I'm looking at these 2 routers because Shop Bot could not hold the tolerances we need (+/-.005"). We need to cut flat carbon fiber laminates, approx. 3mm thick to size and drill / coutersink a numberof holes. Pretty basic cutting, no 3D. We are running about 25 to 30 plates per week so our volume is low but the cost to out source these parts is running about 30K per year. We feel it's time to bring this work in house. I'm also looking at ENROUTE to convert my customers dxf drawings to G-Codes to drive the router. I would appreciate any comments. I'm trying to purchase this router before the end of the year to get it on this years taxes.

Also, is there any advantage of ball screws vs rack & pinon? I was looking at a MultiCan but there price was over 56K for the 1000 series.

If you want you can call me at my office # 800 811-2009 (PST) if you hate to type like I do!

Thanks for your help.

George,

I think the main advantage of ballscrews over rack & pinion is their accuracy. I know ballscrews are more efficient than acme and other threaded rods but I'm not sure if this efficiency prevails over a rack system. Also, in terms of maintenance, you need to consider what happens if/when debris accumulates on the drive system. With a ballscrew setup, you can order wipers directly from the supplier (if you go this route, ask the machine builder to order these and install them before shipping you the machine; do the same for the rails, seeing as how you are cutting abrasives). A rack system is prone to allow debris to collect. This is bad, as the rack and pinion's accuracy depends on a perfect contact of rack and pinion. I know there are a lot of R&P fans on this site. Their main advantage is high speed and low cost. But ask yourself this: how many VMC's use R&P? There's a reason for this...

As for your comparison between Techno and Sabre, maybe this will help. I visited Techno in hyde park a few months ago. They are part of a much larger company. They certainly don't lack in R&D. 20-25K should land you a nice LC 4x8 model with vacuum. Its a very well crafted machine. If I were you, I'd opt for a steel welded table, as the model I looked (aluminum only) had some sag in the middle.

As for Sabre, I think the advantage will be price. Even with vacuum, you'll still end up less than two thirds of the techno. Plus the majority of the machine is steel, which is a definite plus. The down side of the Sabre is their sales staff. I called them several times asking for a reference. I just wanted to speak to a satisfied customer. They never got back to me. Techno has more resources and probably keep their customers happier.

Both machines will run ballscrews and linear slides.

Hopefully someone with experience with either machines will post here.

BTW, what size machine are you looking for?

Carlo

Carlo,
Thanks for your reply. I'm looking at the Techno LC 4896with a 5 HP HSD Automatic Tool Changer and a vacuum table. I hope we can route the shape, drill and countersink the panel without removing it from the table. We may have to route the holes because you can get brake out of the carbon fiber from a drill. Also, I have some concern about countersink since the panel thickness varies from panel to panel(+/-.010") I think we can have the tool spot off the surface of the part with the touch pad and then it will adjust the depth of the countersink accordingly. Is this correct?

I was considering a MultiCam 1000 but they are higher than the TECHNO and I can't justify the additional cost. Also, the Multicam is a rack & pinion machine which I thick is not as good as the ball drive. Although MutiCam has a Tech Center about 60 miles from my shop I don't know if that is worth the extra $ up front! The Shop Sabre cost considerably less than the TECHNO, but they are somewhat unknown. There is no CA sales tax ($3,900) if I purchase the Shop Sabre, the other two charge CA sales tax since they have reps in CA. Hopefully, I will get some feedback from people who have one of these routers. I’m leaning towards the TECHNO at this point. Please call me at 800 811-2009 if you want to discuss the pricing in greater detail.
Regards,

George

A rack/pinion is just as accurate as a Techno ball screw. These are lowpriced ROLLed screws, no precision ground screws.
Also the reck is much better in the dust, as the techno screws are not covered that well and pack up when cutting MDF.

This may be a small company, but I was impressed with their equipment. I have been travelling around the U.S. and calling even more trying to purchase a CNC wood router. I have been finding out that alot of what's out there is made by what I would call " Cottage Industry ". That didn't seem to be the case with Shop Sabre.
There machine was robust and VERY accurate. They gave me a demo on a machine that I had just watch them complete. They had to setup the software and parameters before they could even run it. The amazing part is that it ran flawlessly!!
However, they are NOT cheap. A 4 X 8 machine with what I would call the basics (Porter-Cable spindle, no tool changer, no mist system, etc.) will cost me around $17,000.00. A Colombo spindle adds a minimum of $3,200.00 to that price and automatic tool changers start at about another $10,000.00.
I do think that they are the best that I have seen, so far. I think that there will be far less down time with this machine. It is costing about $6,000.00 more than I originally intended to spend, but I've decided to go with it after seeing it first-hand. Many of the other machines that I looked at just didn't have the accuracy of the Shop Sabre and they certainly were NOT built as well.
I met the owner of the company and he easily impressed me with his knowledge of the entire industry. He knew about all of the other machines and NEVER said a bad word about any company (Unlike many of the other companies that I spoke with). He was very professional and I walked away feeling very comfortable about making this purchase.
I would appreciate knowing what machine you end up with. It's always nice to hear about someone else's experience.