4th Axis and Aggregate Tooling

[Potential Shopbot Buyer (Unregistered Guest)]

I'm intrigued by Shopbot's loyal customer base, good customer support, and competitive price. I am considering purchasing one of these machines but would also like to know the ability to use a 4th rotary axis and aggregate tooling (90 degree). Thanks.

[harold_weber]

Hi Potential Buyer, ShopBot call their 4th axis tool an Indexer, and you can find it on their accessory page. Its essentially a lathe with a stepper motor driven headstock.

If you are thinking about a stepper motor to drive a variable angle aggregate tool head, you might be the first to do this on a ShopBot. A few comments:

>these heads are pretty expensive
>The software to program toolpaths for 4th and fifth axes get pretty expensive. The trade magazines say that the field is getting competitive, so prices may start to fall.
>ShopBot has been experimenting with their own design of a 5 axis machine for a while now.
>You would be best to call ShopBot ask ask if they can put you in touch with any ShopBotter who has a setup similar to what you want.