Question about the router on the Summa F series

[bigben]

I'm considering the Summa F1612 to mainly use it to cut rolled stock but also rigid material that will use a knife. I will probably add the router in the future. The router will be mostly use to cut acrylic and mdf. My rep told me it won't cut aluminum. Is it true? If not, how thick I could go. There is also two type of router but not sure I understand the variance.

So basically, I need overall feedback on the machine and more details about the router part.

Thanks.

 

[brdesign]

The router for the F1612 works great on ACM, but I wouldn't recommend it for any aluminum thicker than the face of ACM. You might get by with aluminum using lots of very shallow passes, but the machine just is not designed for routing metals. It's a great machine for almost everything else.

 

[White Haus]

We have the basic/Kress router on our F1612 and I wouldn't recommend it for cutting aluminum. Pretty sure you need some sort of cooling/misting feature on a dedicated CNC to properly cut aluminum. I've tried, and have broken bits and wasted a few hours. ACM will cut nicely when you get the right bits, and settings going.

The difference between the router options is power/capability and about $15k CDN if I remember correctly.

MDF will cut beautifully on the F1612 with the basic router but I'd request samples of acrylic to make sure you're happy with the finish. I haven't gotten acrylic cutting with perfect edges dialed in yet and have done quite a bit of testing.

 

[PHILJOHNSON]

Good afternoon,

I wanted to follow up on what other members already said and recommend not cutting aluminum with either router system on the F1612. ACM, acrylic, PVC, wood, etc. are all no problem but because there is no bit cooling the bits get too hot when routing aluminum and the material actually starts to melt and stick to the bit. I have tried routing several different types of aluminum, with quite a few different bit types, and none worked well.

I have attached a router comparison document to this message as well and it talks about the differences between the two router systems. Feel free to PM me here on the site or send me an email if you have any other questions.

Best regards,

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

 

[bigben]

Thanks all for the comments/feedback. I'm in Canada and the price variance between the two router option is a bit under 18k$ (8694$ vs 26647$). PHILJOHNSON Thanks for the document. I understand the benefits and variants but does the difference justify the 18k$ différence?

I also have a small concern about board problem I saw in another post. From what I understand, the ''new generation'' does not have this problem. I'm a small shop and this cutter is a very big jump for me. Having this machine down for over a month could be a big problem financially.

 

[White Haus]

Thanks all for the comments/feedback. I'm in Canada and the price variance between the two router option is a bit under 18k$ (8694$ vs 26647$). PHILJOHNSON Thanks for the document. I understand the benefits and variants but does the difference justify the 18k$ différence?

I also have a small concern about board problem I saw in another post. From what I understand, the ''new generation'' does not have this problem. I'm a small shop and this cutter is a very big jump for me. Having this machine down for over a month could be a big problem financially.

We learned about the board issue from other members here and I had to call our dealer (Grimco) and tell them about it. We deactivated F-Performance (one of the common causes of the board failures) and then were told to re-activate it while we were still under warranty - haven't had any issues yet. (Knock on wood)

We just had it go down for the first time in over a year, the vacuum selector is all messed up so we're basically down and waiting for parts now.

Assuming you're going with Grimco or ND, how close is the nearest tech to you? I would make sure they will fly someone out to service your machine if it does go down. We're also a smaller shop and this thing going down is not good, have 3 printers feeding it work and can quickly create a backlog.

 

[ProColorGraphics]

I would wait on the router as they have a new standard router coming out that will be a lot nicer and more powerful. Just not sure when it will be available yet.

 

[bigben]

We learned about the board issue from other members here and I had to call our dealer (Grimco) and tell them about it. We deactivated F-Performance (one of the common causes of the board failures) and then were told to re-activate it while we were still under warranty - haven't had any issues yet. (Knock on wood)

We just had it go down for the first time in over a year, the vacuum selector is all messed up so we're basically down and waiting for parts now.

Assuming you're going with Grimco or ND, how close is the nearest tech to you? I would make sure they will fly someone out to service your machine if it does go down. We're also a smaller shop and this thing going down is not good, have 3 printers feeding it work and can quickly create a backlog.

I'm getting it from ND. Customer service from Grimco is horrible here. I assume their tech is located in Toronto, but I will check this out. I assume if I buy a new machine, I will have the new board version. I hope so.

I would wait on the router as they have a new standard router coming out that will be a lot nicer and more powerful. Just not sure when it will be available yet.

Interesting. I assume it will fit on their current table? It would be a shame if they change the whole thing for the router. I'm in no rush for the router part. I can wait.

 

[ProColorGraphics]

I'm getting it from ND. Customer service from Grimco is horrible here. I assume their tech is located in Toronto, but I will check this out. I assume if I buy a new machine, I will have the new board version. I hope so.

Interesting. I assume it will fit on their current table? It would be a shame if they change the whole thing for the router. I'm in no rush for the router part. I can wait.

I am still waiting on details for that. Mine is 3+ years old, so I am hoping it will work with older models.

 

[bigben]

I would wait on the router as they have a new standard router coming out that will be a lot nicer and more powerful. Just not sure when it will be available yet.

FYI, here is an answer I've got from my dealer. He forwarded it to me.

About 6 months ago we did release a revised carriage board which is included on all new machines since 6 months ago.
We are planning to release an upgraded version of our standard Kress router in the future but the release date in North America is still undetermined.
The only difference in the upgraded router is the motor. Instead of a 1Kw motor it will be a 1.4Kw motor, no other change. (price in Canada will be 10k$ instead of 8k$)

 

[bigben]

So... There's a new contender in the lot. The Colex SXC1717. The bed is a bit bigger than the Summa F1612, there is more router options and price seems similar. I've red on another post that software wise the summa is ''better'' than colex. Again, I've never had a flatbed cutter, so I'm not even sure what questions to ask. If we put the router part aside, what is the pros and cons of each machine? And in the router departement, what is the variant between the two?

 

[ProColorGraphics]

So... There's a new contender in the lot. The Colex SXC1717. The bed is a bit bigger than the Summa F1612, there is more router options and price seems similar. I've red on another post that software wise the summa is ''better'' than colex. Again, I've never had a flatbed cutter, so I'm not even sure what questions to ask. If we put the router part aside, what is the pros and cons of each machine? And in the router departement, what is the variant between the two?

Have you checked out the Apex lineup from CWT?

 

[bigben]

Have you checked out the Apex lineup from CWT?

The dealer that sell colex also sell cwt application table. I assume he would have proposed it to me. Is there particular benefits on the apex?

 

[ProColorGraphics]

The dealer that sell colex also sell cwt application table. I assume he would have proposed it to me. Is there particular benefits on the apex?

They seem like a decent machine to me from what I have looked at them. Just helping you explore all of your options.