CNC

[Howie]

Planning to purchase a CNC . An recommendations ?

 

[Boudica]

Planning to purchase a CNC . An recommendations ?

Have you ever operated one? Start there...

 

[Howie]

Quicker learner , but a valid point there

 

[Boudica]

Quicker learner , but a valid point there

No experience here personally with CNC. never operated one. That said, I'm trying to be helpful here, by suggesting that you give some background on your experience, what you need it for, and your budget... Like how much do you expect to make in a year or two. Or however someone figures out their budget when purchasing production equipment.
It would help narrow down the input you need, from those who do know.

 

[James Burke]

Planning to purchase a CNC . An recommendations ?

In all honesty, you are starting at the wrong end of the question. A CNC is nothing more than a tool...albeit a very specialized tool...and it must fit into your business model, or it will become a very expensive boat anchor.

1) What do your customers want/need? Are their wants and needs realistic, and are your capabilities realistic to produce said signage?

2) What is your budget?

3) What are your shop capabilities (voltage, compressed air, work area, etc....)

4) What are your primary and ancillary software, tooling, and equipment needs?

The list could go on, and perhaps others will chime in.

Choosing a CNC needs to be a very highly cerebral decision. Stay the hell away from any trade show until you have a solid understanding of what you really need. Trade shows play high on emotions. And before you know it, you're buying something you really shouldn't.

If you do happen find a trade show featuring viable vendors, make a long check list FIRST, and go over every line item with the rep to see how it stacks up. Honestly, you can do a lot of homework online before you ever set foot in a convention hall.


JB

 

[Print1]

If you want a true cnc table that’s one thing If you are a sign shop that wants a flatbed cutter with routing ability and such id lean toward a cutworx machine, they are very easy to run, you’ll be up and running faster than most and you dont generally have to hire a rigging company to move them. If you have questions let me know, I’d be happy to answer them for you,

 

[John Miller]

Howie, what are your plans for the machine? What is your budget. We bought a Laguna CNC about 10 years ago. I feel it was a good investment because it gave us capabilities we didn’t have in house. Do you outsource CNC cutting currently? What do you spend on those services? Lots more questions but start by answering those for the group.

 

[signdudegraphix]

We recently purchased a yeti tool Smartbench precision pro with V-Carve Pro software. So far we’ve used it to cut shapes and lettering in 3mm & 6mm ACM. There’s a bit of a learning curve. We’re only doing 2D work at this time. We started with a Shaper Origin. The shaper works great, but you have to move it around manually. If it wasn’t for a great customer that wanted lettering cut out of ACM, we wouldn’t have thought about getting a CNC. Do your homework. Both of our machines are portable. We’re a mobile shop and space is limited.

 

[signdudegraphix]

These shaper origin's are really intriguing. The one thing I'd like to see it do, is track a hand drawn line. Ideally you could take faces off a wall, drop them on a sheet and trace, then run the shaper around the perimeter. Jigsaws are ideal for this, but it's only as good as the operator, where this machine is kindly supplementing the operator's skill. All the literature I've seen on these pretty well says you have to have a digital file to be working with though. Is that right?

You can scan a line with the shaper, then cut it. There’s a video on their site on how to do it.

Here’s a project we did with the shaper. Four goldfish that are 48x72. The shaper performed flawlessly. Now we have the yeti for larger jobs.

If you choose to put the wrap on before using the shaper, you must apply transfer tape so the print doesn’t get scratched up.