I am on the cusp of ordering my first cnc router. I have it narrowed down to the Workbee and the Shapeoko. Which is the stronger and more rigid machine? Which would be more accurate? I like that the Workbee uses screws, but i have not been able to find any information on the rigidity compared to the Shapeoko. Any help is greatly appreciated!!
Without knowing what size machine you're interested in or what you intend to use it for it is really hard to answer such a question. Both machines have their strengths but identifying which is more appropriate to your needs is difficult without knowing what your needs are.
I plan on getting either the 20x30 inch workbee, or the 16x33 inch shapeoko. It would mostly be used for cutting wood, but i would of course like the option for harder materials as well.
The larger, boxier extrusions of the Shapeoko XL will probably have an edge when it comes to stiffness but I'm not sure if there will be any noticeable difference cutting wood. The difference in propulsion will be much more noticeable. Belts offer better speed while screws offer more power and better resolution. Screws move the gantry 8mm per rotation (0.04mm/step) while the GT2 belts on the Shapeoko move 40mm per rotation (0.2mm/step). That's a resolution difference of 5 to 1. Resolution is not so much an issue though in wood unless you're attempting very detailed inlays. It becomes more critical when cutting aluminum as it greatly affects surface finish. The key issue here is going to come down to power. Screws have much greater mechanical advantage giving them more power for a similar size motor. You can also ask more of screws when it comes to powering through something. GT2 belts tend to skip teeth on the pulleys when you ask too much from them (which is why we abandoned them here in favor of GT3 belts for CNC systems nearly 5 years ago).
Jacob123, I an in the same boat as you as I have just started looking at this. Like you, I am looking at both the same machines as you ! What did you chose in the end and what were the main reasons ? Thanks
Rick 2.0, Would you say the same applies to the XXL and the Workbee 1510 with regards to wood and maybe some light aluminium? I'm in the same boat as these guys and really want to go for the 1510. The extra work space is tempting and the possibility to upgrade to screws (10 mm) in the future would be great. If the rigidity isn't there then, I might be asking too much from the machine and it might be better to stick to a smaller work area. Also, do you think rigidity could be increased in the Workbee with thicker extrusions? I noticed RoverCNC is selling what they claim to be a thicker C-Beam extrusion. I've reached out to them for specs with no luck. What are your thoughts? C-BeamXL Aluminum Extrusion 40x80mm - 1500mm Length
No doubt. How much so would be hard to quantify though. You could easily start with the stock 1510 and beef it up from there if you find you need more stiffness. And when cutting aluminum move the work piece as close to the corner of the machine as possible. This is the area of the machine that is inherently the stiffest.
