I mentioned the possibility of doing this in my custom build thread and a few people reached out and asked if I could follow through as it would help them on going down this journey.

for those interest here is my custom pinball thread
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/tube-time-custom-surfing-pin

So here is how I will do this, I will be documenting my build of my CNC set up which in itself is a custom build. I am sure I will come up against a few road blocks to work out and need to take some detours but the goal is to cut my own playfields. I am doing a Word document and will be keeping track of the progress and will update this thread once I finish each section and then I will progress to the next section. I will save this document as a pdf at the end and make it available as a compact manual for others to download if they want to go down the same path for this purpose. And there will be a bit of designing along the way and will share any design files as well.

Please ask questions, give advise if you can see a better way to solve one of my roadblock problems and follow this journey if you are interested.

And take the poll so I can see if people are interested and from what angle.

this is the game plan

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* 1. Reasons for Documenting

I chose to document this project to help others that are keen to get a machine but possibly too nervous of going down an unknown path that may appear a bit daunting. Therefore this project documentation may help others take that first step to head down this avenue of getting their own CNC machine and cutting their own Pinball Projects or for anything for that matter.

I don not have any affiliation with any of the noted companies and this is a documentation of my journey in which I am sure I will have a few challenges along the way and since it is a hybrid build, there is no guarantee that everything will work smoothly until the machine is set, debugged and running. So before jumping in yourself watch / read my build and see the results to then decide that you want to head down the same path. But I take no responsibility for costs and bugs / issues if you choose to jump in while I am still doing the build though I do hope this info helps others to decide what they want to do.

The guys in the US have public accessible hobby centres with machinery that they can access for an affordable fee but for us in Australia that is not an option so this is the next best thing.

no intention of selling, just build my own and play around, dare say there will be issues and the need to "MOD" my machine as well as pinballs.

how did your brothers venture go? What sort of machines?

* 2. The Hobby CNC Options

Due to my desire to make a custom pinball I wanted to get a hobby sized CNC so I can take control over cutting my own pinball playfield (which I will reference as PF from now on). I could send the work to someone else or do it myself and be able to make as many alterations that I wanted or needed as well as use for many other projects.

So in going this direction I weighed up some things before jumping in:

The positives:
- fairly compact (roughly 1000mm by 1500mm)
- fairly affordable (depends on what you go for)
- fairly user friendly (depends on what option you go for)
- affordable options use belt drives for X & Y axis movement, linear and screw drive is the preferred but there a size limitations and are a lot more expensive
machines can be customisable
- more accurate than cutting by hand and repeatable
- can take the same layout file and use towards the art side of the design

The negatives:
- does take up space if you are space poor
- will cut fairly slowly as basically the router used is a trimmer router
- could require some customisation to get the process area that you want and to make dust pickups but that is half the fun of this project

On doing research (November 2017) of the various machine / company options, I found these 6 to be on my short list:
- X-Carve by Inventables (US)
- Shapeoko 3 by Shapeoko (US)
- Stepcraft 2 - 840 by Stepcraft (German)
- OX CNC - makerstore (Australia)
- OX CNC - ooznest (United Kingdom)
- XYZ-Carve - 3DTek.xyz (Australia)

All the above are kit builds and price is a variable based on the time of research and where it has to come from.

* The X-carve is well known for the great support and awesome community of makers and is apparently a great machine and you can really vary your machine with many options and customise it as you go. You would have to upgrade the machine after purchasing so not a straight out of the box kit build as maximum size is 1000 x 1000mm size not process area.

* The Shapeoko is also well known for great support and great community of makers and apparently a great machine with v3 gaining a lot of improvements / upgrades. You would have to upgrade the machine after purchasing so not a straight out of the box kit build as maximum size similar to the X-Carve and the software looked good as well.

* The Stepcraft 2 is a great bit of machinery and is the step between hobby and commercial with a great design but is not customisable so would not do a PF in one go but allows for feed through work. The company was really good via email which is promising but the CNC programming looked a little over complicated especially for a person with zero experience.

