Potential ShopBot Owner

[orgtech]

Wanted to introduce myself as a future owner.

I’ve looked through this forum for a while now and researched other various CNC routers. Narrowed it down to a ShopBot as my choice.

I spent some time with Robert Ball last weekend, who turns out is located only a few miles away. He was gracious enough to give me a great overview. I am also planning on attending the Jamboree in Durham next month as a learning event.

I am focusing on the 48 x 48 PRS standard with a router. A spindle is desired but probably out of my budget unless I can find a good used unit.

I currently have two lasers, a 30w and a 100w. Want to sell the 30w to help fund the Bot or trade for one. The first laser started out as a hobby and then I needed more power for heavier cutting. Starting to make some money now to supplement my retirement.

I think the Bot will start out as a hobby as well until I get some experience and start integrating it with some of the laser work and find new opportunties.

Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks

Bruce

[tracys]

Bruce

I have never seen the support from any company that Shopbot gives with their machines. The guys on this forum are experienced and always willing to help.

[gc3]

4896...in less than a 6th month period after your initial learning curve you will wish you had.....a bigger table :eek:

GC

[tracys]

Gene is right Bruce, I started out looking at a 48 x 48 Buddy, and ordered a 48 x 96 PRSa, then changed the order a few days later to a 60 x 96. I only wish it was 120 once in awhile.

[chiloquinruss]

Since you've been using your lasers for awhile you are many steps ahead of most of the newbies. Download the ShopBot software from the website and see how much of it you already can figure out. It runs in simulation mode so 'Bot Away'. P.S. 48x96 is a minimum machine if there is an opportunity to turn it into a business. Russ

[navigator7]

@ Bruce,

Regarding lasers....what does 30 watts and 100 watts do for you?
How much cutting can actually be done?
I've had parts flame, plasma and water jet cut before but never anything laser cut.

Does the 30 or 100 watt machine cut parts or burn into parts?

If it does cut through material....what stop the laser from cutting your machine?

Any thoughts of mounting a laser on a SB?

[gene]

If you have the room go for the bigger table.

[orgtech]

I see that most suggest the bigger Bot. How about a little rational for the size? I don't see myself in the cabinet business, mainly smaller products. I though 48 x 48 would give me some upward flexibility. I realize that you could set up more smaller parts on a larger machine and reduce setup time but the 48 x 96 is huge.

One reason I like the Bot is it comes apart so I can get it through the basement door and it will be able to be moved in the future if I move.

As for the laser cutting, the higher the power the cleaner and faster the cut. I have cut 3/8 acrylic and do a lot of work with Baltic Birch 1/8 and 1/4. The worse you get is a little smoke on thicker wood which is easily sanded off. If the wood is pre-finished, you can just wipe it off with a damp cloth. For engraving the both work equally well.

Bruce

[zeykr]

One reason for the 48x96 is that's the size many materials come it. For the 4x4 you'll have to cut down ply or mdf before putting it on the machine.

It always seems that once someone gets a shopbot, they find the potential and desire to do things other than what their original focus was. Often these new directions lead toward larger projects than originally intended. I started with a 4x8 PR, moved up to a 5x10 PRT, and now am setting up a 6x12 PRS.

Another thing to consider about the 4x4 is the potentialy smaller resale market if purchasing a new PRS or the smaller pool of available machines if looking for a used machine.

You'll be very happy with the 4x4, but I too would recommend the 4x8 if you have the room for it.

[dlcw]

Bruce,

I started with a Buddy thinking I would only be doing small carvings and cutout work. Within 4 months my business model morphed because of customer demand. I'm now doing full size fireplace mantles with carvings, large 3D carved signs, coffee tables with 3D carvings and lots more cabinetry then I did before (because I can, and there's lots money to be made in cabinets).

I upgraded to a 60x96 PRS Alpha and am so glad I did. Baltic Birch comes in 60x60 sheets, as you are very aware. All my drawer boxes are made from 5/8" pre-finished Baltic Birch. Fitting these sheets on a 48" table is tough unless you spend time at the table saw calculating how big to make each piece to maximize material use on the SB. I'd rather use a whole piece of Baltic Birch and nest the parts for maximum utilization.

Just some ramblings....:)

[gene]

What Ken Said. There may be a need for a storage unit (shelves) that you need and you could lay a full sheet on the bot and cut it out. Do you have a table saw or other means to cut the wood to a 4x4 size? There is so much that you will want to do later on that is just easier with the larger table. I dont think that anyone who has purchased the 4x8 wished that they had only got the 4x4:rolleyes:

[orgtech]

I do have a panel saw that I currently use for the Baltic Birch.

Haven't heard from anyone who is satisfied with their smaller unit. Any one out there?

[dana_swift]

I have a BT-32, love it. My only regret (not a big regret tho) is not having a BT-48. I wonder if SB makes an upgrade kit?

I have a 4' and 8' powerstick. These days the 4' powerstick has my indexer mounted on it.

Appropriate size is all dependent on what you want to do with it. The few things I need big for, I have the powersticks. Most of the time the 24x34 is adequate.

If I relocate to a larger shop, I plan to keep the BT-32 and perhaps add a larger gantry router (a SB of course). Then use the same software everywhere.

D

[shoeshine]

I have the BT48 and love it. For what I do it is more than enough. I have used the 8' power stick ONCE in owning it a year. The small footprint is ideal for my small shop.

If I had unlimited space a full size gantry would be nice. But I would rather use the space saved for other tools, and extra work tables.

as others have said, it all depends on what you think you might do with it.

[rcnewcomb]

We purchased a 48x48 in 2005 and have had to pass up jobs because we couldn't handle 48x96 sheet goods. Mind you, there is still good money to be made carving smaller items -- especially 3D work, but in retrospect we do wish we'd gone with the larger table.

If your business plan is to just carve mandolin tops then the smaller machine is great, but if the business plan is "carve whatever brings in income", then the larger table is money well spent. Even if you do eventually decide that you are better served with a smaller unit (or two or three smaller Shopbots) then the 48x96 would be easier to sell.

[burchbot]

I was going to buy a 24 x 32 because room in my shop was a issue. The people on this forum recommended that I consider a 48 x 48 .because I could do so much more with it. I bought the 48 x48 and couldn’t be happier. If you have the room and can afford it. Get a 48 x 96
Dan

[myxpykalix]

I bought a 120x60 with an indexer and shoved that into a 16x24 shop and although i can barely get around I bought the biggest and best at the time because i wanted to do large columns.

This spring i am going to build an additional 16x24 onto the shop (halleluyah!). Although i went with the biggest table I have found that probably 75% of my work could be done on a 4x4 table. Having the bigger table gives you options. Keep in mind that i have done things for people that i had absolutely no idea i would ever do, so you need to plan for that. If you are going to be using the bot for customer work you want to be able to not have to turn work away because of table size. Bottom line is your budget will determine what you ultimately get.

[michael_schwartz]

I would strongly recommend going 48x96 if you can. I started out looking for a small machine, and finally gave in and figured out how to fit a 4x8 machine in my shop.

I have had my machine since november and I spent a few weeks getting everything setup and the learning curve has been pretty straight forward.

You will be pretty amazed what you can accomplish right away. Cut some shop projects to start, and make some signs as gifts etc... other than material hold down, tooling selection, feed rates, and spindle RPM, CNC machining comes down to what you can do with the software. I would recommend downloading the trial versions for Aspire and V-carve pro (Partworks) and start working with them right away.

[hh_woodworking]

We have 48x48 PRT at our school and have only had a few times that the larger table was needed with a little planing you can make the 48x48 cut the full 8'. I did not want to give up the floor space for the larger machine.