[cjudas]

Hi, I'm Chris Judas. I live in Iowa and I am looking for any and all suggestions on what type/size of machine I should get. I am close to retiring and want to make signs, lithos and whatever else I can think of. I want to work mainly with wood, plastics and acrylics. I don't need a huge machine but I don't want to buy one and wish right away that I had gone bigger. Do people have a pref. on what software is best? Any specific brand of machine? I have been looking and like the looks of the Rocklers, Romaxx and Probotix but not sure how to decide.

I look forward to hearing from everyone.

Thanks.

[dxxxathena]

I think you should go to a woodworker site.

[Billyum]

I bet there are a lot of used ones out there, Try C.L. or e-bay & ask why they are selling.

[aarggh]

Personally if by Rocklers you mean the CNC shark, I wouldn't even consider it as anything approaching a cost effective or economical option. IMHO it's a way overpriced machine, especially for the materials used in it's construction. A Chinese 6040 with the rubbish supplied controller upgraded to a Gecko G540 is a far more cost effective solution, at less than half to a third the cost, and built with "real" drivescrews and solid aluminium construction.

The Probotix and Romaxx (the romaxx does look very nicely constructed) I can't comment on personally as I've never seen one in the wild, but I have heard good things about them. But then again, some people seem to love the CNC Shark, so I guess it's all relative.

Forgot to mention, so far as software goes, if your serious about potentially building a business doing signs and engraving, or even just having fun, you cannot beat Vectrics products, V-Carve or Cut2D for simple work would be ideal for you. The money it costs is really well worth it, because of the relative ease with which you can create just amazing work.

cheers, Ian