Recommendations for 4'x8' 3axis CNC?

[impalajunkie]

Looking for recommendations from experienced people!
I'm looking to get into CNC fabrication, i'll be ready to purchase a machine in the next few months.
I'm very versed in 3D modelling, I'm an architect, and am planning to use the CNC for site model milling for architectural firms and students, along with small art and product design jobs. This will all be done out of my garage
My materials would be mainly wood, foam, plastic and resin for site model milling, and with some product CNC'ing i'd use aluminum.
I've seen some CNC setups have a bed depth for 5" or 7". I'd like 12" or more if possible. I've been recommended to the Techno CNC machines.
Recommendations for manufacturers/dealers? What price range should I be looking at? I'm prepared for a $8k to $20k range.

[CNCRob]

Although I don't have one, I have read alot of good things about shopbot. www.shopbottools.com

[gilligan]

By bed depth are you meaning z axis? The problem with larger z axis movement is there is usually more deflection in the machine. Which means less accuracy. The other problem if you are thinking like i was when i first started looking at machines is you can only cut as deep as your tool is. Example 4 inches deep you need a 4 inch tool. Actually probably a five inch. Which really cuts down on how tall of an object u can have in your machine. There is a company out of michigan that had a machine with an adjustable bed height. But i cannot rember their name. And they were really easy to deal with and fast at repling. They had a machine that looked alot like www.dynacnc.com has. They also seem to have a decent machine but don't know what to think of them yet. Maybe it was pratical cnc don't even know if they are still around. hope this helps you

[PowerCNC4u]

I own a DynaCNC machine www.dynacnc.com. They have been great to work with and my machine has been making me money for over 9 months now. No Complaints at all. It does great 3D machining. I know they have several different size tables that should meet any need. They even put colombo spindles on their machines. I highly recommend them to anyone.

Sid

[markm]

I Have been down to see the Shop sabre guys in MN and decided to buy one of their Machines. It is a very nice well built machine for the money and I know that mine has a 10" z depth

Mark

[gilligan]

Thats kinda of funny i went to shop sabres web site and looked at their address they are only 30 minutes down the road. Dont mean to jack the thread but is there any other related companys in mn?

[Drassk]

It's probably above what you were looking at, but after I did months of research and talked to all the companies involved I decided on CNT Motion machines as the best bang for my buck. That said, I needed a machine to do a lot of wood cutting and I needed it to be dead accurate and reliable (business grade). By the sounds of it, you've got less serious use in mind for yours and a Shopbot will most likely leave you quite happy.

In the end, though, I did get offered a remanufactured Fadal for the same price as the router I was looking at, and couldn't turn it down, so take this with a small grain of salt. I was just really impressed with the CNT machines and particlarly with the component specs/construction. AC servos was a big one (brushless, don't wear out like regular servo drives)