Esko X24 vs Zund G3 L-3200

[drew-CP]

We are in the market for a flatbed, we cut foam core, PVC, Coro, aluminum composite, magnet material, vinyl adhesive, vinyl banner, card stock ect..

Just returning from SGIA we looked at both machines, and we watched both cut rigid material but weren't able to see roll fed stuff. Has anyone made this comparison or own either machine? It seems the Zund is faster but were not sure we need to pay the premium price for the Zund as the X24 seemed very well built.

Zund seems to have a lot of negative things about esko, which is interesting..

Any insight helping with our decision would be greatly appreciated! This will be our first flatbed cutter.

 

[nate]

We are in the market for a flatbed, we cut foam core, PVC, Coro, aluminum composite, magnet material, vinyl adhesive, vinyl banner, card stock ect..

Just returning from SGIA we looked at both machines, and we watched both cut rigid material but weren't able to see roll fed stuff. Has anyone made this comparison or own either machine? It seems the Zund is faster but were not sure we need to pay the premium price for the Zund as the X24 seemed very well built.

Zund seems to have a lot of negative things about esko, which is interesting..

Any insight helping with our decision would be greatly appreciated! This will be our first flatbed cutter.

I will tell you this. Both of them are good machines. The key is the software interface. Extensively test the software. Don't just let them show you stuff, do it yourself. When we did that we found the Zund software to be better suited to our environment.

 

[FireSprint.com]

Were selling our mimaki plotter because our zund runs cut vinyl so well.

If you ever plan on upgrading to a larger machine, zund tools will be the same.

Zund has free phone support and they answer when you call most of the time. No need to create a ticket and wait for someone to call you back.

I believe the two machines are priced the same if you figure size and speed into the equation.

Esko has some pretty incredible software though. Futuse planning with esko software...

 

[Robert Gruner]

Esko vs Zund

Drew,

While Esko and Zund compete for whichone's the best...???

Did you get a chance to checkout MCT Digital (mctdigital.com)...They build a workhorse to compete with Esko and Zund; but, market it for considerably less dollars. I know folks using them are quite satisfied.

Good cutting

 

[BillGram]

MCT won SGIA Product of the Year - did you see it next to Zund at show

We are in the market for a flatbed, we cut foam core, PVC, Coro, aluminum composite, magnet material, vinyl adhesive, vinyl banner, card stock ect..

Just returning from SGIA we looked at both machines, and we watched both cut rigid material but weren't able to see roll fed stuff. Has anyone made this comparison or own either machine? It seems the Zund is faster but were not sure we need to pay the premium price for the Zund as the X24 seemed very well built.

Zund seems to have a lot of negative things about esko, which is interesting..

Any insight helping with our decision would be greatly appreciated! This will be our first flatbed cutter.

Zund is faster than Esko X24 if it is what was called XN24 before. Esko has rack & pinion and Zund is belt drive.
MCT VersaTech2 1.6M should be considered also. MCT founders invented iCut now owned by Esko and know cutters.
New MCT VersaTech2 won SGIA Product of the Year Award. Max speed is 78 IPS and 1.25 G acceleration - faster than both Z G3 & KB X24. MCT has all the same style knife tools and 2.5 kW 60,000 RPM water cooled router. MCT also has a 100 watt laser tool option that has been shipping for 3 years cutting fabric and acrylic. Might not need laser now but down the road who knows.
MCT VT2 is a beast with a new beam that is 2.5 times stiffer than previous machine and much stiffer than Z and KB beams that allows MCT to run faster speed with more accuracy under heavy loads like 42 lb laser. Also made in the US in Milwaukee. Check it out.

 

[drew-CP]

Thank you guys for your info. I will check out MCT. Summa also approached us about there F series, which is considerably lower price wise, but I'm hesitant if the quality is there.

 

[nate]

Thank you guys for your info. I will check out MCT. Summa also approached us about there F series, which is considerably lower price wise, but I'm hesitant if the quality is there.

If you're doing serious cutting I would stay away from any of the "me too" machines. The Zund and Esko both are solid packages. I've seen the MCT and it looks like a good machine to consider as well. But again, let me stress the interface software. We had a Multicam Digital Express, and, while it was a good machine, the software was terrible. It had a steep learning curve and many of the tasks were tedious. These were not things we knew to consider when purchasing it.

That's why the Zund was a good fit for us. The machine is great and it's matched with software that is intuitive and easy to learn and it integrates well with Caldera.

Sure we saved money buying the Multicam, but in the long run it wasn't the right fit for us.

