Looking for some advice from those in the know concerning my current CNC dilemma. I have a small shop (basically a small two car garage) which is way too overcrowded with machinery. Back when I was setting up the shop and idealistic in 2010, I purchased a 4 x 8 Camaster Stinger II machine with a 1 kW spindle. The machine has been reliable but gets less use than I had anticipated as it takes up such a huge part of my shop footprint that it's always covered with other stuff. Although I did make some large scale projects with it in the beginning, I have discovered that (a) the small electrospindle is really underpowered to do large 3/4" plywood cutting jobs conveniently (requiring a million passes) and (b) because of this I tend to use the machine for smaller precision type jobs. It was one of the first Camaster Stinger II machines (I think) and lacks a lot of the modern bells and whistles (for example, runs on Mach3, no cross hair, no rapid tool swap, hand controller, vacuum table, etc). So, I've got this small battleship sized CNC taking up too much of my space and lacking some of the software and hardware conveniences.

I've inquired multiple times to Camaster about upgrade options for the machine but so far not much interest. Ultimately, they pointed me toward cncexperts.com but I've been unable to get anyone there to bite on this project and give me a quote or options since May 2021. Basically, I think I need the space in the workshop more than the table size of this machine but I want to continue to have CNC capability and actually use it more (which would be likely, I think, with a smaller machine). I've explored a lot of options but, of course, a tricked out, industrial quality 2 x 4 machine seems to be like finding a rainbow unicorn.

I've considered shelling out for a new stinger I with a major spindle upgrade, vacuum table, stand, etc. which would certainly have about half the footprint. It's still a stepper motor based machine and I'm not sure how feasible putting a large spindle on it would be (despite the option on their website). Basically, I'd like to not be stuck making 14 passes for 3/4 inch plywood. I've also looked at the Axiom elite 2x4 machine which has a 3 Hp spindle (not sure how much stronger that is than my current option but suspect significantly) and servos rather than steppers but it lacks a real vacuum table option and some of the chatter about the machine wasn't great. Laguna makes a small ATC machine but I've heard mixed reviews about quality. Shopbot has the ATC Max but its pretty expensive for what you seem to be getting and doesn't look as overbuilt as the stinger.

Any suggestions from the crew that knows? In an idea world, I would shell out for a very high quality and robust smaller machine with a strong spindle, vacuum table, servos?, that would take up less space but chew through smaller sized (2x4) workpieces and be good for another 10-15 years. Is this a fantasy?

Thanks so much for any input.

Richard