Axiom Pro vs Elite, Is the Elite worth the upgrade?

[afjim88]

Well This is my first post to the forum and hopefully my first purchase of a machine soon. It's been an item I have wanted to add to my wood shop for quite sometime now. I have have minimal experience with cnc but I am a lifelong tech nerd. I also have two close friends with axiom and camasters offering all the help I need to get going. My question is simple I hope. Is the elite machine worth the difference over the pro? I am looking at doing inlay work for end tables, butcher blocks etc as well as 3d log cabin signs and probably more inlay work on furniture. Just curious if the accuracy is the same or better. I know the elite is servo driven and comes with the B58 unit but there seems to be no reviews or videos anywhere. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm not too worried about cost, just curious if the upgrade is worth it.

[Mezalick]

May 2, 2020 20:31:05 GMT -5 afjim88 said:

Well This is my first post to the forum and hopefully my first purchase of a machine soon. It's been an item I have wanted to add to my wood shop for quite sometime now. I have have minimal experience with cnc but I am a lifelong tech nerd. I also have two close friends with axiom and camasters offering all the help I need to get going. My question is simple I hope. Is the elite machine worth the difference over the pro? I am looking at doing inlay work for end tables, butcher blocks etc as well as 3d log cabin signs and probably more inlay work on furniture. Just curious if the accuracy is the same or better. I know the elite is servo driven and comes with the B58 unit but there seems to be no reviews or videos anywhere. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm not too worried about cost, just curious if the upgrade is worth it.

Servos or steppers,,,,always go with servos if you can...Overall, servo motors are best for high speed, high torque applications. The design of the stepper motor provides a constant holding torque without the need for the motor to be powered. The torque of a stepper motor at low speeds is greater than a servo motor of the same size. Servos can achieve a higher overall speed, however, the truth is that when properly optimized, a stepper motor can usually do the same job as a servo motor, only slower and more affordably.

Michael

[johnb]

What Mezalick said (plus the following). Servo motors work on a "feedback loop" which constantly inform the machine as to where the spindle actually "is", while stepper motor designs send the spindle to where it is "supposed" to go and assume that it got there. Servo motors don't ever "lose steps"

Also bear in mind that the price differential is "eased" when you consider that the Elite comes with the integral toolbox (another $499 if you choose this option on a "lesser" machine).

It ships already mounted to the stand (a $549 option on the AR4 Pro and $649 option on the AR8 pro), and the Elite stand is fully skirted on all sides.

The "guts" are located in a full-width roll out drawer on the "back end" of the machine which beats the heck out of digging around in a computer tower when hooking up the laser connections (if you are so inclined), or when any required maintenance on the computer end of things becomes necessary. The cooling air is drawn from beneath the machine (inside the skirting) which results in far less dust being drawn in by the cooling fans.

[aluomala]

I have often wondered about "real world" performance for the Elite series. The increased speed/power/etc are attractive, but in my case, I do primarily 3D carvings (military unit crests, wildlife scenes, etc) would this "faster" series of machines actually be faster than the Pro series, in applications like that? I currently run at 150IPM for my finishing passes (usually with 1/32" or 1/16" TBN bits), more out of because I am comfortable with those speeds and I am worried if the smaller bits can "keep up" at faster speeds (I'm not a big fan of sacrificing $50+ bits to find out if I can go that much faster). I have an AR4Pro+ and an AR8Pro+ (the AR4 has been relegated to back up and potential spare parts in case my AR8 craps out, or if I have a ton of pieces to carve at the same time). So, I'm not really in the market at the moment, but I suppose if I knew that I could speed up some of my longer carves (10+ hours) by a factor, of say 50%, that might cause me to want to look at trading in the 2 machines to upgrade, but even that would be a stretch. I suppose I might have some buyers remorse, from not going "bigger/faster" when I bought the AR8, but as the OP stated, there aren't a lot of reviews/videos (that I'm aware of) showing the Elite series in action, so I suppose I shoudln't beat myself up too much since I went with the information I had at the time when I made my decision.

Allan

[afjim88]

May 3, 2020 8:00:19 GMT -5 johnb said:

What Mezalick said (plus the following). Servo motors work on a "feedback loop" which constantly inform the machine as to where the spindle actually "is", while stepper motor designs send the spindle to where it is "supposed" to go and assume that it got there. Servo motors don't ever "lose steps"

Also bear in mind that the price differential is "eased" when you consider that the Elite comes with the integral toolbox (another $499 if you choose this option on a "lesser" machine).

It ships already mounted to the stand (a $549 option on the AR4 Pro and $649 option on the AR8 pro), and the Elite stand is fully skirted on all sides.

The "guts" are located in a full-width roll out drawer on the "back end" of the machine which beats the heck out of digging around in a computer tower when hooking up the laser connections (if you are so inclined), or when any required maintenance on the computer end of things becomes necessary. The cooling air is drawn from beneath the machine (inside the skirting) which results in far less dust being drawn in by the cooling fans.

I am looking at the AR8 Elite. I Wish I could afford the AR16 but the better half would make my next project a dog house so I could live in it for the rest of the year:)

[drdoor]

Hi 
Brand new to the forum.  Like many of you I researched several models, from Shop Sabre, Camaster , Laguna and more.  It seems for the price point I was willing to stop at, everything else was a little out of range .   I decided the AR16, would keep me busy for awhile.  I really wanted a 4x4 because I may need to build custom door panels on occasion.   The 4x4 fits that sweet spot, for the most part . My Business is wood door refinishing and have been in business for about 20 years.  Im trying to get my field service supervisor to take most of the day to day operations, so I can play with other wood aspirations.    This unit would and could work in lock step, with my business , but allow me to do something else, besides what I have done for the last 20 years.    I hope to do 4th axis stuff after I learn more about the more basic operations along with some laser stuff. My plan is just to do enough production style stuff, to pay for the machine, then just do custom stuff I want to create all the other time. I haven't purchased the laser or 4th axis .. I figured I could add them when I get a little more experience .   Just curious of what software most of you run?    Thanks

Don

[minn]

Vcarve Pro