[Galdang]

these question i have prob. have been asked a zillion times and now i will do so for the zilllion +1 time.

i want to buy a new cnc and also a laser cutting table.
as I am a total noob at these things some noob questions.
( i do have experience with laser marking machines and also Gravograph routers)

I have asked and got a RFQ from JCutcnc for a JCUT-90150 and also JCUT-1216
(and the JCUT-1290)
I will be using it mainly for routing 3 mm aluminum, drilling in epoxy, various others.

principle questions for me at this moment are:
1) which is the better choice a P&R or a ball screw for speed and accuracy?
2) same for stepper or servo?
3) should i ask for a higher power stepper and drive? (if that is the standard for the mentioned machine)
4) what kind of interface is preferred? Mach3, other?
5) communication connection USB, Ethernet?
6) should i opt in for extra''s as dust collection, vacuum, cooling system
7) a water cooled spindle or air cooled?
8) power of spindle and pref. Italian or chinese or ? make?
9) same question for the drives.
10) any spare parts & tools?
11) is there (at this moment) any preferred supplier?
12) any experience with trying to pay with Escrow?

i have many more questions but i would like to start with these for the CNC router.
Thanks in advance for the effort answering these questions.

George

[awerby]

these question i have prob. have been asked a zillion times and now i will do so for the zilllion +1 time.

i want to buy a new cnc and also a laser cutting table.
as I am a total noob at these things some noob questions.
( i do have experience with laser marking machines and also Gravograph routers)

I have asked and got a RFQ from JCutcnc for a JCUT-90150 and also JCUT-1216
(and the JCUT-1290)
I will be using it mainly for routing 3 mm aluminum, drilling in epoxy, various others.

principle questions for me at this moment are:
1) which is the better choice a P&R or a ball screw for speed and accuracy?

[A precision-ground ball screw will be more accurate than a rack and pinion, although R&P can be faster.]

2) same for stepper or servo?

[Servo systems are generally preferred, especially on larger machines.]

3) should i ask for a higher power stepper and drive? (if that is the standard for the mentioned machine)

[More power is good...]

4) what kind of interface is preferred? Mach3, other?

[Depends on the "other".]

5) communication connection USB, Ethernet?

[USB.]

6) should i opt in for extra''s as dust collection, vacuum, cooling system

[If you're cutting wood, then vacuum dust collection is good. If you're working on large flat pieces, then vacuum hold-down is good. If you're cutting metal, then flood coolant is good. But you don't usually see all these things on the same machine.]

7) a water cooled spindle or air cooled?

[Air-cooled gives you one less thing to go wrong.]

8) power of spindle and pref. Italian or chinese or ? make?

[All things being equal, I'd get the Italian one.]

9) same question for the drives.

[Same answer.]

10) any spare parts & tools?

[Yes, you'll need lots of them, depending on what you're trying to do.]

11) is there (at this moment) any preferred supplier?

[There are certainly some who are not preferred. But often when their bad reputation starts impeding their sales, they start up again with a new name.]

12) any experience with trying to pay with Escrow?

[That could work to some extent. But usually, once the machine arrives, they get the funds. When it doesn't work quite right, you're still stuck.]

i have many more questions but i would like to start with these for the CNC router.
Thanks in advance for the effort answering these questions.

George

[Isn't there anyone in your country who sells routers? Wouldn't you rather deal with someone who could fix things that go wrong without having to ship the machine back to China?]

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[Galdang]

@ Andrew

first of all thank you for taking the effort to answer my questions, highly appreciated.
to start with your last remark, yes there are people over here importing these machines as well, but the cost will be 2 -3 times as much as doing it myself.
it is also very doubtful how much knowledge these people will have for this kind of machines.
they prob. will get it up and running, but i have the feeling that will be it.
we are going to use this in a business, but because of the small amount of work we will have it will be running for about 8-10 hours / week utmost.
so not really a good idea to put too much money in it for now.
we also have imported other machines from the far east (wire cut and strip) and we are very pleased with it.
quality is not excellent but adequate (to good) for the goal we have set for it.
we also have a small (A3) hobby router, but we only use this for routing holes in plastic casings and we have need for a more robust and bigger size one.

with your answers i will now try to convince the seller to equip this machine with ball screws, bigger motors, perhaps an air cooled spindle, flood cooling for routing aluminum
(all though what i have understood that with the correct cutting speed and a better quality aluminum only a minimum of cooling will be needed).

what I have been reading an AC servo is not realistic on this machine (price wise)

can you (or others) recommend me a trustworthy supplier other then the one I mentioned? or do you have an opinion on this supplier as it seems it is one of the bigger players in this field.

thank you again for answering my questions

George