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Thread: cnc machines

  1. #1

    cnc machines

    Hello to all you fellow cabinet makers / woodworkers, and small shop owners. I live in the great white north and have a small 2 man cabinet shop. Recently i started looking into adding a cnc router to my arsenal of machinery. For the beter part i've narrowed it down to pretty much 2 choices, shop sabre 4896, and the Camaster cobra x3. Would any of you fellows out there have any advise / experience concerning either of these 2 machines, pro's & cons?. I realize that the SS is ball & screw and the x3 is rp. , Other than that i think they're pretty close , i may be wrong, any info would be greatly appreciated, thx Ron , ps also which cabinet soft ware would u suggest.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    150 MileHouse B.C. Canada
    Posts
    28
    I am a brand new member here so I guess I shouldn't poke it out to far, saying that .. there are a few machines in the same dollar bracket, Shopbot Alpha, Camaster cobra, Precix Industrial.
    I have owned shopbots and have leased Precix's don't know Camaster's Jim Mcgrew loves his..
    I at present have just finished building a homebrew machine, I love messing with them.. anyhow take a look at the shopbot and Precix industrial..mite be worth your time..

  3. #3
    camaster owner here, go see mick martins new camaster atc in seattle, you will not waste a trip. my x3 is 4 years old and is still meeting or exceeding all of my expectations, shop sabre and camaster share most all important features (wincnc, quality of parts) camaster has developed one hang of a owner support system that is second to none. Go to the Camaster site and look for the support forums

    jim

    From Admin: Jim, I added the links to the CAMaster web site and Forum. As they are an advertiser here the links are acceptable. Keith
    Last edited by Keith Outten; 01-23-2012 at 7:37 AM.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Hayes, Virginia
    Posts
    14,760
    Ron,

    There is a large group of CAMaster owners here including myself. I own a Stinger II and hope to add a Cobra X3 to my shop later this year.
    I have owned a ShopBot PRT Alpha in the past, it was also a good machine but the welded frame that CAMaster uses is the hot setup IMO.
    Good luck with your research!
    .

  5. #5
    thanks kieth the moderators had been removing them

  6. #6

    Thanks Guys;

    []Hello to all you fellow cabinet makers / woodworkers, and small shop owners. I live in the great white north and have a small 2 man cabinet shop. Recently i started looking into adding a cnc router to my arsenal of machinery. For the beter part i've narrowed it down to pretty much 2 choices, shop sabre 4896, and the Camaster cobra x3. Would any of you fellows out there have any advise / experience concerning either of these 2 machines, pro's & cons?. I realize that the SS is ball & screw and the x3 is rp. , Other than that i think they're pretty close , i may be wrong, any info would be greatly appreciated, thx Ron , ps also which cabinet soft ware would u suggest

  7. #7
    thanks guys for all your input, i,m definitely gonna give camaster a call today

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Bloomington, IL
    Posts
    6,009
    Hi Ron. I added a chinese spindle to my machine last month. I am loving it. If you can get a spindle on your new machine (prob much nicer one than a chinese one) go that route. Your ears will thank you. Pretty sure I saw columbo or HSD on one awhile back.
    Glad its my shop I am responsible for - I only have to make me happy.

  9. #9
    Thanks all u guys , it's sure great to have the in put, also Shari I'll look into the freedom machine , been busy searching, but don't always find all of them, thx again. Ron

  10. #10
    The 2 points which I find are real attractive about the camaster, are, 1 - it has the 3 tool heads on the gantry for most cabinet work, a great option ,I think. 2 - they also of the recoil lathe attachment which I think is a great feature, yes more money, but also more versatility and greater scope of work which allows u to offer more product to your customer base, enabling a more unique scope. Ah,, food for thought, seems like they're all very comparable machines, I guess in the end it's what a guy wants to send and do with it. Thx

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    308

    Thumbs up CAMaster owner

    Hi Ron,

    As Jim stated I am also a CAMaster owner ( I own two CAMaster machines) I live in the Seattle area so feel free to contact me if you have further questions. ....... Oh did I forget to say they are great machines, rock solid, WinCnc and great support.
    Hardware:
    CAMaster 508 ATC + Recoil
    2013 Trotec Speedy 100, 60 watt, rotary attachment, vector grid.
    Software:
    CoralDraw - Aspire 9 - EnRoute

    Custom Architectural Signage
    Mick Martin Woodworking

  12. #12
    finding the right machine with the right accessories & options is something of a chore, i realize this must be done , spending that knd of $$, but all the same , it is a time consuming, of confusing task. Ron

  13. #13
    i can really relate this as well , my process actually took three months and i equated it to wading thru voodoo, i found the right people and all has been well since, would have made a terrible mistake had i attempted to save too much money. there is a cnc at all levels for anyone who wants one.
    Last edited by Keith Outten; 01-27-2012 at 7:29 AM.

  14. #14
    I do believe your right James, i'm sure there's a machine for everyones budget, the trick is finding one , thats gonna do what you want to do , for the budget you have laid out for yourself. keeping in mind that quality and after sales service is half of the equation,, right?? Ron

  15. #15
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    New Hampshire
    Posts
    101
    Ron, I came down to the same two CNC machine candidates that you did. I came close to buying a used SS 4896. The weight of the 4896 frame is similar to a Stinger II and not even close to a Cobra - that was one realization. The other is the support. If you buy a used Shop Sabre, you need to pay $2K for one year support or $4K for lifetime support. OK, that might be fine, but if you decide to buy a new machine then sell it later, the new buyer will need to have support most likely. This is basically a large chunk of depreciation because of the support basically goes away. The quality of the machines seem very good though and I'm sure the support is good. Camaster currently supports all of their machines with minimal costs - that may change some in the future once there are more aging machines out there.

    The camheads.org forum is really the icing on the cake because it really makes the machine worth more - especially for a starting hobbyist/entrepreneur like myself. There is no equivalent for most others with the exception of Shopbot which appears to have a most excellent forum.

    I ended up buying Mick Martin's used Cobra X3 (with recoil) and am hoping to have it here in New Hampshire sometime in the next week or so. It was at Camaster getting retrofitted with a digitizer probe and misters for cutting aluminum plus just getting checked out. I didn't find any equivalents out there for the X3 design which really gives a lot of flexibility for a little extra costs and saves you investing in a full ATC. I started researching these machines early last year. There is a lot to learn. My real learning will soon begin once I start making chips.

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