Our shop just got a new Laguna 4x8 CNC. I want to share with anyone considering this that it isn’t easy to get into your shop. You will need a forklift with fork extensions- the longer the better.
Surprise number one for me was the pallet is 7’x12’, and my truck bed with stakes installed is 7’1”. I could have removed the stakes, but I really wanted the security of having the stakes in place. The pallet was one layer of chipboard on top of 4x4 stringers with crossmembers. It was very scary how the pallet was bending, and to get it off the truck I decided not to use the pallet. This photo was at Tropical Shipping when we were picking up the machine from the shipper. Note: the front rails on this truck are welded into place- not sure who did that or why- so side lifting wasn’t an option, or so I thought. In hind sight we should have side lifted it with the back three stakes removed, and then slid it up between the fron ones that can’t be removed. I had assumed Tropical had long enough fork extensions for lifting it longways. I did not see the pallet bending until we were at the truck. So- FYI- it is not good to try to lift this thing longways unless you have at least 10’ and preferably 12’ forks.
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I decided to back the truck into the shop (the wood shop is a pole building open on one end.). The laser/CNC shop has an 8’ door into the wood shop. We took the stakes off the truck and lifted the CNC from the side and set it down on blocks so we could get 4x4 crossmembers in order to lift the machine longways off the truck. So the pallet at this point stayed in the truck and the CNC was lifted off the pallet, the truck was driven out from under it, and from there, wood beams were used to lift the CNC. This allowed us to lift the wood beams with the forks, and the beams rested on the rails of the CNC. I strapped the CNC to the forks to prevent tipping as a safety measure. I also moved the controller up towards the forklift for weight distribution.
I was focused on doing this safely and few photos were taken. Second photo shows wood beams being put in place. The one on top of the machine would be moved under it and beams rest between the forks and the machine. Photo taken as we were still placing beams.
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This got really scary for the next part, because I had to lift the machine over the table saw and thread it between two posts 10’ apart while making a turn. No photos were taken. The saw protruded 2’ into that 10’ gap. I did not want to dismantle the whole saw and outfeed tables to do this, and we decided at the angle we needed to come in, I could lift the machine over the saw and squeeze the forklift through the gap. The wheels literally touched the outfeed table as we squeezed through, but it worked.
From there it was a straight shot into the laser room.
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I made casters out of two layers of 3/4” Baltic Birch ply and 1” greenheart around the edges to keep them from sliding out from under the legs. Five wheels per caster were used: one at each corner, and one in the middle. I set the machine on the casters and we rolled it into position in the laser shop. We already have two 4x4 CNC machines, two 2x4 lasers, a 2x3 CNC, and a 2x3 laser all in this 30x40 shop, plus a mill and two lathes. Safe to say it is tight in that shop.
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Once in place, floor jacks were used to lift it off the casters and set it down. Photo shows it still on casters.
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So, for the guy considering one of these machines, you need a forklift with long forks, and you really need to plan this out before you make the move. If your shop doors are less than 10’ wide, you will have to lift the machine longways, and the only rails going across the machine are front and rear, so plan on using supports across the machine like we did. Get a flatbed truck or trailer capable of carrying 7’x12’. The skates idea worked beautifully. I should have used one size larger casters. That was all I could find locally in the quantity I needed. You need two locking casters on each skate and all casters need to swivel.
Why not a pallet jack? We had limited space to make the turns needed to get it into place. A very long pallet jack sideways or one at each end longways with enough space to maneuver might work, but I actually liked our skates so we could roll it around, spin it, and get it right where we wanted it. If you had a flat concrete space outside and a smooth transition into the shop. You might be able to roll it in with pallet jacks. We had a step up into the laser shop, and the wood shop has rough asphalt floors. Yes, it used to be a parking lot- still has yellow parking spaces painted on it. We make do with what we have!
We also got a 2x3 CNC and it weighs 480 pounds. Don’t assume you can lift that thing either with a few of your friends unless they are well-built friends!
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Originally Posted by Mark Bolton
