[thinkingcnc]

Does anyone use a pod and rail Anderson CNC like the one in my picture below for solid wood joinery such as stairs and windows? I would appreciate any reference or opinion.

[thinkingcnc]

I'm thinking of buying an Anderson made in 2006. It seems Anderson CNC machines have a very good reputation for reliability and are easily maintained. They use controllers and servos made by a company called 'Fanuc' in Japan which are supposed to be extremely reliable. I believe the Anderson machines are made in Tiawan.

The only issue I'm concerned about is their ability for solid wood machining such as doors, window and stairs. I know they are more than capable of cabinet door components as they are only 20mm thick. But what about components around the 94mm thickness? Will they be able to cope? The motor power is only 7.5KW which is a bit small but it has a largeish z-axis of 300mm. Why would it have such a large z-axis if it has been made for just panel work? I have read in the literature that it uses a 7.5KW to keep the cost of electric down.

Any opinions would appreciated, please.

[ger21]

Why would it have such a large z-axis if it has been made for just panel work?

Flexibility? Put a 5" thick panel in there with a 5" long bit, and you'll see why.
At my last job, we frequently were limited to 3" panel thickness, because bits long enough to cut through them used up all the Z travel.

7.5kw should be plenty of power, unless maybe you're trying to route 94mm in a single pass?

Sorry, I don't really know much about Anderson, but I know they've been around for a while.

[thinkingcnc]

Thank you Ger21. So, it has probably been designed for panel work albeit very thick panels.

The machine has no window like solid wood machines(e.g., scm prisma) and has a 10 position tool holder which holds diameter tooling of less than 125mm. It has a large drill block as well.

It is probably excellent for kitchen cabinet manufacture but that isn't something we do at the moment.