Zenbot CNC router

[Aaron De Lanty]

Hello all,


I was hoping to get some input from anyone that might have experiance with the Zenbot CNC routers?

This is the model I am currently looking at:

http://www.zenbotcnc.com/all-products/zenbot-1624-cnc-router


Any input about how stable it is, how well it operates, or any issues you may have heard.


Thank you I appreciate the input!


Aaron

[Tom Gondek]

Hi,  I think Matt N has a Zenbot router at the space.  Check with him.

 

Tom

Aaron --
 
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[neeboy]

Contact me off-list: ma...@neesley.com

I would not recommend it.
-MattN

[Aaron De Lanty]

Any particular reason? Just sort of a junkie unit?

[Paul Sisneros]

Matt would know best since he has one, but it is belt driven, which is fine for 3D printers where there is little force required. On a CNC cutter of any kind the elasticity of the belts seems like it would loose you some precision, maybe a lot.

[Pete Prodoehl]

I know that some people are not a fan of belts for the z-axis, especially if you drop the router due to loss of power of some other weird issue... which I've seen happen. :/


Pete

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[Jerry [HM]]

Yeah.. I’d like to know too..

 

Can this be a public thread?  J  (ie: not off-list)

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[neeboy]

The machine is precise enough for me on a consistent basis.  Reasons why I wouldn't buy another one:

1)  I had to try 4 different computers before I found one that would cooperate with the control box

2) The accuracy was WAY OFF right out of the box.  The machine couldn't cut a straight line to save its life (eventually had to request a new control box)  

3)  The Z axis wasn't perpendicular to the table when assembled.  I had to shim the bracket that holds the spindle/router onto the z-axis.

4) It is made of plastic; durable, sturdy plastic, but nonetheless... all the holes are simply tapped into the plastic.  When I need to change bits, I have to remove the router...I'm just waiting for the threads to strip.

5) the housing for the x-axis motor assembly isn't rigid enough, I can see it's not completely square to the gantry (probably related to item #4)

6) Rigidity when cutting anything but foam is highly questionable; when I tried cutting plastic/MDF I could see the gantry literally flex/vibrate while cutting.

Yes, I have had the Z-axis drop a few times and broke a bit...but it's only been twice, and I think the belt-drive is reliable enough in it's own right.  My machine can cut foam way, way faster than the MMS router since it's belt-driven, between 5-10 times faster.

One major problem I had for a while: I would tell the machine to jog 10", and it would only physically move about 9.25".  After some thought and investigation, I discovered that foam was getting into the motor assembly and building up on the gear that drives the belt.  It was literally caked in a hard coating of pink foam.  That was making the physical size of the gear bigger and throwing off the number of steps per inch.  This could probably be solved by having a reliable chip/dust collection system in use, but this problem cost me a paying gig, and I was NOT happy.

If you're interested in buying a machine of this type for hobby purposes, it may work for you, but I wouldn't depend on the company's products for profitability.

-MattN