CNC router/drill under $5k

[boep777]

HI All, I know many of you use a lot of other equipment beside 3D printers. I am looking for a tabletop CNC router and drilling machine below $5k or so for my lab. I am planning on processing aluminum plates (<3mm, drilling for screws, M4/M6 at most), thin wood, plastic (<10mm), printed circuits production (router and drill) etc. Fore more heavy jobs I will probably 'engrave' markup for further machining. All of that mostly for mounting RF electronics and enclosures. Any suggestions ?
PS Any experience in printing EM shields from conductive plastic ? May be not very cost effective ...

[jsc]

Check out this thread for some rambling discussion: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2655

From my cursory research, the most talked about cheap hobbyist CNC mills right now are probably X-Carve, Shapeoko 2/3, and Othermill. Sherline mills also seem quite capable, Ed Nisley has one, but I think you have to set up your own CNC system. You can also make your own with a design called the Mostly Printed CNC (MPCNC), there are some threads around here about people doing that. For something more than cheap, Shopbot seems popular.

All of these are 3 axis mills, so really just glorified routers, although you can shape 3D profiles.

[ednisley]

Sherline mills also seem quite capable

Within its small work envelope, you can get a lot done. I also have the rotary table + angle plate that soak up pretty nearly the entire travel on the X and Z axes. Summary: if your parts have footprints larger than a #10 envelope, it's not for you.

Sherline sells them in full-manual, CNC-ready, and full-CNC configurations; you can buy in at whatever level you prefer. They're ready to use, not kits or scavenger hunts.

They've been doing it long enough to offer a vast array of good tooling. The rule of thumb says you'll spend far more on tooling than you will on the mill / lathe itself and IME that's absolutely true.

Excellent quality, great customer service: recommended.

[Rara]

Timely thread! I just finished up a deal on a CNC router.

I started looking in to Shapeoko/XCarve type machines. You do get a lot of working area for the dollar and what seems to be user friendly software (though cloud based; I'm not a huge fan of that). I had more aluminum in mind than wood/composites, but also projects that need a fair amount of area - things that would stress light construction and roller bearing type linear motion. I have a laser with a similar build, and it's totally unlike the M2: I am constantly having to adjust the and clean the rollers, re-square it, etc. It's quite frustrating.

Edit: Chinese machine not really relevant, re-reading OP, I think something like the below mentioned Shopbot would be worth it; being a lab I bet they are wanting to get a machine to put to work, not tinker around on a machine. I'll be spending a while getting mine up and running which I have no problem with, but it might not be worth their time..

[willnewton]

$4995. http://www.shopbottools.com/mproducts/desktop.htm

This machine is not designed to be light and cheap. It is designed for work in a professional environment by a company that has been around for a quite a while. I have one with a spindle and it is a seriously well-made and well-supported tool with an active online forum full of smart folks. They are made just 1.5hr drive from me.

It will process aluminum, but it is not a machinist mill. If you are doing a lot of metal work, you may want to consider a Tormach. http://www.tormach.com/product-pcnc-440.html