help me purchase a cnc router

July 15, 2006 4:03 PM

I have been tasked with purchasing a CNC router for a small art program. Looking for advice on what to get and not to get.

The rough budget is $24000 (give or take a couple thousand dollars). I'm currently looking at a Techno Model LC4896 50" x 96" base, with a 5hp spindle upgrade. The software they are suggesting is MasterCAM Art & Router. Others have suggested Rhino instead for the software. A vacuum table would be nice but for now is out of the budget.

This machine will get light to medium use by students and faculty, so easy of use and reliability is more important than speed or high performance. I don't have a lot of experience with this kind of tool, and would be grateful for any advice on what to get, what not to get, and any other tips on setup, usage, and software.

posted by puppy kuddles to Technology (3 answers total)

Have you looked at Sherline? You'd end up with less powerful gear, but you could get several of them (and maybe get the vacuum table too).
posted by aramaic at 4:34 PM on July 15, 2006

check with the people on the CNC Zone forums.
posted by probablysteve at 6:40 PM on July 15, 2006

ShopBot. As far as I know Rhino is simply a modeling application, so you'll still need a CAM system to generate the toolpaths if you go that route. Here's a great post from a sign manufacturer that works with a ShopBot and ArtCAM, for example.
posted by prostyle at 9:44 AM on July 16, 2006