Where is your "bot"

[tradition_wood]

As I continue to research and study our plans to purchase a bot I am looking at our current floor space and trying to find a spot for it and if I use a current spot, where do I put the stuff that occupies the spot now.
I have 2 spots in mind, one is a 8' wide spot that is between the back of our moulder and a lumber rack, both ends would be accessible but the sides would be a tight fit if you needed to get in there.
The other is kind of in a corner, tight access on 1 side and end but wide open on the others.
I guess my question is how much room do you need in reality, I know what the "footprint" is and I am sure more than that would be better.
For those who have their machine in a corner, how often to you need to get into the corner?

[bill.young]

Hey Geoff,

A couple of ideas that might help...

1) There's a little bit of information on this already in the ShopBot wiki...the direct link is http://shopbotwiki.com/index.php?title=ShopSetupMain

2) You can download 3d models of several of the PRS tools from the Sketchup 3d warehouse and use them to plan your shop layout. http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/search?q=shopbot&btnG=Search&styp=m

Bill

[harryball]

Geoff,

My bot is in a corner, I am 18" off the wall down the long side and the "head" of the bot where 0,0 and my PC is located is 36" off the wall. The Y=0 location is on the open side and the X=96 end is open and faces my sheet storage rack.

The sheet storage rack is about 10' away from the end and the floor space in between is kept mostly open as it is the rollup door area in my shop. When I need to load a sheet I setup a roller stand about half way, work the sheet off and roll it over onto the bot.

Robert

[richards]

Geoff,
If you plan on using the Shopbot to cut full sheets of material, do yourself a big favor and give the Shopbot plenty of room - even if it means moving other equipment out of the way. I've written files that can cut cabinet panels in as little as 2-1/2 minutes per sheet (slicing things up like a panel saw), but material handling robs me of all time gained by optimising the cut file. In order to use those short sheet processing times, I would have to have a roller-system in place so that I could roll palletized sheets on and off the machine.

On the other hand, if you're going to be cutting things that take a long cut cycle, then space could be tighter without loosing too much production time.

[knight_toolworks]

you have to be able to access both sides and ends. though the right side does not need it as often I have to squeeze in there. it is a pain but I don't have to do it often. I can't remove anything over 4 feet from he back end but I can access the table. it works but it can be a pain too.

[daniel]

My bot is im my bedroom.....I've been sleeping in my kitchen........