Which CNC to buy. Shop Sabre or CAMaster

[Shawn Morley]

Well, we have decided to take the plunge into the CNC world. I have been doing quite a bit of research for the last couple weeks and think I have narrowed it down to these two machines (Shop Sabre 4814 and the CAMaster Cobra 510). My primary business is custom cabinetry and furniture, however I don't want to limit myself to that, I figure with a machine like this the possibilities are endless. One of the big advantages the Shop Sabre has is that it is built in MN a little over an hour from my shop. I like that if I ever needed immediate service they are just down the road. CAMaster seems to have a great forum support.

Overall, these two machines seem to be pretty close to each other in value. If anybody can offer up an opinion for me I would greatly appreciate it as the CNC world is all new to me and would be easy to overlook something of importance.

Thanks, Shawn
Lakes Area Custom Cabinetry

[Jerome Stanek]

Have you checked out the Shopbot machines and their forum.

[james mcgrew]

i am a camaster owner and am purchasing my 4rth machine, check out the forum www.camheads.org !! camaster has the weight the electronics and the versitility, shop sabre and camaster share many things, good motors good controller shop sabre will do the job, it will not be a location that makes the difference.

[Mike Heidrick]

it will not be a location that makes the difference.

It will be if you want a part in 2 hours round trip. LOL.

[Keith Outten]

Shawn,

I have only owned two CNC machines, my first was a ShopBot and my current machine is a CAMaster.
I suggest that you look very closely at any machine you are considering to purchase. Look at every nut, bolt and feature. There are varying degrees of differences but some may end up being important to you that might be frivolous to others.

I have had the opportunity to operate a CNC machine every day for the last five years which is different from the machine I own. Getting to know these two very different machines up close and personal has made it very clear to me which features fit my machining techniques and which ones I feel are insignificant. I have found that after many years of daily use some things can be frustrating to have to deal with when you are facing a serious project schedule. No matter which machine you select it all gets down to reliability simply because in the commercial world your company is only as good as your ability to deliver on time. The ability to acquire parts quickly won't be a factor each and every day while your machine is productive. OK, I know we are only kidding you about the two hour parts issue but the best advise you will get here is to consider your own needs and purchase a machine that is the best fit.
.

[Shawn Morley]

Thanks for the replies, I have some more research to do yet, they both seem like very good machines. I am waiting to hear back from CAMaster, I had emailed them last week and asked to have someone contact me but I haven't heard anything yet. It has surprised me a bit that some of the companies haven't returned calls or emails, its been about 50% that have, one would think that when your looking at spending that much money they would be anxious to get back to you.

Do any of you have an opinion on Ball Screw vs Rack and Pinion?

[Mick A Martin]

Check out CAMaster website there is a phone number in the upper Right hand corner http://www.camaster,com ask for Joey or Paul.

[Jerome Stanek]

My machine has rack and pinion and the Biesse where I work has both ball screw and rack and pinion on them so I don't think either one is better than the other.

[james mcgrew]

the real difference in rack and pinon and ballscrews is the effort a salesman will make to place one over the other at this size of machine, my camaster is as accurate and fast as my digital it is a moot point and would not effect my machine purchase at this level of machine.

[james mcgrew]

on another note camaster recieves a large amount of emails daily for inquirys and is an extremly popular machine (hang they are built like harleys) i would call the shop and ask for joey at 770 334 2448. i spent the weekend on the phone with several tuning a retro fited machine and they are one great bunch of fellows,, the beast is cutting today fellows !!

[Shawn Morley]

As the search for the right machine continues. I spoke yesterday with a local industrial machine rep, he brought up two other machines and I'm wondering if any of you have any experience with either of these. Omnitech Spectra and NEWCNC.com. They both appear to be much heavier duty machines and in the same price range, but I'm not sure about the controller software.

[james mcgrew]

i like to recommend machines based on my friends and thier sucesses with these machines, obviously i am a camaster fan and am selling one right now to order another,, omnitech is a really good machine and company if it is the us made one, i have been to the omnitech headquarters and have friens who produce some good work with it. i have a friend who owns both machines you mention and will speak to you if you want (just pm me)

[Rich Fennessey]

Make sure to get the actual weights instead of taking anyone's word about the industrial strength. Certainly weight isn't everything, but I believe it gives a good measure of the frame rigidity. I too came down to choosing between Shop Sabre and Camaster. To me, if they were equal machines, I found the camaster.org forum to be the tie buster. Granted, for a part-timer like myself, the forum that I can use after normal working hours works great. I've also used the company support which I'm happy with. The fact that Shop Sabre is so close to you is definitely a big consideration. One thing I didn't like about Shop Sabre was that lifetime support for a new machine doesn't follow to a 2nd owner. I bought a used Camaster X3 which is a cool concept. There is a spindle and two side routers on this 4x8 table, so it like an ATC lite (about 1/3 the price). This minimizes your tool changes without putting out the cash for a full 5 or 10 tool automatic tool changer. This feature appears to be unique to Camaster from the research I did - and I looked at options for months.

To save money, some manufacturers will use Mach 3 controller. This is just a PC operating through a native port (parallel I beleive). WinCNC on the other hand has a dedicated card inside the PC. If you use your PC for anything other than cutting while the machine is operating, I'd go with WinCNC. Obviously, WinCNC is more expensive, probably by several hundred dollars.

Good luck on your decision. I'm brand new to CNC and I've had my machine for about 2 months. So far, I'm really enjoying learning - and there is a lot to learn. Don't underestimate the importance of design software, dust collection, feeds and speeds, and hold down methods. I personally had to spend a lot of time learning about router bits since I hadn't really used those much before. I did follow Jim McGrew's suggestion and try to buy my 2nd machine first. Buy all you can and then some.

Good luck on your decision.

[Shawn Morley]

I'm going to the Shop Sabre plant on Monday, I'll be sure to let you all know what I think. Definitely looking forward to it.

[Keith Outten]

Shawn,

There are a lot of CAMaster owners here and that says a lot about their company. After you visit Shop Sabre call Joey Jarrard at CAMaster, then you can join our group of CamHeads.

Good luck with your search and your new machine.
.