[hybridmojo]

I'm planning to move 900 miles next summer. I have my own business where 90% I sell services, but 10% of the time I end up prototyping plastic parts in my garage. I have a Tormach PCNC 1100 which I love but haven't used as much as I expected (maybe 8 hours/month), and then only for machining plastics. I'm also often running into the limitations of the work area size. I'm questioning if it is worth moving it, or whether I should sell it and look into a CNC router which can handle larger workpieces. I was looking at the OpenBuilds 60x60 CNC router for example... but if I buy one to give it a shot, then I'd just end up having to pack it up and haul it a few months from now.

I have a 3d printer and 40w co2 laser which I use very often.

The PCNC 1100 was delivered to my driveway and it wasn't horrible getting it inside, I just used an engine hoist and two friends. But how the heck I'm going to get it into my enclosed trailer, properly centered, I don't know. My van has a GVWR of about 10,000 lbs, it's 5000 lbs empty and the trailer is about 1200 lbs dry. 10k-5k-1.2-1k means 2,800 lbs left over for everything else. That doesn't sound like enough, but I haven't moved in a long time. Luckily the only other large item worth taking is a 2 person softub, which weighs nothing but takes up a lot of room. My wife's SUV also has a proper tow setup, so I can buy another trailer if needed.

Advice, thoughts, all welcome...

[he1957]

Sounds to me like you'd like a shiny new CNC large surface router table at the new place. A couple of things:

1. It's difficult to cut larger bits on a small machine
2. A large surface area can have more than one part mounted/made at a time

The smarty-pants in me says the G54+ family are your firends!

Just saying... :-)

[ger21]

The rigidity of an Open Builds router will be a fraction of the Tormach.

[hybridmojo]

The rigidity of an Open Builds router will be a fraction of the Tormach.

I'm open to other suggestions.

As he1957 says... my last project was cutting 19"x16" parts. I just ended up using the machine like a manual mill. I also routinely cut a part where I can almost cut two parts from one stock (half an inch short... after I moved the end stops). Again not terrible but annoying.

If the routers are going to be garbage vs the Tormach, I'll keep it. It's been very good to me. I'm definitely going to end up with a large diode laser either way for sign making and RC airplanes.