Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? - the EZ-Router

[gerald_d]

Does the "EZ-Router look familiar?
http://www.ez-router.com

[mikejohn]

Can't be that similar, look at the colour

[gerald_d]

Look at the colour of the workbench in the background....

(I am building a control box similar to that one - with "Geckodrives"}

[paco]

Yeah, I saw that one yesterday too! Look like SB is quite inspiring!!!... it's about the third tool I saw that is so look-like the PRT.

[Brady Watson]

I really dig the special concrete levelling blocks (http://ez-router.com/catalog/images/prod_bigez_02.jpg)
LOL!

[gerald_d]

The "gearbox" on the y-axis is interesting - an open gear on needle roller bearings (seen in the "Parts" section). Look at the shape of the bracket that holds the y-motor and hides the open gear.

And you can be sure that the builders and users of the "EZ-Router" are some of the most devout readers of this Forum.
....How about someone giving them a call and asking how their product compares to SB?

[Brady Watson]

Personally I think that it doesn't really compare to the SB at all. For $8k+, it doesn't have stepper feedback like the Alpha, uses lame AL C-channel (I don't think it is stiff enough...and I just love the engineering thought that went into how the legs mount), uses cheap Chinese v-roller bearings on what appears to be non-ground angle iron rails and their software choices for design and running the machine are lame.

You could build a similar machine with hardened BWC rails and better electronics for half of that price if you felt compelled to do so. Just some dude in his garage with a fancy webpage...Wonder just how many of these he has sold...

-B

[greg_russell]

I think I may have seen this company at the Texas Woodworking show a few months ago in Dallas. I will look and see if I can find the flyer. I remember him telling a potential customer that "he doesn't worry about using new computers". That is, he buys old ones and sells them with the machine. That company supplied the computer with the machine. He had an old lap top that was probably an old Pentium 133 or maybe even a 386. It was not real impressive. Again not sure if this is the same guy. He is located outside of Dallas. I too am wondering about the use of aluminum in the frame. Seems a little light to me.

It looks like you might have to purchase the control box separately, which is an additional 1,400-1,500 dollars.

Greg

[dvanr]

Don't know if this one is an imitation but it is a different take on the Shopbot design.

Try

bladerunnercnc.com

Interesting X axis design. The site has a good explanation on vacuum hold downs, in PDF form.

[mikejohn]

Amazing what you find when 'googling' for other stuff!
CNC Robotics: Build Your Own Workshop Bot - Robotics Source Books
Build Your Own Shopbot: Step-by-step, illustrated directions for designing,
constructing, and testing a fully functional computer numerical control (CNC) ...
www.azwoodman.com/robotics.html (http://www.azwoodman.com/robotics.html) - 33k - Cached - Similar pages
...................Mike

[gerald_d]

Mike, looking at their sourcecode.....

<title>CNC Robotics: Build Your Own Workshop Bot - Robotics Source Books</title>

<META NAME="description" content="Build Your Own Shopbot: Step-by-step, illustrated directions for designing, constructing, and testing a fully functional computer numerical control (CNC) robot. Robot mechanisms, mechanical devices, insectronics, amphibionics, pda robotics.">

<META NAME="keywords" content="robot, robot controllers, Build Your Own Workshop Bot, Geoff Williams, building robot drive trains, book, Michael Predko, Myke Predko, Predko, Doug Briney, Karl Williams, Gordon McComb, Yusuf Altintas, amphibionics, machinist handbook, insectronics, reference book, robotics, bot, shop bot, cnc machine, CNC Robotics, pda robotics, robot mechanisms, mechanical devices, illustrated, sourcebook, robot builders, manufacturing automation, illustrated directions, designing, constructing, testing, computer numerical control, CNC, robot, tips, tricks, pictoral help">

....it would appear that their use of Shopbot is meant as a Freudian slip. Notice that they did not list the joined word under keywords, nor was the b capitalised.

I wonder if the word ShopBot is registered as a trademark of ShopBot Tools, Inc.? The word is also used for "shopping robot" - something that crawls the web finding an item for which you are shopping.

[mikejohn]

Interestingly, in Google results, the 'shopper' shopbot is often written ShopBot.
Also a number of 'build-your-own-CNC-router' web sites also use expressions like 'ShopBot type'.
My own feelings are that there is no confusion between the shopping search and the machine, and all other references increase the awareness of the ShopBot to the whole world.
but what do I know?
..................Mike