Originally Posted by
James Biddle
I'm in the process of selling my Camaster Panther and focusing on its replacement. I'm also using Vectric Vcarve Pro and Mozaik. It was important to me to stay with a WinCNC based machine...I don't want to relearn a control system or be forced into different software solutions every time I buy a new machine. Something else may be more important to you...decide what's important and it becomes much easier to drill down to machines meeting your criteria. Brad listed some really nice machines above and they're worth a look.
So for me, the two most important criteria is a solid,beefy welded frame and WinCNC control. Much of my other criteria is similar to yours, 4'x'8' or 5'x8' (look at the cutting area as many of the 4'x8' machines will have a large enough cut area to cut 5'x5' baltic birch), 10hp ATC spindle (very little price difference to a 5hp ATC) with 8-10 tools, phenolic bed with vacuum plenum (I'll add t-tracks to the bed if it not available), popup pins, and remote keypad. Laser is nice but not mandatory for me (especially with popup pins for locating parts). Mister is nice but not a requirement for me either (I can air cool or manually mist for as little metal work as I intend).
One other thing to consider is ease of lubrication/maintenance. Look at every lube point on the machine and decide how you would access it. Do you need to tighten belts and how hard are they to access? Longevity on a CNC will depend, in part, on how well they are maintained.