Independant machine comparison

[james mcgrew]

an administrator at the college of design at minnesota university has prepared this side by side comparison of cnc machines in his search for the right the right equipment for his curiculum, i felt it is noteworthy as it is well done and accurate.

jim

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101636

[Joey Jarrard]

Cool very cool, I think the men in yellow and black look good in a side by side.

[cdesfablab]

Thanks for posting my research to camheads James. I am liking the yellow and black Joey, I may try to get to Columbia for the Aspire Camp to see it in person. Is there a Cobra in MN's Twin Cities or Western WI, I could have a look at?

Can somebody here give me the X, Y, Z footprint of a CR 408 and the Z travel on the 12" clearance machine?

I got a quote from MultiCAM today so added it to the matrix:
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=...ZjA3MzIz&hl=en

Though I suspect there may be a slight bias here, I welcome any/all feedback/comparisons etc.

This machine will be used in a collegiate fabrication shop in design education: mostly by architecture students. Rhino is the most widely used 3D design tool here, so we'll probably use RhinoCam for toolpath generation. Output will include 3D topographic site models, 2D building elevations, modular building systems (tab & slot), molds for thermoforming, occasional furniture parts and surely a million things we would never have thought of.

We're currently considering (in no particular order): Precix Industrialplus, Techno LC, ******* PRSa, CAMaster Cobra and EZ Router Scorpion. To me these machines (except maybe the *******) have very similar specifications and capabilities. Pricing w/12"z, 3-5hp spindle, vac table and vac pump ranges from $26.5k to $37k. The Techno got about 10K higher than the sales rep initially indicated which may knock it out of consideration.

I would very much appreciate any comments and suggestions, particularly useful would be significant quantitative and functional differences between the machines.

Obviously part of the cost and expectations with such an investment are support after the sale. Comments regarding the customer service, maintenance issues and user support networks associated with any of the machines/manufacturers are also appreciated.

If anybody notices obvious errors or can help fill in any blanks on the table, that would be appreciated. I have not included a couple of manufactures of whom I have requested but not received a quote(after 2+weeks). If there are other machines that NEED to be included please let me know.

Thanks in advance, I hope input from this knowledgeable community can help us determine which machine best meets our needs.

Regards,
KG
UofMN
College of Design

[james mcgrew]

in my experience cnc owners are self flattered that we can actually run these things!! many of us did not recieve any formal training in this and so we depend on each other heavily, hence the comaderie that comes from forums.

to the camaster owners there is a post here worth noting and an interesting poll

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=135809

i will note there are thousands more blue owners out there so in shear volume the quanitative value of a poll may not reflect todays available technology. in addition while another brand may have tons more owners one must remember that 90+ % of those owners are hobbiest and smaller machines, with camaster all machines are fully welded industrial based machines of the same quality thru out.

welcome to camheads

jim

[Joey Jarrard]

KG, The foot print of the frame is in the attached pdf. The gantry over hang can change depending on your needs. we have been building the Cobra line with the overhang (cantilevered design) for the Recoil Included so this would make your machine's total width @ 75" in the X - Also take in to consideration of the plumbing and the control box adding 12-13" to the total length (Y) of the machine.

On CAMaster CNC Routers our normal set up for orientation is:
Across the gantry is the X, the length of the table is the Y.

I have an older Tool Changer 510 in Lakefileld, MN just South of I-90.
The machine is on its 2nd owner and is gray not yellow. And is about 3 years old. The customer is running Aspire.

Thanks for looking into CAMaster CNC Routers,

[james mcgrew]

gathering

i am posting this for ken, it will be up dated later today

[Joey Jarrard]

I found a revised side by side from Kevin. He added more machines for people to compare. :)

There is a good bit of info here. And I think the boys in yellow are looking good side by side with the big boys.

[Joecrumley]

I'm in total agreement with Jim on the following quote.

"In addition while another brand may have tons more owners one must remember that 90+ % of those owners are hobbiest and smaller machines, with camaster all machines are fully welded industrial based machines of the same quality thru out."

I've spent years on the other forums dealing with the hobby mentality. That's in the rear view mirrow. The pro's need a place to share their efforts.

From everything I've seen the Camaster is a superior machine in every way. The main issue for this company is the blue folks have a head start. But quality always wins out.

Joe Crumley
www.normansignco.com

[Frank Myers]

Nice Work Joe!
Thanks for sharing.

[Joecrumley]

Greetings every one,

I've taken the liberty to post the Univ. of Minn. CNC program on the 3Dsignforum.com giving Koodoos to Camaster.

http://design.umn.edu/current_studen.../hall/cnc.html

I haven't seen much university interest with CNC's until now. Don't be surprised to see more college offerings.

Happy Routing

Joe Crumley
www.normansignco.com

[james mcgrew]

Best to get out on the forum and ask the owners about their machines!! always suggest you go see them !!,, Camaster does not allow any "Bad talk" about other company's machines, this is contrary to what we hear from some who have gone this method before so we just do not do this, CAMaster is a solid built in America machine with direct interaction with machine owners, while there are in access of 40 machine owners who have owned "Other Brands" and made CAMaster the machine they moved to, there are NO Known cases of this in the other direction, It is not an imported Chinese Machine glossed over as an US machine, it has a long and hard following of successful Owners who come to this forum for all and find answers to everything from machine/software learning curves to maintenance tooling and all that is part of the CNC experience.

one of the latest "sales" tactics of a CNC company that caught my Eye is when you google CAMaster several companies have taken to coattailling CAMasters popularity by "Tagging" the Name and redirecting the end user to their website when they click on the site !! If Immitation is the greatest form of acknowledgement then CAMaster is obviously the Go to company, CAMaster has never resorted to misleading the client with such low end tactics in any form.

Out in the new owners section and Water Cooler would be the place to ask Why do you like or why did you buy your machine to the owners, There are some who have owned "other Machines" they are welcome to post on their experiences" I will probably restrict any high lows or "Opinion's"of any other company's machines for their best interest.

[Jefoni]

Nice People

Oakspsd,

I spent literally MONTHS trying to determine what to do. I had entered the world of CNC last year with an entry level Chinese machine, just to see if I could do it. I was on another forum and a gentlemen named Mark suggested I look at Camaster. So I did, and to answer your question of final thing that made up my mind; the gentlemen named Mark and Mr. Jim Haga. I can't express in words how GREAT the experience was. Look, I don't know how long manufacturers have been around, but what I do know is that Mr. Haga made me feel like I was the first customer he had ever had. From my initial email to him all the way to yesterday, Camaster has been by my side the whole step of the way. I have had my machine for a month now, and it is incredible.

Lots of companies can say they offer support and service, I am here to tell you that Camaster doesn't just offer it, they live it. Not that there has been any issue with the machine...it's the operator, and the patience they have shown is incredible.

Oh, and this forum? A wealth of information and support. And again, nobody makes you feel like you should already know everything. They LIKE to help people.

Don't wait another minute...order it today, you won't be sorry.

[james mcgrew]

Jeff that Website is pretty Cool !!

[Charlie_L]

Oakspsd,
You might find this helpful.
http://www.camheads.org/showthread.p...eferrerid=1414

[Jefoni]

Thanks

Thank you sir. Means a lot coming from you. I have followed your work even before I bought my Cobra, as I have used Vectric for sometime now. I know I speak for a bunch of us when I say we really appreciate what you do to support our industry. You can't go to anywhere in the CNC world without seeing some variation of cabnet636. Your work, points of view and feedback are inspiring, so thanks again.

Regards,