Hi all, i was about to take the plunge and order either a workbee or an xyz carve. I have been struggling to choose between them. i like the lower price of the xyz but the larger working area of the workbee is appealing. Anyway i am intially going to be using the machine to cut some acrylic plastic sheets for some projects im working on. i will be cutting lettering and some intricate shapes. i will be working with wood im sure at some point but im not thibking is a a cnc router machine the best machine for what im doing or should i be looking at a laser machine or a plasma machine. can anyone suggest what would be best to use?
I hadn't seen the xyz carve before but as it is nothing more than an X-Carve knockoff it becomes fairly easy to compare to the Ooznest Workbee. One of the most important elements of a hobby CNC system is rigidity (ie. the strength/stiffness of the framing). Rigidity allows for cutting harder materials and for making faster and deeper cuts. Second most important point would be power transmission. The screw drive of the Workbee delivers more power toward moving the cutting head than the belted system of the knockoff. If all you ever plan to cut is acrylic the X-Carve knockoff is fine. If you want a system that can plow through heavier materials at decent speeds the Workbee would be the choice. The bigger issue I see here though is more in regards to the vendor. They clearly don't understand what they are selling. They brag about having upgraded the steppers to 185 oz-in steppers yet their 2.4A driver board is incapable of fully powering them. They brag about having added another 25mm in working height yet this is something that is detrimental to such a lightly framed machine. In the photos they show a 1.5kW spindle attached to a system no where near rigid or powerful enough to properly support it. Too many red flags here. If you want an X-Carve buy a real X-carve not a knockoff. If you want something more substantial that will grow with you into pretty much wherever you want to go with it buy a Workbee. And above all buy it from a company that fully understands the system and will support it like Ooznest. They have a passion for what they are doing and are not just selling knockoffs to make a buck (/pound).
Thanks for your reply. Ok so that's the xyz carve out of the equation. I have only heard good things about the ooznest but is it better than a laser cutter for acrylic. Im a noob to this but I did message ooznest themselves and they said that is fine for acrylic but I wanted to know what the best type of machine for plastics would be. I know that the ooznest would be great for wood.
Lasers and clear acrylic are generally not a good match. The beam goes right through without cutting. It can be done but as I said, not a good match.
Thanks again Rick. With the workbee, I'm really unsure of the best size for me. I guess the bigger the better. I was originally looking at 1.5m X 1.5m but I'm now leaning toward 1.5m x 1.0m due to my limited space. How easy would it be to upgrade the size if needed?
You can cut acrylic with a CNC router and you can easily cut wood with one, and thickness is limited by z height and endmill length. You can cut acrylic with a CO2 laser, but they are expensive, and you will not easily cut through thicker wood and it will be charred. If you want one machine that easily does both, get the cnc router. If you later want to do laser engravings, you can add a diode laser to it.
It's a fully modular system. Just replace the shorter sticks with longer sticks. Ooznest will cut any length you need.
Bigger isn't necessarily better - depends on the level of accuracy you need. As the machines get bigger rigidity becomes more of an issue. 1000 mm X axis is a good compromise with the workbee, the Y axis is not as prone to flexing so if you have space for a 1500 x 1000 that would be a good choice. Alex.
90% of what I cut is acrylic. The other 10% is aluminum. All on a Workbee 1515. I don't know what a laser capable of cutting acrylic costs but I bet it's WAY more than any size Workbee. And you said you'll be working with wood eventually, so you're ready for that with the Workbee. In my opinion, a laser is for a high production environment. If you're not that now, start with a router (Workbee) and to go a laser if & when you need it. & one other thing - will you be buying acrylic in 4' x 8' sheets? You'll have to cut those down to fit your machine. The 1515 fits a 4' x 4' sheet, so you simply cut the sheet in half. On a smaller machine you'll have to cut the sheets into even smaller pieces & often into not good yields. Good luck!
