The attached PDF (CNC-Part-Summary.pdf) provides detailed cost and sourcing information for each and every required part. Listed here is only a summary



Sheet Stock --- $20

-a 48" x 48" piece of 1/2" thick MDF (any 1/2" sheet stock can be used I have plans to make my next version out of UHMW but cost was prohibitive this time around)

-a 5"x5" piece of 3/4" thick MDF (this is used to make spacers so any piece of 3/4" stock found around the shop could be used)



Motors and Controllers ---- $255

-An entire instructable could be written on chosing a controller and motors. In short what is required is a controller capable of three axes of control (with pulsed step and direction inputs) and motors with about 100 oz/in holding torque. I sourced mine from http://hobbycnc.com they have worked well and the kit was quite easy to solder. ( direct link )



Hardware--- $275

-These parts can be acquired from three places. The conventional items can be acquired at Home Depot, the specialty drive products are easy to find at any industrial supplier, I used McMaster Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com) (I chose them because they have a nice online store), and finally because of the large number of bearings required I found the best price from an online seller (http://vxb.com) which sells 100 for $40 (leaves quite a few left over for other projects) ( direct link )



Software --- (free)

-What is required is a program to draw your designs (I use CorelDraw), and a programme capable of interpreting these files into pulses to be sent to your controller. I'm currently using a trial version of Mach3 ( http://www.machsupport.com )but have plans to convert to LinuxCNC (An open source machine controller which uses linux) ( http://www.linuxcnc.org )



Router Head--- (extra)

-I attached a dremel type cutting tool to my machine however if you are more interested in additive construction (like fab@home or RepRap) you may wish to look into their deposition tools.



Details



-the metric components and especially the cross nuts aren't very popular and I had to visit several Home Depots in my area before I had enough.

-I couldn't find a way to link to parts directly on the MCMaster Carr site. To find them go to www.mcmaster.com and search for the part #

