CNC Router ?

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  • JeffW
    Veteran Member
    • Feb 2003
    • 1594
    • San Antonio, Texas, USA.
    • BT3100

    CNC Router ?

    Anyone running a cnc. I am looking at the Piranha sold by Rockler. Anyone know anything about it. It will be used 95% of the time engraving names in our Honor Chairs.

    Saving a Hero's Place creates custom wooden Honor Chairs to memorialize the fallen by saving their seat and honoring their memory. Please donate to support.
    Measure twice, cut once, screw it up, start over
  • Stytooner
    Roll Tide RIP Lee
    • Dec 2002
    • 4301
    • Robertsdale, AL, USA.
    • BT3100

    #2
    I don't have this one and I haven't really heard anything about it. Just some observations. The software is an excellent value to be included. Thats about the end of the good.

    It has unsupported rails which will flex. Less so in this smaller machine, but they will still do it, so not as accurate as one with supported rails. For that reason alone, I would not personally buy it. I am biased though. I would choose to build my own over that design. That said, if you go very slow, it can produce parts, but you will have to juggle that to keep from burning. You will have to find the sweet spot between flex and burning on various materials and DOC's and Feeds and speeds.
    They mention it is not an entry level machine, but that is exactly what it is. They do not give any electronics details. That is not a good sign, nor do they say what type of drive system it uses and how much backlash you might expect.

    They call it a 12" x 18" machine. Travel is only 12" x 13". That is misleading.

    All that said, it will probably do what you need it to, but not with lightning speed. For 5 to 10 parts a month maybe it would do. Much more than that and I would look elsewhere.
    If you are not experienced in CNC, then this can be a good learning tool, so you have to weight that into it. Cost wise is probably a decent value with everything considered. They are not asking too much. Good luck with it and let us know how it goes, Jeff.
    Lee

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    • JoeyGee
      Veteran Member
      • Nov 2005
      • 1509
      • Sylvania, OH, USA.
      • BT3100-1

      #3
      What about an X-Carve?



      Iventables was really smart and gave them out to a bunch of YouTube woodworkers, so there is a LOT of information on YouTube about them. Looks much cheaper than the Rockler CNC, even if you upgrade the spindle.
      Joe

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      • Stytooner
        Roll Tide RIP Lee
        • Dec 2002
        • 4301
        • Robertsdale, AL, USA.
        • BT3100

        #4
        It looks like that would make a great 3D printer, but not so good for much hardwood routing. Might even be nice for a laser. The rollers riding on aluminum rails is not good. I didn't see if they add a SS track to them or not, but they should. That will wear rapidly as is. Then with saw dust you need to control the dust really well to keep it out of the transmission parts. Pretty much goes for any of them. The belts will develop stretch pretty fast from cutting stresses. Again, 3D printing has no cutting stress, so would last much better in that configuration.
        Might be good as well for model makes.
        Certainly not viable in any larger size.
        I haven't read any customer reviews though. Just a quick observation.
        Lee

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        • jussi
          Veteran Member
          • Jan 2007
          • 2162

          #5
          A friend of mine got one of these.

          Learn about the Shapeoko CNC Routers. They're fast, accurate, and reliable so you can make amazing projects to keep, give as gifts, or sell.


          I have the carvewright and it works fine for the occasional use I have for it.
          I reject your reality and substitute my own.

          Comment

          • atgcpaul
            Veteran Member
            • Aug 2003
            • 4055
            • Maryland
            • Grizzly 1023SLX

            #6
            The best machines we use at work use sealed bearing guides that ride on a screw drive. Sorry I'm not techie enough to know their actual engineering name, but these hold their positional accuracy very well. Down from that are the belt driven machines which work great when newly setup but get sloppy over time. All the moving surfaces are some kind of steel alloy, no aluminum.

            We have one X-Y-Z robot that operates at -20C and so far its Achilles heel is the ribbon cables that lead to the motors and sensors. After 4 years of operation, I'm getting cables breaking inside the drag chains at a regular rate. Just waiting for the vendor to get some parts so we can replace them with some high end cables.

            Comment

            • Stytooner
              Roll Tide RIP Lee
              • Dec 2002
              • 4301
              • Robertsdale, AL, USA.
              • BT3100

              #7
              I think you mean ball screws. There are various grades of those and the prices for the lesser quality ones have came down in recent years to hobby level affordability. Those coupled with linear rails and some stout steel or aluminum substraights and then you have a machine that you can push some and still expect quality results a great longevity. A hobbyist won't wear one out with proper maintenance.

              Specially designed wires and cables are a must for some applications. The robots would be one of them. You can't have stiff cables or wires in parts that move a lot. Rubber coatings and insulations are the best choices there rather than plastic that typical wiring has on it.
              Lee

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