If you had $5,000 or $6,000 or more to spend on a CNC machine which one would you choose?
There’s a list of other machines on a wiki page at the /r/hobbycnc subreddit at www.reddit.com.
Which one I’d get would depend on what I wanted to cut, and in what scale.
if want want a sturdy machine and want to built it still but when your done building your done rock solid check out cncrouterparts.com you can get a kit or buy parts that you need to construct your own custom build
Are you asking about CNC Router tables or CNC Mill?
For CNC Mill i would go with a Tormach PCNC 440 (6900$) or PCNC770 (6800).
For a router table i would build my own with linear rails and lead screws, a 1.5kw vfd spindle and gecko drives.
If I was building my own CNC router, it would be a MechMate. If I was getting a CNC mill then the Tormach 1100 would have to be top of the list. (both over the price requirement I know)
I would need a router. I have looked at Tormach and it looks pretty solid. Have you had any experience with this brand?
I’m not interested in building my own unit. I just don’t have the time, or interest really. Anyone have any experience with Axiom or Laguna? They both have units in that range.
The Laguna is a solid machine, I have been looking at the Automated & Industrial Machinery | CNC Machinery | Laguna Tools
Just to get a machine with a larger work area.
I don’t have any personal experience with Laguna but I just read this thread which you may want to look over.
Looking at Laguna’s site I was thinking it was a good option but now I’m not so sure.
Maybe that’s just the quality we are going to get in that price range, I don’t know. I visited a furniture maker’s shop the other day. He runs a $200,000 Onsrud that would make you want to cry. Watching it cut 1" oak in a single pass at something like 1200 in/min was mind blowing. Not to mention his vacuum table, just incredible. Point is he has found Onsrud to be a great company and they are in the states, but glancing at their introductory unit on their site, I imagine it’s still going to be very expensive, but I will give them a call and find out.
That review from 2012 has received a lot of attention, but all the other reviews I have read since then have been mostly positive.
I do not own a Laguna and have not used one, but I have been doing a lot research looking for a next level machine and so far for the price I have not seen anything else that comes close to the standard features of the Laguna.
Good catch on the review date, I didn’t notice that. I would like to know more about Tormach and Axiom though. Maybe I will check them out more tonight.
The Tormach is an entirely different beast, it is a vertical milling center primary designed to machine metals. It has a much smaller working area, but lots of power and precision and the ability to purchase lots of extras, like automatic tool change systems.
If you want to mill aluminum then the Tormach is the machine you want.
Yeah, it is a mill, you’r right. I just did a quick search on my phone last night and didn’t actually read much content, just looked at images and prices. 
Looking again at the Onsrud their introductory machine is much larger than I realized also, probably $100k just for it. Definitely have to start smaller than that for right now-- maybe in the future.
I hate to say you get what you pay for. I also know that with any machine, there are the inherit cost of maintenance. I would say purchase a machine with a business plan in mind. No use spending X dollars only to spend 2X a short time later.
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Camaster stinger
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Haven’t pulled the trigger yet, but I find myself returning to the PDJ Pilot Pro website a good bit.
I am really liking the info on the Camaster website. It looks like a good product and good service. I’m going to give them a call tomorrow, but for now I’ve been checking out their forum. A little thing I’ve learned from the Inventables forum is you can tell a lot about a product by the way users talk about it and what they talk about on the forum.
I run a small business making military plaques and the stinger hasn’t let me down solid and easy to use compared to a shopbot. Had it set up and running in no time.
@JeffreyBrown that’s very good to hear a review from a user. It really looks like a good fit for also. I do wish they didn’t employ rubber belts, but the salesman said that’s what they use until you get into the Cobra line, but that they are very low maintenance. I really like the expandability of the their products, also.
Out of curiosity why are you on the Inventables Forum, when you use a Camasters product? I browsed their forum, it’s pretty ugly and clunky, maybe that’s why. 
I would be interested in knowing more about Romaxx if anyone has had any experience with them?
I joined the forum when I was in the market for a cnc router. Almost bought one but stumbled on the stinger and broke down and bought it. I liked the fact that the machine was plug and play no building. But I still get on here to see things people create on their machines regardless of brand.
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