Daryl- I bought mine after about a year of research. I had never seen one, much less a buddy as none had been delivered at the time.
I just found the support appeared to justify the trust. (I was right on that one!) And took the chance, I have never had a regret.
You want to see one in person, and I understand that completely as its hard to put down that much money when you are not sure what it is you are getting. Then on the other hand if you see one running what you are really seeing is the experience of the person giving the demo, that isn't as obvious when it is all new.
Get a machine based on the working envelope you need and the speed/power requirements you have. When there is one in your shop you will get to see it more than you ever imagine, kind of like a new mother gets to see a baby.
There is more to a shopbot than steel, steppers, and spindle. Its a way of thinking about making things. When I bought mine, everything changed in the way I use tools in the shop. You wont see this in a demo, but you will experience it when yours arrives.
"Pre shopbot" I had tools I used to accomplish things. For instance- I used to use a thickness planer, but not now. I use the bot. I used to use a table saw, now I use the bot. (See my shopbot sawyer program I posted to the forum elsewhere.) I had a scroll saw, its looking for a new home at the moment, the bot replaced it. The drill press gets little work as that is almost all done on the bot.
Thats a hint of what you wont see in the demo, but you will probably experience when you get one. There is nothing saying I cant use those other tools just as before, but now I can put raw stock into this amazing programmable fabrication device and push the "start" button. After that its just a matter of time and sawdust till I get usable parts out of it.
So to anybody stuck in paralysis through analysis, my own experience is that I had no regrets making the plunge and expect you are not likely to have a different experience. Anything is possible, but if you decide you made the wrong choice, bots sell in a matter of hours on this forum. You have an exit option. Few use it, most likely you wont either.
Best wishes in your new year (will you be an owner too?)!
D
