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Thread: cnc machines for newbies

  1. #31
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    AH...those were pretty much different machines way back then! Those are the early days.
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    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  2. #32
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    Apr 2018
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    Cambridge Vermont
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    Makes you wonder where things will be in 10 or 20 years from now. Whether you like or hate the Chinese one thing is for sure. They have driven the price down so there's a lot more options available without a major investment. I can remember about 15 years ago replacing a 5 phase stepper motor was about $15k. Now that same motor is under $1k.

  3. #33
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    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    I agree that the industry has moved in a positive direction cost wise and that's likely to continue, both due to technology/manufacturing improvements as well as continually increasing demand.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  4. #34
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    Nov 2009
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    Evansville, IN
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    1,188
    Stylecnc stg 6090. That is what I really want. Input gladly welcomed

  5. If you're looking at X-Carve or Shapeoko, I'd recommend taking a hard look at the OneFinity. The machine is much more rigid than the X-Carve and Shapeoko, and uses ball screws for movement instead of belts/pullies. Only downside is that they have a 2-3 month lead time right now (still waiting for mine...), but people that have gotten theirs are very happy - including quite a few that have upgraded over a Shapeoko. They have a pretty active Facebook group - I'd jump in and watch for a while.

    Mine is for hobby use (recently retired), and I decided to limit my spend to under $5k on my first CNC. Now, I need to figure out what to do about upgrading my dust collection. My existing setup will likely work well enough for the CNC, but I think I want to be able to use a 2nd tool while the CNC is running.

  6. #36
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    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    Almost every machine manufacturer, including those in the CNC space, have long lead times right now. That's normal for "built to order" machines like Camaster, ShopSaber, etc., but even the kit makers like AVID, Shapeoko, etc., are scrambling to keep up because of global material and manufacturing challenges.

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    Michael, good point about your DC. I consider my CNC machine an "extra worker" in the shop and often shoot for doing other work with other tools while babysitting the CNC cut. You cannot "walk away" when running a CNC machine for safety reasons, so having something else to do is the productive solution. So yea, being able to collect from the CNC as well as another machine simultaneously is conducive to that.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Cambridge Vermont
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    2,280
    I remember seeing on the CamHeads classifieds someone selling (or giving away) a Camaster that caught fire because the operator left while it was running. Because of how long it can take I'm guessing the temptation for people to assume it's worked 100s of times before so it's going to work now so they set it and forget it. I'm thinking someone is going to come up with a flir system that will catch a router bit that's above a set point but below when a fire starts. With the virus lots of companies have come up with ways to monitor employee's temperatures entering plants so it should be doable. Given time it'll even be mandated by insurance companies if successful (like guards for drill presses).

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