motors would be on the cheap side of things... getting an actual full on cnc machining center with a tool changer and what not would get into the more expensive side of things.. either way, the tooling is what will kill you.

i get paid to play with a mid 90's Fadal 4020 VMC 40 hours a week, and i have the freedom to make my own stuff on it at any time as long as i get the work stuff done so i really have no need to look into how much this stuff actually costs.

Try HGR. Right down the street from me. My boss have bought a lot through there for his business. (a machine shop as it were haha)

A friend of mine bought a HF mini (micro?) mill on eBay that had been converted to CAM. I think he paid about $400 for it. Software is free (open source). He said that any mill can be converted to CAM for not much by buying the servos and building a controller box.

motomoron wrote: A CNC machine cannot, however, make someone a machinist.

Amen to that. I work for a sizeable screw machine house. Of the ~70 machinists, I can count on two hands the number of actual machinists.

+1 for anything Bridgeport.

Wonkothesane wrote: Huh, looks like you can pick up a CNC'd brideport for 3-5k on craigslist..

yeah.. and how worn out are they at that price point? from where i'm sitting right now (at my Fadal cnc machine), i can see 6 manual milling machines.

3 Bridgeports, a Comet, a Millport, and an Ultima...

of those, only one of the Bridgeports is good for anything that requires tolerances tighter than about .030- it's pretty solid down to about .001 over about a foot, which is more than good enough for what we do- the rest are just flat out worn out junk that you'd have to pay me to take, but the company keeps them around because different people like the different machines.. one of them has the cnc stuff on it because someone decided that he wanted to try to make it into a cnc end hole machine, but thankfully it's not the good one.

novaderrik wrote: either way, the tooling is what will kill you.

Quoted for truth......I have craploads of Sandvik, Iscar, Walter, Guhring, Kennametal, Melin, Huele, and such cross my desk every week. Its terrifying to see a small plastic box the size of a pack of gum cost upwards of $100 for 10 little bits of metal.....

Most of our customers that I go to seem to have Gleason's IIRC. The windmill gearbox plant has the biggest I've seen though, look like the size of a small house.

The CNC Bridgeport is a good starting point. The shop I work for just bought a new Haas Mini Mill for about $40,000. I saw a Lincoln cnc plasma cutter at a car show last year. HGR has a website, if you get a chance, visit ! I think they serve lunch on Wednesdays.