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Thread: need help choosing a machine

  1. #16
    henry ford once said "man who needs a tool and does not buy it, will soon find he has paid for it and does not own it

    justin, some of us have been there and done that, if the chinese machines had any real credibility we would see a lot more of them. let us know how it works out, like i said i love keeping up with the market. to answer the question about the router size (colt vs 3hp pc) it is about the rigidity of the machine and its carrying capacity not the spindle/router

  2. #17
    Hey, doesn't Dan Hintz still have his chinese (ahem!) machine for sale?
    CarveWright Model C
    Stratos Lathe
    Jet 1014
    Half-a-Brain

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    saint albans WV
    Posts
    169
    James so it is in the screws, motors and frames? Well looks like i might have to sell my martin to get the extra coin to get the cammaster.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Medina Ohio
    Posts
    4,516
    Check out the used machines on the Lets talk shopbot forum. You may be able too get a bigger better cnc there. I have a used one that I am thinking of selling. It is a 48 X 96 unit but with a dust collector and the upgraded drivers. If you would like to see it in operation I would be happy to show it to you. I see you are in St Albans I have done work in Nitro and Cross Lanes before. Give me a PM and I will let you know how much it is.

  5. #20
    jerome has the right idea!! i wish i could tell you there were used camasters for sale but it is rare someone parts with one!! personnally one would could get my gun out of my hands quicker than my camaster!! kinda like my harly davidson (which has lost more value than my camaster at this point)

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    SE Michigan
    Posts
    42
    I'm in the same boat as you - luthier looking for a machine to help although I don't build guitars (much) I build banduras. I've been looking for about a month now and the lowest cost option that seems like it would actually do the job rather than just waste money is the Romaxx WD-1 . I've not been able to find a single negative comment and the only problems I've read about are on the Romaxx forum and as far as I can tell, they've all been resolved. Rub is it starts at $4750.

    I don't have any experience with CNC but, my experience with most "prosumer" type products is that if you want turn key, you have to spend till it hurts and maybe beyond to get a decent tool. If you're willing to do it yourself, you can get by with spending less money but you'll spend more time - just like guitars!

    I've built exactly one full size guitar (stew mac 000 kit) which cost like $500 and I was able to produce something that knocks it out of the park. I was told by the owner of blue fish music in plymouth michigan that to get similar sound quality in a factory guitar would put it in the $5000 to $8000 range (though my finish quality is not quite up to factory levels).

    The same has got to be true with CNC machines - You can probably build your own that will set you back $4k and will perform at the $8k to $12k range but - it's going to take you six months to a year of research and development to build it and tune it.

    If you need turn key - sell a couple more guitars and wait till you can afford what works and doesn't end up a waste of money.

    If anyone with CNC experience disagrees, please comment as I'm very curious to hear from someone in the know if my assertion is mostly true.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Northern Utah
    Posts
    203
    What Andy said is true. I was going to do the build it yourself route last year, and instead got a Camaster . And I am glad I did. What I didn't realize was how long it would take me to get comfortable with the design software (Aspire). It took me 8 months of learning before I started doing jobs for customers. Before that it was making free or mostly free things for family and friends. Now if I had to build a C.N.C. that would have added more months of building and adjusting. I do not have any against the build it yourself machines, there are some neat home-built C.N.C.'s out there, but I am glad I did not go that route.



    Just my 2cents worth.
    Camaster CR410 & Epilog Helix
    Prosperity, is something that business people create.......for politicians to take the credit for.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Barrie, Ontario
    Posts
    239
    there's a new machine from Probotix that just got released, it's 25x25x5 called the Fireball Comet, it may still be a little small but it's $3299. worth a look anyway.
    -
    Zing 24 - 40 watts
    Corel X3/X5/X6
    Autocad 2016

  9. #24
    I just looked at the FireBall comet and have to say in that price range it seems to have many of the features I would look for. Tandom Motors for main Axis. Looks like it only supports trim routers though.

    The interesting thing is how they did the cable chain. It goes out the back. Very interesting.

    The down side is that it includes the PC with EMC2 and based on the description you may be locked into this. I did the EMC2 thing for a while and have to say you get what you pay for.

    When purchasing a turnkey system beware of statements like "Custom Setup" You may end up with a system that locks you into a particular set of software/platform.

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    saint albans WV
    Posts
    169
    I was looking at those earlier today. I dont want something with proprietary software that does not sound like something good. I want to be able to use mastercam for design and posting.

  11. #26
    If 4k, is the absolute upper limit, then I would recommend a Joe's CNC.

    I also built one. Mine took a lot longer than Mike's build though.

    I have to agree with Mike, the "plans" you purchase for $100 are very lacking. You end up having to spend many hours, reading the forum and asking questions.

    The plus side is that you can totally customize your machine, and watch costs, and later upgrade parts if you wish. You could get a really nice machine for 4k, but you will pay for it in your own time.

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Barrie, Ontario
    Posts
    239
    Quote Originally Posted by Michael Simpson Virgina View Post
    I just looked at the FireBall comet and have to say in that price range it seems to have many of the features I would look for. Tandom Motors for main Axis. Looks like it only supports trim routers though.

    The interesting thing is how they did the cable chain. It goes out the back. Very interesting.

    The down side is that it includes the PC with EMC2 and based on the description you may be locked into this. I did the EMC2 thing for a while and have to say you get what you pay for.

    When purchasing a turnkey system beware of statements like "Custom Setup" You may end up with a system that locks you into a particular set of software/platform.
    The custom configuration is the the setup files for EMC2, and comes ready to run. The Fireball Comet will run with mach 3, they provide EMC2 as a low cost alternative, having said that I would still prefer to supply my own computer.
    -
    Zing 24 - 40 watts
    Corel X3/X5/X6
    Autocad 2016

  13. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by Justin Cavender View Post
    James so it is in the screws, motors and frames? Well looks like i might have to sell my martin to get the extra coin to get the cammaster.
    There's a good market for aftermarket parts. Something like telecaster bodies, which are easily made from commonly available cad files. Depending on your materials costs, you could spit out a run of tele bodies and offset the cost of a machine a good bit...

  14. #29
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Barrie, Ontario
    Posts
    239
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Package View Post
    There's a good market for aftermarket parts. Something like telecaster bodies, which are easily made from commonly available cad files. Depending on your materials costs, you could spit out a run of tele bodies and offset the cost of a machine a good bit...
    I see this a lot, meaning guys who make guitars on CNC's, is there that big a market for custom Guitars, just wondering. My dad who is retired use to make handmade Portuguese Guitars.
    -
    Zing 24 - 40 watts
    Corel X3/X5/X6
    Autocad 2016

  15. #30
    Fine Line Automation might be an options for you. Fine Line Automation is basically shipped with everything you need and you need to bolt it together. Realistically, probably a 2-10 day project. It hasn't caught on like the Joe CNC, but it's very similar. If you do a search on CNCzone you will find a couple of people using them to make guitars. This is definitely an option under $4000.
    Equipment: IS400, IS6000, VLS 6.60, LS100, HP4550, Ricoh GX e3300n, Hotronix STX20
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