Homebrew PCBs

Hi All,

You can not buy or sell the machine I want for $500. RATS!

I have been working with point to point wiring for years:(. During this 
time I always wished for a better way. A CNC machine seemed like a good 
idea because it would do the work fast, cheap, and could do many other 
things as well as PCBs. A few years ago I started looking for an 
affordable CNC machine for PCBs and general use. I have seen just about 
everything the web has to offer.

I considered building my own but what I really wanted to spend my time 
on was using a CNC. Once I had a few bucks saved up I placed an order 
for one, a little 12X12X3 machine from a web page for about 3K. But the 
machine was never delivered. After a few months I went to the bank to 
get my money back.

After this I started looking on Ebay for used CNC's. There are many 
posts and some of the machines were new. It was quite a mix of different 
designs. There were even machines made of MDF using all thread - very 
cool. The range was inexpensive to very expensive.

One day while on Ebay I saw a buy it now for a new machine. The cost was 
several K, but today was the day I was changing the way I do things. 
When the machine arrived I went right to work. After I abused it for 
about a year I thought I would give it an overhaul. While putting it 
back together I saw a few things I would do differently and many things 
I would not change.

One day I was reflecting back. I was thinking about the machine that I 
was originally looking to purchase. I was looking for a precision 
desktop model for around 1K. This machine was not available but I 
thought if it's possible then go for it.

I tried to put a design together for under 1K - target price was around 
800. However, I found the price for the raw components to be very 
expense, even in volume. The finished design uses Baltic Birch for the 
frame to save a bit. I have worked many years building museum exhibits 
out of this material and it is a very impressive hard plywood. It is 
also used in many machines and jigs around the shop.

Anyway, I need to have $1150 minimum for this machine however, this 
price does not include the steppers, driver, power supply, and spindle. 
Those items add another $400 or so to the total. I invite all to take a 
look this CNC. This is both a shameless plug and an invite for your 
feedback. You don't need to tie up this group form with your feedback; 
you can reach me directly via email.

Please visit www.pdjinc.com and let me know what you think!

Thank you for your time,
Phil