We plan to machine aluminum, polycarbonate and maybe some wood.
We have heard a lot about the Omio X8, and are heavily considering it just don’t know if we should get it from OmioCNC or West Coast Products.
If there is a better option please let me know.
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For that price just get the Omio. There’s other options but these are so easy to use and cut extremely well for the price.
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We have been using the Shapeoko 3 for years now, and it has been a great machine for working with polycarbonate. We have also used it to machine aluminum, but it can be a bit slow for that material. The software is very easy to use, and we are excited about the newest version, which is said to be even faster for aluminum
Shapeoko CNC Router, Rigid, Accurate, Reliable, and Affordable
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We have a shapeoko 3 in our shop we just don’t know how to update the grbl version to make it compatible with Fusion 360
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I’ll second your instinct to buy the Omio X8 2200 USB. We bought one a couple of years ago and it has proven to be a fantastic investment. They are easy to use, robust, and reliable. We got ours from Swyft Robotics and were very happy with both the price and the service from Swyft. That’s not to run down WCP as a supplier, since we bought the CNC Tube Fixture for the Omio from them and absolutely love it. But wherever you buy it from, the Omio is pretty much the best CNC you’ll find for under $5000.
Lets expand the topic just a tad. We are working on a shop upgrade that will take us a year to pull off. We want to get it right. So…with Omio X8 as the obvious baseline, suggestions for CNC routers in the 5k to 8k range that might be a notch better? Robust and easy to use are priorities as we will not be the only users of it. And just as there are some people in the world for whom machines purr in satisfaction at their mere touch…there are more who can break something by staring directly at it!
Based on my research, under 8k you are, in my opinion, still well off with multiple of the Omio products. I was not able to get quotes lower than 10-12k on anything that is marginally larger or “better”. Note that I’m far from an expert in machining so my opinion of what’s better is going to be different than what someone more experienced will say. I think once you start going above 12k and into the upper teens you get more for your money with other routers.
Now, I have yet to see anyone post info or experience about the 4x4 Omio that West Coast Products has.
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How has your experience with the Shapeoko 5 Pro been? (set up, using with polycarb and aluminum , zeroing with/without the zero tool). We are planning on using Inventor CAM and Carbide Motion, but are open to alternatives. We recently bought one for our lab space and will be setting it up soon.
Thank you!
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I’m starting to look at Shapeoko…their bigger machine is the HDM. Anybody know it?
We looked at the HDM but went with the 5 pro since the bed size is larger:
Shapeoko 5 Pro
https://carbide3d.com/shapeoko/shapeoko5pro-specs/
Shapeoko HDM
(under specs)
We liked the out of the box potential of the Shapeoko HDM, but decided that the set up and cost of the 5 with the spindle + Add-Ons combined with the larger bed size was better value.
Hopefully we can get some testing in before kickoff and report back!
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Weve used the Shapeoko 3 XXL for 2? years and its been amazing for both poly and aluminum. We just set up our 5 and plan to start doing test cuts this week to test speeds/feeds and how well the zeroing actualy works and report back! (Probably on its own thread talking about why use shapeoko).
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One of the big reasons for going for the 5 pro was we have a 3 XXL and we had to limit our robot design to its 18? x 20? bed which was no fun so we upgraded and are testing the newer 5 pro.
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Which spindle did you get?
We got the one sold by Carbide, since it is supposed to be very close to plug and play. However if you are on a budget most routers that are 65mm seem to work per the product page.
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We just received a Mill Right Power Route Plus XL. Looking forward to using the touch control panel to improve productivity and seeing what the 1.5kW VFD spindle can do. 50x50 working area so you can actually get a full sheet in (width ways). And we’re supporting a Made in the USA company. High quality piece of kit but takes a while to put together as we’re finding out.
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I would love to hear what you think of the Power Route. I have a v1 Carve King and I absolutely love it for the price.
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We have the smaller power route plus also. The smaller bed space requires sheets to be cut down to fit but we’ve had good quality parts out if it, both polycarb and alum. We found some runout on it doing long cuts but its likely due to the old spoil board not being flat or material held down well. I think we will try the painters tape and super glue technique instead of screws. We bought this smaller unit probably 5 years ago so I’m sure its been upgraded in many ways since. We also didn’t have a spindle (used dewalt and bosch routers), so we found alum to be slow and require quite a few slow passes. We need to fine tune our programs and can probably get more efficient but thats what we felt comfortable with last year. Polycarb was super quick though.
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Ended up buying an Omio from WCP, works great and learned how to use it with no experience really fast.
Would absolutely reccomend
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+1 for shapeokos
We have the 4 pro
I went from never running any sort of cnc type of machinery before to running this like a pro (and having the skills to easily run a professional machine at my previous job) in about 2 months.
Even wound up making my own tubing fixture for it inspired by the wcp fixture for omio
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