Zenbot 4848 & cutting aluminum

[bmears]

I've owned & used a Shapeoko XXL for about a year. I cut mostly acrylic, but also aluminum. Aluminum work is typically slotting & pocketing simple shapes.

The Shapeoko's max workspace is about 32" square. I'm losing out on work because of that. I need a machine that can cut 48" square (a half sheet of acrylic). But, I can't lose the ability to cut aluminum.

I know that the Zenbot *can* cut aluminum, but I'm hoping to find out how well, particularly compared to the Shapeoko. Shaun @ Zenbot assures me it will, but I also see lots of people call the machine light-duty & not really appropriate for aluminum. There are a few videos online of a Zenbot cutting aluminum but they appear to be very shallow passes & not much more than engraving.

Plenty of people will say that a Shapeoko won't cut aluminum either but lots of us do it. So, I'm hoping to find somebody who really knows what it's capable of & can help me decide whether to buy or not.

I'm open to other machines as well, if there's something similar in the same price range that's more suited to cutting aluminum.

Help? Thank you...

Brian

[mactec54]

I've owned & used a Shapeoko XXL for about a year. I cut mostly acrylic, but also aluminum. Aluminum work is typically slotting & pocketing simple shapes.

The Shapeoko's max workspace is about 32" square. I'm losing out on work because of that. I need a machine that can cut 48" square (a half sheet of acrylic). But, I can't lose the ability to cut aluminum.

I know that the Zenbot *can* cut aluminum, but I'm hoping to find out how well, particularly compared to the Shapeoko. Shaun @ Zenbot assures me it will, but I also see lots of people call the machine light-duty & not really appropriate for aluminum. There are a few videos online of a Zenbot cutting aluminum but they appear to be very shallow passes & not much more than engraving.

Plenty of people will say that a Shapeoko won't cut aluminum either but lots of us do it. So, I'm hoping to find somebody who really knows what it's capable of & can help me decide whether to buy or not.

I'm open to other machines as well, if there's something similar in the same price range that's more suited to cutting aluminum.

Help? Thank you...

Brian

You can cut mill aluminum with anything even a dremal, it how well a machine like this will work both machines are lightweight and not really suitable for milling aluminum, if you want any kind of accuracy at a production rate you will have to step it up to a much heaver built machine with linear rails and quality ballscrews