* The OX CNC (Aus Option) is a Openbuild design machine that has been around for a few years and has some solid features with a few design floors as well but a good entry level machine. The company is a little slow on answers at the potential purchase stage. The machine design is customisable and it comes in a kit that can do a PF.

* The OX CNC (UK Option) is also a OpenBuild design machine as above but the companies owner has been proactive in identifying & strengthening up and improving the design in some areas and looks like an impressive upgrade of the Australia version. The owner was great in answering questions and helping out and also could ship parts separately to avoid customs charges.

* The XYZ-Carve is a take on the X-carve adopting a lot of the design and apparently improving the design in places though not staying up to date with some of X-carve’s recent design improvements. The company never replied to some questions on a few occasions and though very affordable and probably the best value for money an option that I struck off due to no communication.

yeah that happens and I better not do it as then I will look like a fool publically, lol - but then it will be a document of "What not to do"

* 3. The Decision

I chose to go for the following though was torn between a full X-Carve kit and the OX CNC but the import taxes were too much for the X-Carve:

- OX CNC (UK Option) - as it was more beefed up in design than the Australian option even though it lost some of it's Z Height process area I think it best suits my budget and what I want to do. I liked the little design upgrades and believe (hope) that it is stiffer than the Australian Options and the X-Carve. It was a little more expensive than the Australian options but I am happy with this decision. The frame may be different to the X-Carve but in the end is still a 3 axis bed CNC with dual motors on the gantry, both with some minor design flaws. This machine in the 1000 x 1500mm option is also the perfect size as a kit to cut a full standard width PF - though will not do a wide body playfield which I have not interest in doing.

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- X-Carve Controller - as it then links me to the X-Carve / Inventible community and gives me the upgrades in better power & control of the Nema 23 motors over the OX CNC machine option of controller. It is a slightly dearer way to go but it has some cool features all housed in one plug and play controller box and the Easel software is user friendly for the base entry people new to the CNC world and great for kids which I want to expose my kids to. Also Inventables just released an affordable option of using Easel Pro for 3D machining as a one stop shop approach and will all work running from a Mac and Windows.

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So my machine is now officially known as the OX-Carve (hybrid of the 2)

* 4. The Purchase Costs

I won’t do a cost comparison of the various machines as over time that will change and vary depending where you are purchasing from but all 6 options fall between the $1500 to $5000 AUD.

Below is my cost breakdown of my journey to help you determine if you want to go the same way.
- The OX CNC comes in silver anodised or black anodised, with all the parts to do the build, with NEMA 23 motors as the optional extra which to my surprise came with the wiring back to the controller. It does not come with the Controller, additional wiring, router or waste board.
- The X-Carve Controller can be purchased as a part on it’s own and I did purchase a router bracket to customise to suit the OX and a z probe tool height sensor and 3 homing switches.
- I purchased some parts through makerstore for the build - sensor cable, drag chain, and some t nuts
- I still need to purchase a spindle, waste board, cable for the router through the machine, router bits, and make a table for the CNC to sit on and be able to move around my small shed.

The purchase list will expand but should fall under the $3k - will update in a later post.

Otherwise that is it for the moment - when I get better I will go down to the shed and start assembling the mechanical kit.

Hope you enjoy ......

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the cost breakdown for uk and usd is what I paid and then I converted into Aus dollars in the far column so I can track my spend - it isn't both.

yes I have a 3d printer as well and haven't used it for about a year but sure to use in the near future for some of the custom pinball parts and maybe some temporary brackets for the CNC. They are temperamental and most of the issues for people are the first layer if the level is not perfect or the job releases during the job or the nozzle (blockages).

CNC's are simplier in my opinion, just bigger, louder & messier and operate opposite removing waste instead of building up the design. The main maintenance is keeping the belts clean from dust build up and grease on the lead screw and ensuring your machine is setup square (super critical).

I used to build Aus Made CNC's - Multicams as well as flat bed lasers.

