Omio X8 alternative?

Our team received a grant to purchase a CNC router. We were going to go with the Omio X8 since it seemed to have positive overall reviews, especially when considering the price.

The grant money was given to our school district, and then they make the purchases for us. But they refused to make the order since it would be going through China. They would only do the order through a purchase order which Omio will not accept. So now I’m kind of stuck with money I cannot spend and I didn’t receive enough money to purchase alternatives that I have seen on here.

I found something today through MillRight that seems comparable. It is a MillRight CNC Power Route Kit Bundle. I am not an expert. Biggest difference I see is that it doesn’t use a spindle but a Dewalt router. The bed is a little smaller. It looks rigid. I couldn’t find any threads on here about this particular one and I was wondering if I could get some opinions on this. I know that there are much better and larger CNC Routers there but we don’t have the space and am not receiving additional money for it.

Thanks

Lots of companies won’t accept purchase orders without a big credit checking process. Maybe you can convince Omio and your school to set up an escrow service?

If you’re alright with a similar machine to the X6, there seem to be a handful of US-based vendors on Ebay selling 6040 CNC routers. I can’t find any with the THK-style rails, but if you’re okay with supported round rails and the smaller bed it seems like a solid option. With enough digging you might be able to find to 6040 with THK-style rails on Ebay or find a model closer to the X8 in size.

How much are you looking to spend? The omio is a great value but it is difficult to get school districts to purchase it.

I originally got a $5000 grant but $1000 has been already accounted for and spent. We had about the $3200 set aside for the Omio X8 purchase and use team funds to purchase the tooling for it. We could go with the $4000 but I’m not sure if that’ll be too big of a difference or not.

I was hoping to find a resaler or a copycat, couldn’t find anything. I’ll keep digging.

If you want decent quality, see if you can cut a deal with Laguna for their Laguna IQ. It’s not quite as good as the Omio and has a worse UI, but as far as mechanical aspects go it’s fairly good.
The MillRight looks like a pretty cheap machine compared to the Omio or Laguna. Router spindle, round guides, and a flimsy-looking gantry. Pretty good for a US machine for the price, but it probably won’t perform at the same level as the Omio or Laguna.