Zenbot 2424 or this no brand chinese ebay item?

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

I've seen a Shark at Rockler, and I would guess that the Ebay router is more rigid than the Shark. The Shark is like a toy imo, all plastic. And it's small.

Bottom line, is that any flex at all is bad. Unfortunately, you get what you pay for. If you want something more rigid, it's going to cost a lot more. Unless you build it yourself.

[Garrick David]

I only glanced through the responses, but I will tell you this. I love my Zenbot. It is exactly what I needed, which was a learning machine that did what you told it. I am sure I will be able to use it for many years to do many different little things, but I'm already thinking about my next machine.

It does have a lot of limitations, which I'm not sure if not having them made it easier to learn on or harder. For example, no limit switches (I'll get around to adding them someday). I even put it together "backwards" and could not figure out why my movement was going the "wrong direction". Ha ha. I have a rotozip. I think it is underpowered, but the machine is fast enough to make an extra pass.

I really need a good system for holding stuff down, which I can certainly buy and build, but it takes time and cost money. That is why it is cheap. No frills!

I want to get a 4x8 with a vacuum table. If the maker of the Zenbot will build me one I would consider buying it.

I learned to use g-code with Mach 3 on this machine. It would have been a waste for me to spend 10's of thousands of dollars to do that.

Where I am now is "do I purchase Aspire or Vcarve?" Wouldn't that be something if I buy Aspire...I would have more into the software than the cutter (which I would have to correct with a much larger machine quickly). I'm glad my wife does not read this forum.

PM me if you want any additional info on my personal experience.

[Bob Savage]

Where I am now is "do I purchase Aspire or Vcarve?" Wouldn't that be something if I buy Aspire...I would have more into the software than the cutter (which I would have to correct with a much larger machine quickly). I'm glad my wife does not read this forum.

I like the way you think.

When are you buying Aspire?

[John W. Willis]

I only glanced through the responses, but I will tell you this. I love my Zenbot. It is exactly what I needed, which was a learning machine that did what you told it. I am sure I will be able to use it for many years to do many different little things, but I'm already thinking about my next machine.

It does have a lot of limitations, which I'm not sure if not having them made it easier to learn on or harder. For example, no limit switches (I'll get around to adding them someday). I even put it together "backwards" and could not figure out why my movement was going the "wrong direction". Ha ha. I have a rotozip. I think it is underpowered, but the machine is fast enough to make an extra pass.

I really need a good system for holding stuff down, which I can certainly buy and build, but it takes time and cost money. That is why it is cheap. No frills!

I want to get a 4x8 with a vacuum table. If the maker of the Zenbot will build me one I would consider buying it.

I learned to use g-code with Mach 3 on this machine. It would have been a waste for me to spend 10's of thousands of dollars to do that.

Where I am now is "do I purchase Aspire or Vcarve?" Wouldn't that be something if I buy Aspire...I would have more into the software than the cutter (which I would have to correct with a much larger machine quickly). I'm glad my wife does not read this forum.

PM me if you want any additional info on my personal experience.

I couldn't have said it better myself!
Thanks!

[james mcgrew]

if you lived close enough i would let you borrow my carvewright, after six weeks i learned why i wanted a larger machine

jim

[Matt Clara]

One thing about the zenbot that's different than the others: it has square "tubes" instead of round ones. Seems as though that would enhance rigidity. I'll see if they can make me one with a 6 inch z axis.

[Garrick David]

The guy I dealt with was Shaun. I would think that modification would be pretty simple.

