Ez rout vs. Shopsabre vs. Shopbot vs. Digirout vs. Warthog vs. Vortech

[norby16]

Hello,
I'm looking to buy a " turn key " cnc router from either of the following companies. Based on your knowledge and respect for these/ which would you most likely vote on being the most reliable financially economic cnc router solution. Please feel free to write reasons behind your decisions...

I've narrowed it down to 3 key players.
EZ router
Shopsabre
Shopbot

Also theres:
Digirout - but after their lack of response to most of my emails I got a bad vibe and there outstandingly low prices at first drew me in but now made me suspicious.
Warthog cnc - Waiting on a quote from them/ have recently found them
Vortech cnc - Allegedly not too good of a reputation from what I've read on the posts.

Never the less/ with about 10,000$ to invest. Which would you vote most reliable/ supported / ready to run cnc machine. Personally I'm casting my vote on EZ router.

[mll]

What size machine are you looking for? For under 10K you can get a K2CNC depends on the size of course.....

[norby16]

Oh, it needs to be a 48" x 96". I'm in the plastic fabrication business and the 4'x8' sheets are most typical. Thanks for the interest!

[norby16]

Are you suggesting that k2cnc is more reputable than shopsabre or ez- router?...

[morten259]

I think that you shout chuse the shopbot in my company we have 4 sb machines .the support is ok they are proff and fast .It is a little difficult with spare part it is mayby because that we are an overseas company .

[todd71]

$10,000 for 48x96. Your not going to get much of a "turn key" machine.
Save your money. Just getting it delivered, up and running is going to eat a BIG chuck of your money. For that size machine you'll need at least
$20k-$30k to get a reasonably decent machine and have enough left to get it going. At least the way I see it. It's better to wait and have the resources to do it right rather than sink everything in the machine and have no margin for error.

Good luck,
Todd
www.innovative-accents.com

[norby16]

Thanks for the post Todd. I came to that very conclusion after deliberating which to buy for about 2 months now... Ironically and reasonably regarding this; I've decided to build the machine myself. Something I was trying to avoid at first but after close consideration of the complicity involved I find it do-able. Only problem right now I'm facing before ordering parts is not knowing the exact footprint needed to operate the table at atleast x48" x y96" x z4". Looking at aluminum extrusions I've compiled a large table that should be able to give me enough space. Here is the attached top view and the dimensions.




The box represents 1 square foot of space designated for the z axis mounts/ etc. I think 1 square foot should be more than a safe amount of space. The center of the box marked X is ideally where the router bit will end up being/ or around that area. Aluminum extrusions used will be 2" from top.

Comparing this to a ready to go turn key machine I compiled a finance saved list to compare the savings and see if it would be worth my time building one. The answer is yes . I'm sure some of you are curious what the digits come in at so here we go:

Entire aluminum table frame:
Legs- 2"x2" al extrude 6pc @ 36" = 135.78

96" length - 2"x2" al extrude 2 pc @ 116" = 127.40 ( I've created a 2 inch over hand on both ends to attach brackets ( not shown in the drawing ))

48" length 2"x2" al extrude 2 pc @ 60" = 65.80

Brackets to be used for table 2x2 22pcs = 104.94

Feet supports/ +- 20$

Electrical:

Completed turn key electrical package from motion tek quoted me 2375.
( supplier found on ebay/ 1200 oz motor package seems like a good deal to me... )

So far total:
$2828.92
+shipping
+the linear rails and racks n pinions to worry about.

New final total:
I'm predicting that around 5k will be spent, not bad aye?

Anyways I thought I'd bring this all to light in case there's some big fundamental flaw I'm committing that someone who has built or even worked with these before could point out I'd really appreciate it. Any feedback is welcome thanks!

[todd71]

There are plenty of guys here @ CNCzone that have done it. Post it up on th D.I.Y. forum and see what they have to say. I'm sure you'll get some good advice from the ones that have done it before. My SS 4896 is actually 60inch x112inch . I recommend going larger if you can. Never hurts to have the extra space.

Good luck

[norby16]

Wow thats a good sign, I guess I'm on the right track if shopsabres4869 footprint is 60x112 compared to my 64x112 .

I'd love to go bigger but my warehouse is about 600 sq feet so throwing a huge table ontop of all the other equipment I have will halt production.

Quite honostly its a problem I'm rather avoiding right now as the only spot I have for this will be at my drive in door and I'll have to kick the panel saw somewhere else. Most likely I'll attach wheels to this machine once I have everything else taken care of...

[todd71]

Check this out http://www.camtech.ca/spacemaker.html
If you do put casters on it make sure they retract. The inertia
of the gantry moving will cause your machine to move. That is
if its fast.

[ger21]

If you want something that nig, build a mechMate. www.mechmate.com

You can buy just about all the parts needed, so it's basically a kit. And, a proven design.

[pearlinlay]

After looking at the same companies, I went with EZ router. Had a Geko damaged in shipping, called they overnighted the new one and talked me through replacing it and it run perfect ever since. I cut every thing from .020 in width inlays for pegheads to necks and bodies. No complaints at all.