View Full Version : looking for gorilla users/owners
woodman08 03-14-2008, 09:16 AM the manufacturer gorilla out of london ontario has saddled up with general tools ,will be interesting what sort of machine will come from these 2 companies.
I do not see any gorilla users sign up,do it lets keep in cotact
drakesis 03-14-2008, 05:15 PM Hi Woodman,
I've been interested in getting a Gorilla CNC, especially since they are in Ontario~! (Me being in Quebec.)
How does the machine handle? What was the cost? Got any close photos of it's construction, is it a solid welded table or bolted together?
woodman08 03-15-2008, 09:45 PM I have utube videos of it running and photos on this section.
So far i'm happy with it ,i had looked at some chinese stuff and got scared and then it came down to shop bot in the US or gorilla in ontario.
Its well built very heavy duty ,the gantry can pull you around ,it will not stall in a tough spot something else will give .
I bought the 4x8 version ,thought if i ever wanted to sel it would be popular,running it under mach3 with the vertor software package and corel 12 .
I am interested in 3d but not there yet because of the learning curve
If you need more info ,you can also call 519 396 8311 stan
woodman08 03-16-2008, 09:12 AM A 4x8 including delivery, set up, training, software, the works is $23,995
for the Gorilla Pro. This includes spindle (3 HP water cooled) but the
customer can supply his own computer.
They can offer a 10% discount for an order received before March 31 but have
to stay pretty close to list after that.In april the gorilla production switches to general built in quebec
but prices are going up as general will be adding to the machine design
drakesis 03-23-2008, 03:10 PM Thanks Woodman, I've contacted GorillaCNC and am requesting info.
woodman08 03-25-2008, 01:10 AM let me know if you have further questions
Drassk 03-29-2008, 02:25 AM I've done some work with the Gorilla guys, and they're pretty straight shooters from what I've seen. Which makes them a bit more honest than 99% of people in the CNC router business, from my POV. I'm not saying they make the best machines out there, but I think they'll be more honest with you about what their machines can and can't do relative to your needs.
woodman08 03-29-2008, 08:34 AM did you buy a cnc machine from them recently
abeneteau 03-07-2009, 03:56 PM Hello,
Im Andre Beneteau from London Ontario. I teach in a high school in the city and since Gorilla is just down the street (like 4 blocks) I decided to keep our money local. We have actually purchased 3 machines to date: 1- being a Plasma with THC combo 5HP (Italian) spindle router 4x4 table. With the flick of a switch I am able to cut steel or wood (I guess I was the first to request such a machine) and they built it. After a few small issues we are up and running. 2. A 2x2 smaller router table but adequate for what they are using it for. 3. A 4x4 table we just bought with a 3HP European spindle with a very slick interface computer and LCD monitor. I have now contracted them to retrofit one of my large metal cutting mills the goal of which is to switch everything ove to Flashcut. Throughout my dealings with Gorilla I found them pleasant and helpful. They always sent someone to take care of any issues I had and have. Our school lab has 4 CNC mills 1 CNC lathe. I am a certified MasterCam X3 instructor Level 1,2,3 and offer certification to our students. If you are looking for a co-op student or would like to come and give a talk to our students regarding the field I would be pleased to set up a meeting. We are also looking for job shadowing experiences and shop tours to take the students. Any size shop would be great as these students have alot to offer.
Thanks for taking the time to read my rather long post. I will post pictures of students projects soon.
Cheers
Andre
woodman08 03-07-2009, 04:06 PM You have good positive stories and you are right about a local purchase.
I bought my machine 2007 dec and i am enjoying what it can do.
I am retired and used to run a furniture shop now i run the shop(3000sq ft) but have very few customers but this cnc thing is great (i have a passion for computers as i sell and service computers also)
Gorilla is ok i'm a bit farther than you and they are not quick to help me out unless of course I'm spending more money.Do be carefull about flash cut as there are 3-4 machines with serious issues running flash cut.My machine is the 4x8 3hr router and i do have a plazma cutter but not on the cnc YET.
