Long day and disappointing auction - buyer beware
I was at this auction today:
Design Decor specifically looking at this little bundle of techno-geek joy:
Under computer control, a large router is moved over a four by eight foot table (think whole sheet of plywood) and there is a height (Z Axis) control as well. It came with two computers and a copy of
MasterCam2 software.
You can buy a similar unit for about $3.8K minus software and 'puters. MasterCam2 is worth a couple hundred for the older version they had. Computers are about $800 each including monitor for what was there.
The unit in question was about ten years old and the manufacturer was no longer in business. Their electronics was proprietary so if something broke, you were S.O.L.
The unit was also an old-skool operating design; you talked to it through an MS-DOS program that uploaded your work to the router and allowed you to edit the GCode and to start and stop operations.
These days, the computer actually controls the unit in realtime using
software like MACH3 (free demo -- I use it and it rocks seriously). This allows you to run a pre-flight on the screen without having to run the machine. This allows you to see that your code is not going to try to plunge your router five feet below the surface of your tabletop. :) It also gives you a line-by-line view of your GCode as well as a Digital Readout of your cutter position.
Much better. In terms of the machine electronics, companies like
Gecko Drive and
Campbell Designs (as well as a lot of others -- it's a long list and I'm trying to be concise) have commoditized motor drivers and sensor inputs into individual modules which can be swapped out as needed.
The hardware was in great shape except for a lot of nasty crud on the bearings -- looking at disassembly and possible replacement. Rock solid otherwise. My thought was to pick it up, gut the old electronics and go Gecko. I already own MACH3 and a shop computer so no extra expenses there.
Before this went under the hammer, there was a gorgeous huge tablesaw. You are looking at a 14" blade, Bissmeyer fence, 7.5HP 3Phase motor. About $4K new today. It went for $500.
They moved to the CNC Router and I dropped out at $400, a bunch of people didn't cross the $1,000 line, a few people went up to $2K.
What happened next was one of those moments that auctioneers live for.
Two guys really wanted that CNC Router. Sometimes they were hesitant about upping their bid but they knew...
KNEW that this piece of equipment would enable them to fart rainbows as soon as it was up and running in their shop.
Bidding closed at $5,000.
I talked briefly with the winner about 20 minutes after that sale (there was nothing else I was interested so I was heading out).
The poor guy already had a wood shop but had zero training in CNC, GCode or MasterCAM. He had never run a CNC machine before.
I pointed him to a great online CNC list, told him about the local Community College that I took my CNC classes from and he shook my hand profusely.
As they say --
Caveat Emptor...
Posted by DaveH at January 20, 2009 8:09 PM