Hi, Just came across a UK company offering a beefed up 'openbuilds' style router : Ali extrusion, linear rails, belt drive. Less than £2k. Looks a nice design. Anyone know more about this? ARCMILL: Benchtop CNC-Router — Inception Machines With Carbide 3d also bring out a pro model with linear guides but sticking with belt drive, there seems to be some consensus on where the performance/price compromise sits currently
Linear rails allow for cheaper extrusion. Wonder how well they're aligned at the factory? Only one per actuator except for Z, so probably just clamped in a jig, no need to sweep tram. Looks like 15mm belts, which should be fine depending on how well they're tensioned. All in all looks like a solid entry, but there's no meaningful way of modifying it like there is on a V-Slot machine. Self-design-and-build is still (and likely will always be) the best for priceerformance ratio, but these basic cheap-extrusion-and-sheet-metal machines that rely on mass-produced linear rails are gonna get very popular, I'm sure.
