Zenbot 2448 or Stepcraft-2 840 or X-Carve?

[Jfclouti]

• Hello,

Yet another newbie question : which one should I buy?

• I want to use it to make electric guitar bodys and necks;
• I'm a hobbyist, not a professional, living in Canada;
• From my first analysis of different systems, my budget seems to only allow me one of these:
  
  • Zenbot 2448;
  • Stepcraft-2 840;
  • X-Carve
  
  
• I plan to use Fusion 360 for CAD and CAM;
• I really want to be able to carve guitar tops in 3D, not 2D or 2.5D;
• Mach 3 as a controller;

Other concerns or questions:

• Why don't we hear much about Mach 4?
• Shouldn't parallel ports be things of the past?
• Could you rate 1st to 3rd best for my needs among these?

Thanks

JF

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[ger21]

Why don't we hear much about Mach 4?

Probably because many people don't feel it's at a usable state yet. It's still missing some key features, and motion controller support is still lacking.

Shouldn't parallel ports be things of the past?

It depends on what you are referring to. A large number of people are still using Mach3 and LinuxCNC with parallel ports, as it's an inexpensive and easy way to control a machine.
There are a lot of non parallel port alternatives. If using Mach3, you need a motion controller, which adds to the cost.

A lot of hardware was originally designed to be used with parallel ports. Because of this, you'll still see a lot of hardwith with connections for parallel ports, even though you may not be using one.

Could you rate 1st to 3rd best for my needs among these?

Since I've never seen any of them in person, no, not really.
Imo, all will have deficiencies.
These are low end machines, and you'll likely find that they are all lacking in rigidity.

For a little more money, consider a CNC Router Parts machine - CRP2448 2' x 4' CNC Router Kit | CNCRouterParts

[johnchristopher]

Hi Parallel ports are only a thing of the passed if you are looking for them on the outside back of the computer tower. I have found that the Commercial Asus motherboards like the ASUS H110M-C/CSM LGA 1151 Intel H110 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 uATX Intel Motherboard and a few others models have LPT riser pins on the board that can be used with a ribbon cable just like the Smooth Stepper hooks up and if you need another one just add a StarTech 2 Port PCI Express/PCI-e Parallel Adapter Card - IEEE 1284 with Low Profile Bracket - 2x DB25 (F) Parallel Port Card PEX2PECP2 And this card has a on board LPT riser so all wiring can be kept right in side the tower or case.

[EC135]

Hi There,

I just picked up a used Zenbot (smaller 1216), Gecko G540 controller, and Mach3 - Fusion 360 for CAD/CAM...and so far have had great luck with it. Strictly for hobby use, wood for sure, maybe plastic, probably won't do anything with metal.

Regarding the parallel port question...I picked up a little gizmo called a UC100 and so far that has worked flawlessly as well.

The main reason I ended up with the Zenbot is because it was well below my budget (found it on Craigslist). If I were to buy a machine new, for my use/hobby, I would most likely go with the Shapeoko 3. The Shapeoko (Carbide) software is not the best but in terms of hardware for this level of CNC router I think the Shapeoko 3 is the winner.

The Zenbot is all plastic but rides on steel rails...far from a stiff machine and definitely a weakness but again, that's reflected in price (and for the little doodads I like to carve and create out of wood it's still FAR more accurate than I am with 'conventional' woodworking tools). The G540 is a nice controller and will allow for a CNC upgrade down the road. Mach3 is extremely well supported and offers more sophistication than I'll ever need.

Fusion 360 is incredible and I'm having just as much fun using and learning that as I am with the machine. The CAM exported from Fusion with the "generic Mach3 Mill" works great...pertaining to the Zenbot (no limit switches), you just need to remember to raise the Z manually / tweak your G28 setting / or adjust the gcode slightly to raise the Z for you before that first and last move. (that's actually why I joined CNC zone...found help and answer to that very question).