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CNC for a small shop!!??

Fred Weiss

Fred Weiss

Merchant Member
We were discussing the Carvewright recently starting at post #13 in This Thread.

The system is being supported by the new Vector Art 3D art collections along with other widely used CNC formats. I expect the machine will bring a lot of people into the market and that we could be seeing an important turning point in that part of the business.
 
MVIP

MVIP

New Member
Looks like a toy to me. I would say it's like comparing a desktop printer to a wide format printer.

Just my opinion.
-matt
 
iSign

iSign

New Member
maybe like a desktop SOLVENT printer,

...that can still handle the identical materials & produce smaller componants (letters) of a larger sign for 5% of the equipment investment & 5% of the shop real estate (space) investment. I've cut enough letters & small plaques, or reverse panels to overlay on larger signs... that it would be a help for me with jobs I already do... AND a step towards increasing the market for dimensional signs as i ramp up to the day when i will get a full size router.

I may not persue this thing... but I'm definitly thinking about it.
 
Techman

Techman

New Member
I dont know too many people doing elements much bigger than 15". Even then a sliced up element can be glued up. Im taking a strong look at this.. even if it is just for my personal fun.
 
E

eaddesigns

New Member
i ordered this machine from sears and got it on the 10th.. set it up, started my first piece and it blew the power supply so i sent it back and now waiting for a new one. should be here on the 17th
i think they look like alot of fun.
i really didn't want to spend the money on a large CNC where it is not a big part of my business .
so i thought for fun and small things it just might do the trick.
 
MVIP

MVIP

New Member
Doug, Maybe a solvent printer that can only print on banner material.

Techman, I currently run a 4 x 8 router and constantly wish I had a larger table.

I'm not trying to discount this machine. But, from my personal experience with an industrial router. I know the learning curve and the different little "tweaks" that are needed to machine different materials.


-matt
 
Techman

Techman

New Member
I understand the wish for a bigger machine.. (keep yer minds out of the gutters ;) )
I have a 24 inch anagraph and sometimes dreamed of a bigger cuttter. However I learned to work around the limitation.

Years ago I was in Japan and Korea. In both places I saw some amazing things being done with some hand tools in some very small shops. I never dreamed such things could be done in spaces no bigger than some of our bathrooms or coffee break rooms.
 
itzdeb

itzdeb

New Member
Doug, not too much has caught my eye in the sign industry until I saw EmpY's shopbot when you were here. Then when this router was announced, I also felt this may be something well-made and affordable. In the sign biz, my thoughts were also that it could do parts of a sign (such as letters and flourishes) to be glued or screwed on to an existing larger sign.

So, now, I'm debating whether to go ahead and invest in a small router or spend an extra 3 grand in a larger router that does both small intricate work and larger or multiple jobs at the same time. Hmmmm... at least we now have choices! I'm going to check out our supply in the mainland, as you said the shelves are empty there? I bet were you are there are some nice choices of woods to work with. :cool1:
 
E

eaddesigns

New Member
this machine is CRAP!!!.
i have had 2 differnt ones in 2 weeks and they are cheap. I cant believe that craftsman would put there name on it..
i'm sending my back to sears today.

I guess in this case it's true when they say you get what you pay for.
 
iSign

iSign

New Member
Thanks for keeping us posted eaddesigns.
I'll have to consider 2 failures that quick to be a pretty good indication of a lack of suitability, but can you let us know how hard were you pushing it? Did you rout some signfoam? Did it do that ok?

Deb, I was pretty impressed with Empy's 4x8 shopbot that day too, & last October I visited Raymond Chapman & checked out his brand new Shopbot... but what do you mean extra $3K ?
I guess you were referring to Shopbot's benchtop model? Even for that, I think to be realistic, you should set your sights on paying a lot more then $5K to include software, freight, and set-up with training, as well as upgrading a few of the more basic componants.
 
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eaddesigns

New Member
the first machine i wanted to see how well it would cut out a letter ...
the letter was about 4x4 it shut down in the middle of the job and i would not turn back on so i call carvewright and asked me to check a few thing still nothing so they told me i could send it back to get fix.

but i decided to go to sears and return it and get a new one...where i had only had it for one day...
The people at sears just put the machine in the as is clearance area when we returned it...

when i got the second one(a week later) we carved a few simple little design (like a star,dog)that came on the program in pine and everyone screwed up..it just cut lines that weren’t there or stopped half way threw the design..
so i wanted to see how well it would rout around a board.
the board was about 5.5x12 and i thought the machine was going to blow up it started Flipping out and vibrating... It took it about 20 minutes to rout the board. And then when it was done we took the board out and the sanding belt that the wood moves on was shredded.

Oh I forgot to mention that both machines had extra parts laying in the box that we could find where they went.
So we just decided with all the problems and lack of quality we would just return it. And maybe in the future look into a descent machine..

 
M

maxxgraphix

New Member
I'm glad to hear it's crap. I was worried that everyone would run out and buy a small CNC. You can build a better one yourself.
Of course if you have the skills to build it, I'm sure you'll know how to run it.
 
A

andy

New Member
Let me get this straight... this machine is supposed to rout solid wood which is moved back and forth on what is in effect a sanding belt?

This is NEVER going to work- not a hope in hell... forget it.

As for full 3D.... proper £D software like Artcam or Enroute is about twice the price of this whole machine!
 
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