>I have done some searching and it seems like all I have seen are too
>high priced. I know I would never even pay $1k for this, let alone
>$2.5k I have been thinking about this for a while and I think it can
>be done much cheaper while keeping it accurate and reliable. I just
>wanted to get some opinions on how much effort I should put into
>designing such an animal. First I would include stepper motors
>(possibly used), power supply, and controllers(x,y, and z axis) to
>hook to a pc parallel port. I would only include "free" software or
>maybe shareware. It would have a maximum accuracy of 2000 steps per
>inch. Runout on the slides would be .001" or less and would use acme
>screws for the drive. Spindle motor would either be included or just
>accept a "dremel" type of tool.
>
>
>I personally feel that much of America has become overpriced due to
>too many office personel and salesmen. I would like to be part of
>the solution instead of the problem. This is just one of my many
>ongoing projects(most of them in my head) to try and make this world
>more bearable.
>
>Sorry, I'm just babling on....
>
>Ben Englund
Ben,
Don't get this wrong. First, I would love to buy a good machine for <
$1k :-) so if you manage to create such a beast drop me a line.
I'm just trying to point out that you should not underestimate this
project and that so far the useable offers (here in europe!) start at
about $2k.
So, good luck for your project and keep us up to date with your
progress.
Markus