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I was given a beast (not the one in the photo) of a US made tekcel and modded it up with modern gear (robot systems drive gear, motors, full wiring and aluminum vacuum t-slot table top) and silly me sold it (2011) to make room for pinballs and now I need and want a cnc again but want to go for a compact version. Since time is poor I opted for a bench cnc kit, and don't have the same access to machinery as I once did.

sd_tom that is a cool router and watched with interest but they are still way off selling outside the US unfortunately

Linolium nice work on full cnc range, and I too will one day upgrade to linear rails again and the Frozen pinball is cool. We definitely don't have deals like that on ebay or Gumtree (Craigslist equivalent)

vid1900 very cool and though there is a little loss of process area compared to the machine length, the gantry design is a great solution for stopping twisting of the router.

check this link out Zitt

https://discuss.inventables.com/t/auto-tool-changer-works-great/22518

made a start today, and ooznest does a great job of supplying everything in separate packaging / bags along with a nice glossy assembly manual, which is easy to follow

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I got the gantry together today and all set, instructions were pretty good though lacked in one small minor area (which you release later but you have to strip and rebuild part of the head) which I will capture in the pdf document at the end. Took about 4-5 hours just cruising listing to pinball podcasts - did a big catchup on "Pinball Profile" and a massive "Head2Head" episode

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The drag chain (20 x 25mm) came in from the Aus supplier yesterday so was able to tinker and now need to design some brackets that I will temporarily 3d print and will make the files (for free) and parts available on Shapeways once they are proven.
- 2 brackets for the X Axis drag chain
- 1 bracket for the X axis limit switch

these parts will help others go down the purchase and assemble path unlike my design and make then assemble path.

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overall the design is great for a belt and roller design, with no backlash or twist (yet)

been a bit caught up with being sick, doing site maps for work at home and then have to do one project to help another.

project 1 - re-arrange the shed to make way for a cnc table
project 2 - make a flip up cnc table
project 3 - complete the cnc

dam doubt I will be cutting a playfield in the next 2 weeks but got a week off soon and hope to be close to having the cnc at least running by new years and then back to work.

my workshop is small so need to make a drop down cnc table so if ever the car needs to go in it can as well as wheel games etc around.

the long section of workbench is already in place, just need to make the left hand side small one for the computer and cnc controls
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cnc bench will tilt up out of the way and front legs removed
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cnc / bench tilted out of the way with a white board underside for sketching ideas
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also have purchased a router and ordered a mount bracket and dust pickup which hopefully have by Christmas

I designed some 3d printed brackets for the X axis drag chain and X axis gantry stop - so will post photos and update the build manual when these come in

yeah the shaper origin is cool but restricted to the US at the moment.

I seen the kooky idea machine before - good for some things but not playfields etc.

my flip up when not it use will use a 2 x 4 ft foot print and when in use will use 4 x 5 ft foot print so a good compromise - just have to ensure there is no twist when in laying down position...

the oz cnc is quite a rigid little machine coupled with a 4" thick table frame - and when the machining state will have 6 points of support, it should be fine.

when it is in the down position I will be cutting everything over a few weeks and then tilt out of the way - that's the theory anyway

still a very clever idea - make sure to post some results after using it here in this thread, very curious..

- got the shed 90% re-arranged and will start on the cnc bench hopefully this weekend.
- got the router / spindle
- the router mount came from a guy in the US - really nice work
- the x-carve controller kit arrived yesterday as well
- and my shapeways drag chain custom brackets arrived as well - one needs a slight tweak in the design but is usable.

so most parts are here though sure I need some more drag chain and wiring

got a bit of time today to build the frame for the addition bench (lhs) and the flip up cnc table top - so far it is pretty sturdy and happy with it, once the sheeting goes on it will stiffen up and brace nicely then I can finish the cnc assembly

cnc bench down
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cnc bench up
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pretty sure it isn't Shark Island as the lip is normally as thick as what the tube is high. I surfed Shark Island in the late 80's and scared the crap out me - very heavy wave

photo isn't me but typical of the island
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body boarders love, but this is insane and breaks onto about 2-3ft of water over a rock platform
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