I am lookin to purchase a 4x4 cnc. Any advice would be gratefully recieved
Welcome Jeffc, what do you plan to make? 
I was planning to make a range of catchall trays to sell at the local markets to start with.
Trays with funny and uplifting messages. End grain cutting boards and i have some ideas of interesting different shaped bowls.
I’m in Aus. What info are you after?
Tweed heads NSW. You?
start with catch all’s, bowls, positive message wall hangings and anything that might sell at markets
Newcastle NSW.
Currently rebuilding my 4x4 pro which is becoming a 10x4 via 7x4 for a bit due to space constraints!
Going to sell the mach4 controller and nema 34’s once I’ve got the servos fitted.
What spec have you gone for?
4x4 pro is my aim. Still working on savings. gotta love the exchange rate .
Planning to purchase V Carve soon and do the learning procedure.
Don’t want to be sitting scratching my head and have a machine constructed not making sawdust.
And the exchange rate is only the start. The Trumpian dollar is fearsome at the moment.
Then add in shipping - around US$1500 as soon as a pallet is involved.
And then our government will get involved. Figure on (roughly) another 17.5% on the price (including shipping) to cover GST, import duty, and a coffee or two for the shipping company to submit the paperwork.
Then, unless you have a forklift parked in your lounge, you’ll need to pay some more for a tail-lift truck to deliver.
And that’s before the tariff wars start…
If you’re handy, and willing to do a bit more legwork, you could look at getting everything except the aluminium extrusion from Avid - if you can avoid a pallet, DHL can do the shipping, and they are much better and cheaper than those UPS charleys. You’ll have your bits within a week, and duties etc are dealt with online, quickly and easily.
Get your extrusion from https://8020.com.au/ - the avid build manuals list all the extrusion lengths and sizes, it’s just a case of compiling a list. 8020 will cut and bore for you as well, but they do charge per machining procedure. They’re a pretty helpful bunch, and I’ve used them a couple of times for extra parts.
(Get Avid to supply the fasteners though. The ones I got locally were a different thread.)
Wow…thanks mate for the heads up.
Jeff
Hi, I know this is a bit of an older thread. Our makerspace is thinking about upgrading our current small cnc with something larger. People want to be able to cut full sized sheets of ply, as well as 3d carve. Currently looking at the 4x8 with the 12 inch z axis. we were wondering on peoples experience with materials and rigidity- not really metals- just wood. Also people are also concerned about keeping eveything square on this type of machine. Just wondering in 2026 if people would still recommend- especially considering importing to Australia on top of everything.
@Unheardhealer see this recent thread with some answers: Purchasing 4896 Pro for cabinetry - curious about real world experiences with machine rigidity