I like 3D carving on the machine and right now i'm doing electric guitars.
abeneteau 03-08-2009, 10:39 PM Thanks for the heads up on Flash cut. However I think many of these problems can be rectified by monitoring the prox switches and installing new ones so that the PLC can feedback to flashcut when the machines hits its limits. Also it is not a true CNC machine as it is not a closed loop that is to say there is no feedback counters (at least the are not being monitored or counted) to the Flashcut unit. I am researching this with Gorilla and are going closed loop on the retrofit machine as it is a CNC mill. We did however upgrade the drives to Argile and they sense collision thru a current draw feedback loop. I have to tell you I was not always a teacher...in my previous line of work I was a robotics implemetor and end effector designer. I worked in the machine build industry where the PLC programs were quite extensive and robotic integration quite complicated.
Cheers,
Andre
brad_irc 03-19-2009, 11:40 AM the manufacturer gorilla out of london ontario has saddled up with general tools ,will be interesting what sort of machine will come from these 2 companies.
I do not see any gorilla users sign up,do it lets keep in cotact
Hi woodman08,
I work in a store in BC that is a General tools dealer. We have recently acquired a General/Gorilla cnc router table in Feburary. (40-924-M1 Junior Series 24x36")
It's been an interesting battle with the machine since we got it. I feel that I should be biased and say good things about it, but there has been too many things wrong with it since the beginning. Perhaps I should write a review and post it up here, because I haven't got much feedback from General/Gorilla in regards to the issues...
woodman08 03-19-2009, 03:34 PM There are quite a" number" of unsatisfied people here in ontario (software issues,mechanical issues etc)
I am unable to grease my z axis as the fitting is very foreign and gorilla is difficult to get any action .
I have a 2 year warranty and i think thats just an email outlet .
My machine is running ok (touch wood) so far but i have no limit switches and you have to watch it constantly as it could try and hurt itself
i never received any paper work or parts list with my machine and was promised something there .
I would like a parts list for future reference.
Also you cannot push these machines you have to keep them slow and not 24/7
grogsroom 11-14-2009, 06:19 PM HI, I BOUGHT A GORILLA 4 X 8 CNC PLASMA, I;M IN A MAJOR COMPUTER LEARNING CURVE AND HAVING FUN ,LUCKILY I HAVE LOTS OF GOOD HELP,LOTS OF KNOWLEDGE ON THIS SITE THAT WILL COME IN HANDY ,GREG
woodman08 11-14-2009, 06:53 PM your machine is unique as its a plazma cutter and i understand you're using flashcut as a post processor,so if there are any other people out there running plazma give us a shout ,this is how we learn.
grogsroom 11-16-2009, 09:01 AM PUTTING THE GORILLA CNC PLASMA AWAY FOR THE WINTER AS I HAVE NO HEAT IN MY SHOP AND ITS NOT INSULATED YET, GIVE ME THE WINTER TO DO SOME WELDING PROJECTS, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY WINTERIZATION TIPS , THANKS , GREG
glstexas 11-16-2009, 09:48 AM Yes. Put your snowmobile in the back of your truck and drive south until somebody asks you what it is.
squirly 11-17-2009, 04:17 PM Hello all.
I sure wish that I had read this thread before buying mine...
Just an update Stan....still no call back from Tech Support yet... I emailed them Saturday night, called Monday morning, and then when I called this morning I got the, "oh, didn't they call you yet?""....
Pretty sure I'll have to insure it and roll it down the driveway into traffic...lol
So, I am the proud owner of a 24"x36" junior series...
It has the built in onboard pc...
V-Carve Pro 5, which I love...
But I'm waiting for .... it to magically start making the cuts programmed into it.
It seems to want to make its own designs/cuts.
Bradirc...did you ever get any resolution on your issues?
""frustrated""
woodman08 11-17-2009, 08:06 PM I think this company is very new to having cnc machine questions and errors that people are having maybe the quality control has slipped in these tough times.
Its a shame as i have received a fair amount of emails from people that are having problems and not getting looked after promptly.
Its too bad they did not stop and think that most of us could have easily bought from the USA and received good support.
I have a friend that bought shopbot (usa) and had some problems right at the end of his 1 year warranty and the company is still helping him out with parts and tech support.You cannot get better than that and they have an active forum for help from other shopbot owners
But hang in, contact the manufacturer keep on them and they will come through as they are a large candian supplier.
squirly 11-20-2009, 03:58 PM Well, my machine is up and running.
My humblest apologies to the manufacturer... as the issue was with a setting in V-Carve.
I am now amongst those of you tearing up natural resources! :)
Now I will just go ahead and set all the soft limits on the machine, and then I should have no more problems!!
Squirly
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