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Message

500 buck CNC pcb mill/drills update

2004-07-26 by ballendo

Hello,

Haven't been around here much lately...

Because I've been getting the machines I mentioned ready for market.

Expect pictures next week, and will begin offering for sale in August.

These are really working out nicely! They have microstepping chopper 
drives, 60+IPM rapids, anti-backlash nuts, steel construction--VERY 
sturdy! All motor and tool cables run in trays, NO "dangling wires" 
so typical of small DIY machines...

Desktop size, figure a 16" cube. (Will probably be offering an 
enclosure of this size in the not-too-distant future. Will help keep 
the noise down during those midnight prototyping sessions<G>, and 
copper and epoxy dust under control.)

HPGL, DXF, BMP, Gcode input supported now. Excellon input shortly--
probably by next month. Drill PCB's, engrave front panels, carve 
foam, wood, plastic. Make electronics enclosures. Make robot parts<G>
  
Fully 4 axis capable. Pick and place part orientation or dispensing, 
or vinyl cutting--WITH tangential knife!) Rotary turning attachment, 
etc. Vacuum bed capable, lots of add-ons and extras in the works...  
(Note that up to 6 axes are support-able, so in the future there will 
be upgrades for even more possibilities!)

Gantry style, 12-3/4" between uprights, Travels are: 10"+ in Y, 8-
1/2"+ in X, and 2-1/2"+ in Z  (so you can work on a piece of material 
infinite length, up to 12-5/8 inches wide, and up to 2-1/2 inches 
thick...

For PCB use, I'm expecting that you'll use a sub-table of 3/4 and 
have up to 1-3/4" thick workpieces still possible. There are 25, 10-
32 attachment/hold-down points on the machine base/table. The machine 
travel can reach 20 of them, so you can drill your own sub-tables, 
fixtures, etc. (Fixtures/ tables using the other five only require 
reversing the work to make the second cuts; side fences make this 
easy and repeatable...)

I'm VERY excited about how this is all working out, and would like to 
again hear from anyone who is truly interested in purchasing one of 
these next month...

The MSRP "list" price is going to be $995, BUT for you guys, I'm 
staying true to my original offering and will make them available to 
you for 500 bucks. If you've already emailed me, then you haven't 
been forgotten, but I would like an update of your interest as it has 
been a bit longer than expected...

Thank you for your patience, and the initial interest which is making 
this become a reality!

Be sure to email me if you're <still> interested. The 500 buck price 
is an initial offering for this group.

Ballendo

P.S. Current computer interface is Parallel port using WinXP or 
Win2k, but USB will "Bee" supported by my USBeehives in a month or 
two, at an added cost of about 200 dollars.

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