 

[JHeineck]

Zund is faster than Esko X24 if it is what was called XN24 before. Esko has rack & pinion and Zund is belt drive.
MCT VersaTech2 1.6M should be considered also. MCT founders invented iCut now owned by Esko and know cutters.
New MCT VersaTech2 won SGIA Product of the Year Award. Max speed is 78 IPS and 1.25 G acceleration - faster than both Z G3 & KB X24. MCT has all the same style knife tools and 2.5 kW 60,000 RPM water cooled router. MCT also has a 100 watt laser tool option that has been shipping for 3 years cutting fabric and acrylic. Might not need laser now but down the road who knows.
MCT VT2 is a beast with a new beam that is 2.5 times stiffer than previous machine and much stiffer than Z and KB beams that allows MCT to run faster speed with more accuracy under heavy loads like 42 lb laser. Also made in the US in Milwaukee. Check it out.

Be careful when considering a cutter outside of Esko and Zund. MCT claiming made in America when the machine is a blackman & white imported and assembled in the US. The big known companies will sell you solutions while the little guys tend to bend the truth to sell you a machine. The best advice i can give is to demo all prospects and let that be the deciding factor.

 

[Robert Gruner]

JHeineck...

<<The best advice I can give is to demo all prospects and let that be the deciding factor.>>

Bingo, I agree. Always perform due diligence.

The CEO of MCT, Steen Mikkelson, has a long history with both Esko and Zund cutters. Both companies OEM'ed Steen's "I-Cut" software for driving their cutters. The MCT product is well built and considerably less expensive than the Swiss made Zund or the Belgium made Esko.

 

[SPAranoff]

MCT VersaTech2 is the American made solution rocking the industry

As JHeineck isn't part of the MCT team he obviously isn't aware of our process (although many of the Zund upper management and the Zund management team were former employees of our past company, MGE). Yes, several of the VersaTech2 componentsare imported. Drives motors are brought in from Japan. The Router Spindle is manufactured in Germany. Several of the ebox components and tools are sourced from our sister company, Blackman and White, in the UK. The entire VT2 is designed, manufactured, assembled, tested and supported in the USA, in Milwaukee. This is very like how Zund will source certain parts from China or Germany and still claim their tables are Swiss built.

Let’s keep in mind that the team at MCT were the pioneers of this industry in their former company MGE,having introduced both Zund and Kongsberg to the digital finishing market astheir distributor, as well as by bundling their systems with the i-cut® visionsystem. Now MCT is once again moving the flagpole by being the first company tointroduce an “all in one” system that contains a laser, as well as traditionalrouter and knife tools with a patent-pending dual conveyor solution and issetting a new mark for performance, superior to the competition by operating at1.25g acceleration with cut speeds of up to 78 ips.

Unlike Zund America, MCT isboth developer and manufacturer, with software and hardware control, while theyare a wholly owned subsidiary with remote access, at best, to the developmenttalent in Switzerland. MCT can rapidly develop custom capabilitiesdirectly with its customer base, not having to rely upon technical resourcesoverseas. And, MCT is now supporting its partner in the UK with bothhardware and software being sold in Europe. As the management team withthe most experience in this industry in the world, it is smaller companies,such as MCT, that provide the innovation and productivity to its customers, notthe bigger players, who sell machines to meet quotas. For us, every happy and successful customer is our best method of advertising and promotion tocontinue our rapid growth. Can you afford not to look at the most innovativeperformance in the industry by relying upon older technology?

 

[Seanlaw22]

Zund claims to be the most versatile and modular system in the market.....FYI



See attached for what Zund upper management is stating in magazines and to customers/prospects. They've been doing this for a while....telling people they don't need a laser, and now they are trying to release a laser. The G3 is 10 year old technology, MCT has released two machines in a total of 3 - 4 years....all because MCT designs/engineers, programs and assembles EVERYTHING in house. Very agile, and we keep our finger on the heartbeat of this industry and it's needs. Imitation is the best form of flattery (SGIA: Zund TRIES to release a laser and bigger router...both items MCT is beating them on). Zund cannot hang a large laser and router on their current beam/gantry...it will not support it, so that means a whole new machine. See an email from a Zund account manager below stating this, and contradicting the attachment.

Good morning Mark,

I wanted to make you aware of a lightly used G3 3XL-3200 that may be coming on the market. We are taking this newer machine in trade (installed June 2016) because this large customer has decided they need our 3.6kW Router, and because of complications with the swap out process of the 1kW Router and Automatic Routing Bit changer it was easier to sell them a new table with the 3.6kW Router and ARC.

 

[JHeineck]

Sales and marketing can fudge numbers and change contexts to make anything sound the way they want. Demo the machines and tour the companies to see for yourself. Let the machines speak for themselves and I guarantee the best machine will win.