Just starting out
 

Hi all:
Another noob here.

My name is Steve, and I live in the United States, outside Seattle, Wa.

Let me quickly describe how I got here. Several weeks ago I ran across an article on something called a WikiHouse http://www.wikihouse.cc/

I found the concept intriguing. I'm 56, starting over, and looking down the road to retirement wondering how I'd be able to secure housing I wasn't renting or paying rent on the rest of my life. The WikiHouse concept might put that in reach.

In reading about the WikiHouse I found that it was constructed from parts cut from plywood on a CNC machine, so..... I started to look for a local source that could do my cutting. Having failed to locate that source I started to look for CNC machines to buy, which is how I came across MechMate and this forum.

My I started reading post on the forum, and the first thing I ran across is that the MechMate is suited for metric dimensioned material.

Will I run into problems here in the US?

No problem working in inches. MACH3 (soon to be MACH4), which is the software most of us use to drive the MechMate works in metric or inches. When you set-up MACH3 you'll choose to work in inches. Many of the MechMate builders (there are well over 100) are US based.

Read...read...read.

Thank you for the reply - I'm reading as fast as I can. The volume of information is a little overwhelming at the moment.

I'm trying to decide where to start..ie order plans and start buying materials, or start working to learn software, or just keep reading for a while.

I'm a little overwhelmed at the moment

Thanks again for the reply

Steve

I had that overwhelmed feeling as well.
Don't focus on what you don't understand. Focus on what you do understand, make some progress, and ask questions on the rest.
I've had a working machine for a year or so now, and I'm still in awe at the guys around here who have forgotten more about this stuff than I'll EVER know.
If you have the desire, you can build one of these machines.

would you suggest just buying the plans, then some steel, and start fabbing?

if you are better with steel fab than with electronics, that's a great place to start.
That's what I did. I kept researching while building the table, and had a LITTLE better grasp of the electrical part by then. I still leaned pretty heavily on the forum.

If you don't have the plans, you really can't start...
You don't have to be competent in anything, electronics, welding, steel fabrications. My welding still looks like shit & still not very sure about the electronics after building 2 MM.

If you don't have the plans, you really can't start...
You don't have to be competent in anything, electronics, welding, steel fabrications, software... etc,
My welding still looks like shit & still not sure about the electronics & electrical stuff after building 2 MM.

Welcome Steve, I'm down in CA and on the home stretch of building my machine. I'd recommend figuring out some of the electronics first (at least getting a good handle on where you want everything to be) as it can impact some of your later purchase/design choices as you build things slightly differently than the plans. Otherwise, getting the plans and getting going wouldn't be a bad place to start. I have a bunch of extra parts of some of the more odd bolt types and nuts, feel free to send me a PM if you're having issues sourcing anything, or if you get going and want to pick up a bunch of some of the more random items all at the same time.
Good luck on the build!