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CNC Routers
- Thread starter insanity
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 24, 1999
- Messages
- 4,981
I run one every day at work. Its old and I'm not really up to date on whats the latest and greatest out there.
The machine I run is a Komo Mach I (might be a II actually) VR510. It has a 16 horsepower spindle, 8 tool carousel, and a gangdrill. Very similar to the machine pictured here: http://www.komo.com/Pre-Owned/mach_one_512.htm
It has about 2000 hours on it and has needed very little work. The automatic tool changing spindle is a Columbo, with permanently lubed bearings and it has been the biggest cause of trouble. It occasionally misses a tool change and drops the tool onto the floor. Occasionally tools get stuck in the drawbar as well. Overall I would say its been a very good machine, and as a bonus it was made in the USA making parts and customer service much easier.
If you tell me more about what they are wanting to do with it I might be able to offer a little more advice. I'm short on time now but will get back to this later with a few more things.
The machine I run is a Komo Mach I (might be a II actually) VR510. It has a 16 horsepower spindle, 8 tool carousel, and a gangdrill. Very similar to the machine pictured here: http://www.komo.com/Pre-Owned/mach_one_512.htm
It has about 2000 hours on it and has needed very little work. The automatic tool changing spindle is a Columbo, with permanently lubed bearings and it has been the biggest cause of trouble. It occasionally misses a tool change and drops the tool onto the floor. Occasionally tools get stuck in the drawbar as well. Overall I would say its been a very good machine, and as a bonus it was made in the USA making parts and customer service much easier.
If you tell me more about what they are wanting to do with it I might be able to offer a little more advice. I'm short on time now but will get back to this later with a few more things.
- Joined
- Nov 24, 1999
- Messages
- 4,981
Well I looked over the router brands you mentioned and it looks like they're going for a traveling head router. I have no experience with those personally. They have a lot smaller footprint which would be a very nice feature. I do wonder about the rigidity of the overall frame, seeing as how much smaller it is than the machine I deal with. I also think that dust collection could be a challenge on a traveling head router.
The head on the router I run only travels in the Y and Z axis, making it basically straight line travel with a run of about 7 feet. We had alot of trouble over the last few years with the dust collection hose collapsing on itself because the constant bending caused it to kink. Anywhere it kinked, the dust particles ate holes in it. We finally solved that by using a ball joint on the end of the rigid piping in the dust collection system, and using amuch heavier peice of flexible hose. I still wonder how it would hold up to having 3 axis travel, and a range of 10 feet or more though.
One of the most important aspects to buying a machine is the operating software. I have limited experience in this side of it because I'm not the one doing the programming at the cabinet shop. I can read basic parts of the programming (FANUC language/G-code) and understand the basics of it. In most circumstances you will have to have a fairly current copy of autocad, or at least a similarly capable drafting program. From there, you will need the third party software to convert your drawing into code for the router. Some folks write their router programming by hand, but unless you are using the machine for very basic purposes, or doing very large runs of the same part, you will never be able to use the machine efficiently. There can be hundreds of lines of code for each program.
Let me know what their plans are for the machine. I have done a little bit of everything on ours, so I might be able to make suggestions as to which features are time savers and which ones aren't quite as important.
The head on the router I run only travels in the Y and Z axis, making it basically straight line travel with a run of about 7 feet. We had alot of trouble over the last few years with the dust collection hose collapsing on itself because the constant bending caused it to kink. Anywhere it kinked, the dust particles ate holes in it. We finally solved that by using a ball joint on the end of the rigid piping in the dust collection system, and using amuch heavier peice of flexible hose. I still wonder how it would hold up to having 3 axis travel, and a range of 10 feet or more though.
One of the most important aspects to buying a machine is the operating software. I have limited experience in this side of it because I'm not the one doing the programming at the cabinet shop. I can read basic parts of the programming (FANUC language/G-code) and understand the basics of it. In most circumstances you will have to have a fairly current copy of autocad, or at least a similarly capable drafting program. From there, you will need the third party software to convert your drawing into code for the router. Some folks write their router programming by hand, but unless you are using the machine for very basic purposes, or doing very large runs of the same part, you will never be able to use the machine efficiently. There can be hundreds of lines of code for each program.
Let me know what their plans are for the machine. I have done a little bit of everything on ours, so I might be able to make suggestions as to which features are time savers and which ones aren't quite as important.
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2002
- Messages
- 392
This is for an individual for her work as a visual artist. Time savers (like automated tool changing) are not a big concern. It will also be used for very short runs of pieces. Space is a concern as is overall cost. She would love to have a full industrial model, but just can't afford it.
Thank you for all the information.
Wayne
Thank you for all the information.
Wayne
- Joined
- Nov 24, 1999
- Messages
- 4,981
Under those circumstances I would worry much more about the software than I would about the machine. It doesn't sound like it will be run too terribly hard.
Personally I would want a chance to try out the programming side of it for whatever machine I was considering, seeing as how most of them seem to include software as part of the package.
We have done some graphic work before, and had a lot of issues with certain shapes (mostly lettering) because it doesn't follow the basic geometric shapes that the software normally recognizes. Instead of travelling along a line or an arc where there are simple formulas for the points, you have to plot individual points for each shape. This leads to alot of added programming time trying to match your points to your tool geometry and get the desired results.
I would also want as much memory as possible for the router if doing graphic work. Our machine, being older and having been built for cabinet production has limited memory. Basic cabinet parts are mostly squares and a program will only be a couple Kb. If I need to cut out ovals, or lettering I generally have to run the sheet in stages because there isn't room to load an entire program into the machine. This also adds greatly to programming time, and also slows down production.
Personally I would want a chance to try out the programming side of it for whatever machine I was considering, seeing as how most of them seem to include software as part of the package.
We have done some graphic work before, and had a lot of issues with certain shapes (mostly lettering) because it doesn't follow the basic geometric shapes that the software normally recognizes. Instead of travelling along a line or an arc where there are simple formulas for the points, you have to plot individual points for each shape. This leads to alot of added programming time trying to match your points to your tool geometry and get the desired results.
I would also want as much memory as possible for the router if doing graphic work. Our machine, being older and having been built for cabinet production has limited memory. Basic cabinet parts are mostly squares and a program will only be a couple Kb. If I need to cut out ovals, or lettering I generally have to run the sheet in stages because there isn't room to load an entire program into the machine. This also adds greatly to programming time, and also slows down production.