Which ShopBot to Purchase...

[mFernandez]

I'm a high school engineering teacher looking to purchase a CNC machine for a new lab. I've seen the ShopBot Desktop in action and have decided to go with a ShopBot machine.

I'm in the enviable spot of having some leeway in terms of physical space and cost. I'm looking at the ShopBot Desktop and Shopbot Alpha Buddy 48 with the 4' powestick.

I have not seen the Buddy in action but going through the forums have seen some who recommend skipping the Buddy and going straight to the full size ShopBot. What are the advantages and disadvantages? How hard is it to put together the Buddy? I don't know of any schools in the Miami area with ShopBots as of right now and we don't have any vendors who are selling/supporting it so we'd be on our own in terms of putting it together and getting it up and running.

Thanks and all advice/suggestions/experience would be welcome!

[jerry_stanek]

I would inquire if there are any shopbots near your so you could see them in action. A trip to Durham would be a good thing and you could talk with the crew and see what they could do. I think they give a discount to schools.

[Kyle Stapleton]

What are you planning to teach with it?
Also what is your background in cad, and how comfortable are you with building and fixing things?

[paul_z]

Melissa,

If you have the space, you might consider getting a 48x96. You can then cut full sheets of plywood or have several smaller projects spread across the table. Think through how you'd get 4 x 8 sheets to the bot from the outside. You'll need as much as 9' x 18' of space and a place for the control computer as well as a place for a dust collector.

Paul Z

[zeykr]

Buddies come assembled. I do agree with going with a full size machine if room and budget allow, thought I'd recommend a 5x8 to allow 5x5 baltic sheets as well as 4x8. Consider a spindle for use in school - much quieter.

Unless you know you will only be doing small projects, the desktop or buddy can be limiting.

[paul_z]

Ken is right. A 5x8 would be much better.

Paul Z