Newbie- Heavy or Light? 8020

[DEDan]

I am just getting ready to start a 8020 2x3 router and I wanted to get everyone's opinion on which 8020 I should get.

I have found a great deal on the 8020 15x30 light.

Is it worth it to save a few dollars or should I go with the standard heavy type?

Thanks!

Dan

[mlabruyere]

I used heavy with my build and it's worked great. I've heard that using light will result in very bad acoustic resonance in the machine.

I wanted to use the most rigid material I could get and aford so I didn't want to compromise it by going "light".

[DEDan]

Thanks for the feedback. I never thought about the acoustic issues, I was only worried about the rigidity. I guess that I will spend the extra $18 and go with the heavy 1530.

[mlabruyere]

A 1530 beam compaired to a 1530-lite beam is about 33% more rigid

[ilya]

Yeah, you don't want the lite series - they are quite a bit less rigid than normal ones. The rigidity is something you don't want to compromise in your CNC machine.


My CNC plans at www.8020CNC.com

[Larry83301]

Go with the best, the few bucks you would save are not worth the problems that will come from cutting corners.
I bought a machine with undersize screws, and had nothing but problems until I bit the bullet and got screws that are much bigger and better. Mine is a 36 X 48, and the new ball screws move it around GREAT. It cost a little more, but many of my problems went away.

[lunchtrayrider]

i did a similar sized build and used standard 8020 for the 3' pieces and the lite for the legs (only 6" long on mine) and for the cross pieces under the table. worked out quite well.

[Larken]

Ilya, What cad program did you do the lettering for that Preamp in ? Very nice.

Are you using both single line and true type fonts ?

Is that a Kress router ?

[FandZ]

I've just built a table top for a cnc mill using 1x3 of the lite. I guess that would be 1030 and am completely satisfied with it. I also have some 2x2 of the light and am completely satisfied with it. Obviously the non lite will be more rigid, however, the light shouldn't be looked at as being an inferior product. If you're looking at whether the light or regular will cause racking or flex, I'd look at the design of the machine first. Either of them will work fantastically in a well designed machine. Neither will make a bad design better. I've seen 80/20 builds that have had some racking and flex problems using the thicker version.

I just looked at the top and realized that this thread is over a month old. So what did you end up with?

[ilya]

Larken,

I'm doing all the design work in AutoCAD and generate toolpaths in MasterCAM. Letters are done with the standard MasterCAM "engraving" toolpath.
I'm using true type fonts, no single line fonts here.

The router motor is Kress FME 1050. I really like it!

I've recently made a compressor panel with very fine engraving that looks very cool. I can post a picture if you want.

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My CNC machine plans at www.8020CNC.com

[DEDan]

I got the heavy. I only paid $58 per 97 inch length.

Don't ask me where I got it at such a low price. It was an employee discount that my dad gets from the place he worked for 45 years. They even made him sign an agreement to not resell it.

[FandZ]

Originally Posted by DEDan I got the heavy. I only paid $58 per 97 inch length. Don't ask me where I got it at such a low price. It was an employee discount that my dad gets from the place he worked for 45 years. They even made him sign an agreement to not resell it.

Go Daddy. Don't you just love this stuff? When I'm stressed I often find just petting some 80/20 makes me feel better. lol