Hi,
I’m a UK based hobbyist that is new to the world of CNC but decided to take the plunge in building a MPCNC to support my hobby of building radio controlled planes.
So I’m building a modest machine for cutting balsa and thin ply wood, would my choice of stepper motor work?
Model: 17HE15-1504S
Thanks
Paul
Welcome!
Ryan’s docs recommend 17HS19-2004S1 but MPCNC docs also state anything over 50oz/in works, so those look good.
Isn’t a laser probably a better choice if you’re primarily cutting super thin materials?
Welcome to the forum @Hozza!
Am using 84oz steppers recommended by the docs, but maybe some folks here with MPCNCs with ~60oz steppers will chime in whether that’s working for similar balsa and thin ply wood projects they have?
You can make those ones you picked out work. You may not get the speed possible with the larger ones or the acceleration, but for a small light duty system it could work and if it doesnt you can swap them later. Just be conservative with your feeds and speeds.
Thank you for all of the feedback.
Think I’ll upgrade my choice to 17HE19-2004S
As for a laser that could be a whole new can of worms 
Out of interest what sort of laser would I be looking at?
I don’t know much about the different flavours of laser, just that there’s a couple of people at the local hackspace that laser balsa very successfully.
I’m sure others can weigh in
Not tried it but it feels like it’d be a pain to router without destroying it?
Pretty much any of the low end lasers available will cut timber. UV lasers being the most commom
Getting a diode laser module will cut thin materials as the wattages are typically in the low ranges for these (think 1-10W typically). There are higher values but getting to the bottom of what is real and what is Chinese switch and bait can get challenging
Beyond that you could move into the tube based UV lasers like the standard Chinese K40’s. Tube lasers will go from about 40w up into the hundreds but due to the way they work and their cost, your work envelope is usually around the size of a A4 sheet of paper.
Keep in mind if you do go down the path of a laser cutting open machine that reflections off the often invisible lasers off can permanently damage your eyes. Get laser safety glasses to suit the laser your using off a reputable company.
Aren’t those CO² lasers? UV is pretty new and really expensive afaik.
I know my K40 is IR, not UV.
Yes.. your both correct, I meant IR not UV
I’ve cut plywood without a problem but never tried balsa, guessing it would work fine.
Having said that I have had some cheap 3mm box store ply that basically refused to cleanly cut. Most likely related to the glues used.
I personally would be wary of using a laser without it being fully enclosed, such as with a converted router machine but plenty of people do it without incident
