Suggestions Decently priced CNC router

Went from an iEcho ($85,000) to a Multicam Celero 7 ($300K+) this last year... I don't know what decently priced is to you but functionality is key for us.

 

shop bot

 

multicam, best bet is to look for a used Sabre (5-10k) or a used multicam (20-50k) depending on budget/needs.

 

Our Sabre was 20 yrs old just replaced it with a Colex. The saber was a work horse and the colex is a champ for us

 

What sorts of applications did you have in mind? Any kind of budget range that you care to share?

Best regards,

Phil Johnson
Airmark Corporation
(800)527-7778, ext 112
philj@airmark.com

 

Shopbot and laser

 

We've had our Colex for two years. No problems at all and very few issues have been resolved by support remotely.
I would buy another one in a heartbeat.

 

AXYZ 6010 (10 ft x 6.5 feet bed) , basically go for the biggest bed you can afford and have room for - you won't regret it! and decent vacuum and a auto tool height sensor are a must. the rest such as auto tool change etc are nice to have but not critical

 

"decently priced"? ....buy a used machine from an industrial reseller
or build yourself a new shop bot

 

I bought Laguna smartshop 2. It's been good so far as a wallet conscious CNC. It has a standard vacuum table, multi tool changer and welded frame. I found it simple to use so far. I learned on a Multicam, and it's was more user conscious. Biggest feature I liked about the Multicam was being able to "Z" both the spoil board and the height of the material. Those are features I miss, but can live without. I also was introduced milling on a ShopBot as well. Great for makers and someone who likes to full understand GCode and mechanics of CNCing, but the one I used was more primitive for software running it. I would say budget wise this is a great starter machine. I was shown a Biesse that Grimco supplies, and was very much not a fan of it. Although a beast, there was 3x more steps involved to run a simple program than the multicam or laguna. At the end of the day, I was able to get a new Laguna for the price of a used Multicam and it's been great for what I've been machining for standard materials. I've run V-carve Pro and Aspire on all the machines I've run and it's been seamless tooling between all of them.

 

I run a Laguna also and am very happy with it. I too wanted a Multicam but the cost was prohibitive.

 

I recently purchased a chineese 5x10ft with vaccum table and dust collector.
I was leary, but received machine no issues just had to rewire some things and change settings to work in states. With customs and fees cost just under 10k. Laguna is getting them from same supplier, I can get them with special colors and logos.

 

With Shopbots you may spend more time tinkering than actually making money.

 

Alibaba?

 

Direct from Chineese Manufacturer, Alibaba there are so many different chineese ones and read alot of bad feedback. I spent 5 months researching and got with manufacture that are now makeing them for us. I have a 5x10 with vaccum table, and dust collector that I will sell, as we now will have one comeing with our logo and colors on it.

 

I'm assuming you have some sort of other upgrade included, not just getting another one for the sake of color/logos, right?
In any case do you care to share your supplier's info?

 

The only thing I've done with my Bot in the last 15 years is upgrade the hardware package and add a spindle. Other than that it's been pretty bulletproof. New ones come with hardened rails that don't need much attention.

 

It looks like the biggest draw back to any chinese machine is the controller. I wouldn't be afraid of the router but I need software with a big green go button. Is this assumption off base?

 

I'd like to know the same as JBurton.