Thanks for the info. I did see a video on YouTube of a ShopBot with an automatic (?) tool changer. Is that something that ShopBot sells? Somewhere I saw that this setup costs around $16,000 to add to the ShopBot. Is this true?
By the way, I didn't add in the cost of the vacuum pump because I was just trying to compare the basic machine costs.
I'm not sure of the exact cost of the Cabinetshop 41. When it came out it was $60K. That does not include the vacuum pump. So, you are probably looking at about $70K to $75K by the time you add in the pump. With the transformer, delivery and setup you are probably up to about $85K.
Ken Susnjara wrote: We now offer an extensive body of cabinet and furniture libraries and carving files that are all available free.
Ken,
That's great that you now offer these features for free. I just wish your salesman that called me about six weeks ago and asked if I would be interested in purchasing those carvings on a disk for $250 would have told me that if you want to wait untill next month they will be free.
Joe, there are some people that use a single spindle on a bot and a 5mm bit for all their cutting. It's a little slower, but no tool change required. It also depends on if you need to make 5 boxes a day or 50. I went with a used prt and can easily see it paying for itself in less than one year. I may upgrade later and should be able to get most if not all of my funds back from the used bot purchase.
I think whichever option you choose, the machine will pay for itself as long as you have the buisness to support it. In my thoughts if a machine pays for itslef it is really free. Thats hard to beat.