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View Full Version : Got my new-2-me IS7000



Kev Williams
10-20-2013, 10:29 PM
My shop has now officially expanded into the garage. Got it a and set it up yesterday. Wasn't as physically large as thought it would be, but it's still large! And given my bad luck with computers I was astounded when my Gravo 5.3 software worked with the dongle that came with it, AND the fact that after a few minutes of setting up the driver and picking the right virtual port, it sprang to life and ran an 'air' job! It's a 2005 machine, but it's barely been used. The PO cut some wood with it a few times, didn't care for how it did it, and it's been sitting ever since. Supposedly has less than 10 hours on it. Got a lot of 1/4" cutter tools, and most of the machine's setup hardware, I was told the top clamps and edge stops are missing, but they'll be replaced. I'm going test a coolant mist system next week to see if it will work as well as a flood system for metal work. I hope it does, I do a lot of metal machining and engraving. Today I ran a dedicated power line to the garage for the machines. Since I AM moving to the garage, I'm also going to move a couple of other machines out there, which will give me some breathing room down here in the basement, and will also eliminate hauling many big items down and up stairs. I'm excited! :)

Mike Null
10-21-2013, 8:55 AM
That's a nice looking piece of equipment. You ought to be able to hog out some metal with it.

Keith Outten
10-21-2013, 9:29 AM
I agree with Mike, thats a real beauty.

Can't wait to see what you can do with it.

Ross Moshinsky
10-21-2013, 11:46 AM
That's a nice looking piece of equipment. You ought to be able to hog out some metal with it.

Unless it has an upgraded spindle, I don't see how that is remotely possible. Out of the box it comes with a 90W spindle which is just about .12hp. At best you can lightly machine plastics. This is speaking from experience as I have the smaller version of the same machine.

Kev Williams
10-21-2013, 2:33 PM
Oh, it's "remotely" possible, LOL... maybe I'm doing something wrong because I machine 1/16" to 1/8" aluminum and fiberglass daily on my smaller machines--my 2 5000XT's and even my IS400--with smaller motors and the same collet spindle. I use the IS400 to cut switch, light and meter holes in 3/16" thick aluminum hand-held electric boxes, and also 1/8" thick ABS and PVC boxes. Now, I can't machine blazingly fast, but I usually have several other jobs going at the same time, so what's important to me is getting them done right with the least amount of work possible. The (old beatup) panel in the photo, it's about 21" x 31", .100 thick, I make those from scratch, takes me about an hour start to finish to cut the holes and blind stud bosses, laser etch the text & graphics (other side, not shown) and press in the studs. To make these on the XT takes a second setup with precise re-alignment with the first pass. Same with laser etching. This is why I bought the 7000 and a new laser, so I can do these in ONE setup. The new laser will do 2 of these at once instead of 1/2 of one at once in my LS900. Just the time savings in not doing the second setups will save me not only the setup time, but the time those second setups take away from OTHER setups...

Kev Williams
11-14-2013, 11:14 AM
I agree with Mike, thats a real beauty.

Can't wait to see what you can do with it.

It's taken me too long to find time around other work I have to do to get the machine so it'll do what I want it to do, but it's working for me now-- And man, I needed one of these things years ago!

A week ago I ran some 1/4" thick brass floorplate doors with .025" deep cuts with a .050 or so wide cutter without any fuss. Yesterday I engraved some stainless plates, added text & paint fill to a couple of plates, trying my best to match the existing text, another was a from-scratch plate with a ton of text and boxes. Other than the inevitable multiple tool sharpenings that go with that much SS engraving, the machine handled it nicely. And I got to do some panel machining- not much, just a couple of switch holes, but it was enough to have me grinning! Been machining aluminum on my 24 year old Vanguard XT's for years, and while they've done well, this new machine is a whole new animal!

Paul Phillips
11-14-2013, 2:04 PM
Hi Kev, congrats on your new addition, that's pretty impressive that you are able to do all that with your equipment, you are definitely getting the most out of it. I would suggest to you that if you are machining a lot of Aluminum and or non-ferrous metals that a CNC would be light years ahead of an engraver, I have an IS8000 and I can't imagine having to cut or mill Aluminum on it, I would guess your best feed rate would be 5-10ipm vs. 50-100ipm on a decent CNC. Please don't take this as a criticism of you or your equipment, I know you're doing the best with what you have and I admire that, just trying to point out a better way.
Keep up the good work.
Paul

Kev Williams
11-14-2013, 2:43 PM
My basement shop consists of me, my BIL Don , and my wife Vickie. No actual employees... The wife paints engraving and does some of the bookwork. Don runs the Concept and the ULS laser, and is going to learn to use the new (old) 3200 we just got. I run those and everything else, and usually several machines at once. So it's actually to my benefit to have the machine take awhile to do it's work so I can do OTHER work, I can't babysit one machine at a time or nothing would get done! (I have a video with me running a job on every machine but the Concept and the 7000, I need to edit it and post it up :) ) So even if it was faster, it would likely have to wait until I'm finished with something else and get back to it anyway, so speed isn't all that important. I'm more concerned with quality and accuracy, and this machine's got that! And it will be much faster than the XT's if for no other reason than much shorter dwell time. The XT's run off EP modules, and anyone who uses them knows that the ENTIRE spindle travel speed is only as fast as how slow you need to have it set. Plunging an endmill thru 1/8" thick aluminum is SLOW (about .1" per second) so the spindle dwell time is excruciating! Takes over 10 seconds just to REACH the metal from full-up, and the 'back-up' speed when cutting and job end is just as slow. The 7000 only has slow plunge speed, all else is full blast. And the 7000 is faster between points in the first place.

The big panel in the pic above in my first post, On my XT's I can cut all those holes and blind stud bosses in less than a half hour, and that's with having to rotate the panel 180 and align the second pass to the first. This machine will do the whole panel in one shot, just have stop it once to put on a depth gauge for the stud bosses.

I'll be getting orders for those and other similar panels in about 2 weeks, and on thru August, and I'm ready! :)