[james mcgrew]

matt as i understand it camaster is recieving the frames for the stinger in the next couple of days and shopbot i believe is showing the tyro at the jamboree on the 23 or 24th, if i was this close i would at least look, now that i have had a few machines and with all the exposure on forums (much more limited 3 years ago) i would look.

my reasoning is this if i found i could spend a little more and get 3-5 times the router it might be a good idea. i spent 2000.00 on a machine that after a few weeks became a garage ornament (good lesson) i hope i am expressing non bias (even though i am a camaster fan) by telling you of both models. this is one of those things were size, mass and inertia are a bit crucial.

jim

[Matt Clara]

matt as i understand it camaster is recieving the frames for the stinger in the next couple of days and shopbot i believe is showing the tyro at the jamboree on the 23 or 24th, if i was this close i would at least look, now that i have had a few machines and with all the exposure on forums (much more limited 3 years ago) i would look.

my reasoning is this if i found i could spend a little more and get 3-5 times the router it might be a good idea. i spent 2000.00 on a machine that after a few weeks became a garage ornament (good lesson) i hope i am expressing non bias (even though i am a camaster fan) by telling you of both models. this is one of those things were size, mass and inertia are a bit crucial.

jim

I wrote Camaster about the stinger yesterday--haven't heard back yet. I'll check in on the tyro, too.
Thanks.

[Matt Clara]

I agree that it does look pretty decent and a lot of nice features, but a 3amp limit on the stepper drivers? With a NEMA 34. I know of now suitable NEMA 34's that even operate at full torque rating at 3.5amp to use the Gecko G540 let alone a 3amp driver....

Hey Rob, are you saying the x axis is underpowered?

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

I know of no suitable NEMA 34's that even operate at full torque rating at 3.5amp to use the Gecko G540 let alone a 3amp driver....

All the Nema 34 motors that Keling sells appear to be 6 amps when wired bipolar parallel. Most of them are 8 wire motors, so they can be wired bipolar series, and will provide their full torque at 3 amps.

Now, at 3 amps, they won't have as much torque at higher speeds than when running bipolar parallel. But, if the design of the machine keeps the rpm's low, then it's perfectly acceptable.

[Keith Outten]

Aaron and I were able to take a look at the Tyro bench top machine at the ShopBot Jamboree. Honestly I didn't look real close because I am not in the market for a small router but my first impression is that ShopBot has created a machine that fits their product line and their usual quality level.

The Tyro isn't a toy, it seems to be a very sturdy machine. At 85 pounds it is portable, two people could easily move the machine to and from an event if that was something that was necessary. They are offering it with a one HP spindle or a router motor that I believe they said could be as large as 2.25 HP. The Tyro has a plastic cover that helps to contain the chips and we were told it helps drops the noise level. It looks like the introductory price will be $3,995.00 for the base machine when they start shipping.

I wish I had taken a picture but I forgot, there were a lot of presentations scheduled and a lot of people to visit with. We had to cut our trip a bit short and return home early today, Aaron had a couple of music gigs scheduled for this evening.
.

[Ed Lang]

I too found the Tyro to be a very sturdy built machine. I did push and pull on it trying to flex parts of the machine and gantry. Now I did not have my dial indicator on the machine, but I was impressed at how stiff that little beast is. It will support a 1hp spindle that will run on 120 volts or a router. That makes it very attractive to folks wanting a 24"X32" foot print machine. It could even go to craft shows and fairs with someone making items right on the spot.

The Tyro runs the same controller card and the same control software as the larger ShopBot machines do. And we all know how wonderful the Vectric software is that ShopBot bundles with their machine.

While I was there I also got to see the 5'X8' side load ATC machine.

And the new gantry material is quite impressive.

Fun day for me.

[james mcgrew]

isn't the footprint 18x24 cut area?



jim

[Matt Clara]

Here's a pic of the ebay unit in question:


I've written the seller four times, the first two he responded right away. The third time I asked if the $450 S&H would see the router all the way to my door. No response, so I waited a few days, and asked again. Still nothing. Uh oh! On the seller's behalf, I wrote two of the people who have bought the exact same model (three, actually, but only two responded), both said they thought it was a great machine. I could ask them about shipping, but one was in Qatar, and another in Australia, so I don't know how much I could judge what my experience would be like based on theirs.

UPDATE: cscs219 (the ebay dealer in question) got back to me this morning (day his latest auction ends) and said the $450 would get it all the way to my door here in Michigan. Which raises the question, why does Camaster want $400 to ship from Georgia when it only costs $50 more to ship it all the way from the other side of the world?