- New to me Techno router
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Member
Re: New to me Techno router
Kinda stalled out right now; spring and summer chores plus a good dose of procrastination Doesn't help I run a CNC lathe all day. By the time I get home I'm kinda burned out. My impression is it's a solid machine with an old control. They sell for way too much money IMOP.
Last weekend i helped my buddy assemble a 48x96 machine from cncrouterparts.com and am quite impressed with it. You're shelling out a bit of $$ but the kit format saves you quite a bit. Beware the base price you see at first will increase 20-30% after you add necessary things like a leg kit. Shipping is via UPS with mechanicals coming from WA and 8020 extrusions drop-shipped from CA. We were missing a few parts and had some interface issues but could have easily had it assembled and cutting within three days. The guys were a bit slow answering the phone but took care of our issues pretty quick once they did. For the cost of buying an old Techno and paying the crazy control upgrade price, you could have a brand new, fast machine with good support. Your choice depends on your budget, time, skill/experience level and what you have in mind for it.
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Member
Re: New to me Techno router
Thanks for the reply, sorry you're not up and running yet
I don't need anything larger than 2 x 3, and don't require high speeds, not in a hurry. But I do need accuracy and reliability. The machine I'm considering is the right size, and has servos and the box w/ drivers just like yours. It needs a spindle and wiring up, but seems to be in good condition with little use. Might be able to get it for $1000 or so, seems like a reasonable price. Would need to up grade the controller tho, and not sure I want to spend all that time on it. But to get a comparable quality router ready to go would seem to b at least $5K.
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Member
Re: New to me Techno router
Sounds like a decent deal. Learn to use that controller before you toss it; it might be a bit eccentric but it was good enough for many years' use by professionals. The cost of changing to something else like Mach3 is higher than you might think. You will lose the functionality of the encoders and also have to shell out for controllers and various boards, possibly even new motors.
The only limitation on this controller that I have here, as far as I can see, is that it will probably not do simultaneous 3 axis movement. I'm ok with that because I have rarely used that, even at work after 25+ years machining. You can almost always do what you want with 2.5D toolpaths and good setup and fixturing. Relief-carving with raster toolpaths is still only two axis movement s long as one is in-line with the toolpath.
- New to me Techno router
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