Hi Keith,
CNC'ing has proven to be a long learning curve, first mechanical design and calcs to achieve your goals, Mach3 or
what have you as controller, motherboard/CPU/GPU and OS to run it sweetly, CAD/CAM to have decent code to run...
I built my machine initially to make PCB's but always intended that it should be able to mill steel. I made a lot of choices
along the way in order to do this, cast iron beds, steel table/column, ground ballscrews, preloaded linear rails, low backlash
planetaires with 5-phase steppers.
Have been making PCB's, aluminium and brass parts for a while now. The weekend past I tried my first steel (1045, 160HBn)
parts. It worked but NOT easy, two broken one blunted carbide tools. What I had thought rigid even overbuilt has proved to be
otherwise and my luvly German made high speed spindle looks very marginal when cutting steel. Suddenly things that I never
really had to bother with in aluminium have become important; surface speed, chipload, tool torque, tool deflection, tool wear
and the list goes on.
As I say CNC is just one long learning curve!!!
Craig