Cabinetshop 43 or 45?

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Greg Nagy
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Company Name: Barracuda Kitchens
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Cabinetshop 43 or 45?

Post by Greg Nagy »

Hi guys,
I'm about to buy a new CNC. Pretty new to CNC machining but I'm using eCabinets for a long time therefore I will go for a Thermwood. I tried to get as much info about the CS43 and 45 but still don't really know what is the real difference between them. Which one is the latest model, and what is the main difference between the two. I will use this machines for cabinetmaking: carcass panel nesting and routing profile MDF doors.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Kerry Fullington
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Re: Cabinetshop 43 or 45?

Post by Kerry Fullington »

Greg,
The CS 43 and the CS 45 are both current models they are just different machines. The 45 is a beefier machine. It gives you some more Z axis clearance and has screw drives on all axis. It is top of the line. You can also get typewriter tool changer on the 45 which gives you more tool capacity and quicker tool changes. Options like the rotary playback are available on the 45.

All this being said, for what you want to do, I think the 43 is perfect. I have been operating a 43 for 2 years now and for panel processing and MDF doors it is the perfect machine. I haven't needed the extra Z clearance and although the typewriter changer would be nice, the 11 tool changer on the 43 has been adequate.
If we were to add a second machine I would probably recommend another 43. A 45 would be nice but for our purposes it would be overkill.
Greg Nagy
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Re: Cabinetshop 43 or 45?

Post by Greg Nagy »

Hi Kerry,
Thanks for the info. What about the drill bank? As I know its only available with the 45. I'm not sure though whether or not I need it.
Kerry Fullington
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Re: Cabinetshop 43 or 45?

Post by Kerry Fullington »

Greg,

That would depend on how you build and your rate of production. We drill only the holes necessary for shelf pins not lines of them. Drilling shelf pin holes is one of the most time consuming processes but we still have excess router capacity drilling them as we do so it is not an issue. Your situation may be different.
You can't go wrong with a 45 but it is a bigger initial cost. On the other hand it has some features that you might need. It is good that you are looking at everything up front because you don't want to buy a 43 and wish you had a 45 or buy a 45 and find you don't need the extra features.
It would be good for you to see both machines in action.
Neville Bastian
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Re: Cabinetshop 43 or 45?

Post by Neville Bastian »

Hi Greg,
We have a mtr with a dill head. At one stage we were having alignment issues so were forced to use the one head to do all things till we found the issue. I say we'd save about 10 to 15 % of time with the drill head. Kerry is right though if your volume is low and your machine is idle for a few hours each day doing the job quicker may not be an advantage. Lower lease payments are.The extra time is not really costing you labour time as they should be edging the parts anyway. The down side might be the extra pump time which costs money.
Our Mtr has the off loading facility which does save time as the object really is to keep that head moving. The loading and unloading causes "dead" time. Thermwood has a few models that do this but may be out of your budget allowance?
Regards

Neville
Neville Australia
Greg Nagy
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Company Name: Barracuda Kitchens
Country: AUSTRALIA

Re: Cabinetshop 43 or 45?

Post by Greg Nagy »

I have got quote for both 43 and 45, so now I know I can afford only the 43. I will buy all the accessories for it though, such as autolube, auto labeling and auto unload. Is anybody using the auto labeling feature? Is it worth the money?
Regarding the drill bank I agree with Neville, if the machine doesn't work 24/7 it doesn't save money.
Kerry Fullington
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Re: Cabinetshop 43 or 45?

Post by Kerry Fullington »

Greg,
You definitely want the auto lube.
We don't have the auto load or labeling but once again we have excess capacity. The labeling looked slow on the videos but that is another thing that frees the operator to edge etc.
email me at kerry@hightechcabinets.com if you want any more info about my experiences with the 43.
Erran Fichman
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Re: Cabinetshop 43 or 45?

Post by Erran Fichman »

Sorry to come late to the coversation. We have the auto labeler and love it.
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