Thoughts on 4th axis

[lostcreekwoodworking]

I am about ready to pull the trigger on ordering the 4th axis attachment.  What are people’s experiences with it?  Do you like yours?  Is there anything that you would change?  Please be honest if you would buy one again.

[grossmsj]

I'm happy with it. It gives me capabilities I wouldn't have at a reasonable cost. For example, I've found it very helpful to crank out stool leg spindles in a way I just wouldn't want to do at my lathe.
Contrary to the experiences of some users, I haven't found skipping to be a problem. I don't doubt these users have had the problem, it just hasn't been my experience.
Cons:
Learning how to use Vectric Aspire and the 4-th axis was a challenge. Once you understand it, it's fine. But up front was a grind. Folks on this Forum really made the hardest parts easier.
There are aspects of the unit that feel chintzy. The chuck is usable. But if you've ever had a real, decent chuck, you won't be happy with the one supplied. Since I have a lot of turning equipment, I just bought an adapter and use one of my other lathe chucks. The tail stock is also chintzy. It works, but there is a lot of slop. As others have said, the chintzy quality of Axiom add-ons is totally the opposite the quality of the CNC machine (AR6 for me). I suspect the marketing boys won the battle over the engineers. "Give them something at this price point".
Despite the downsides, I'd buy it again for what it has given me.

[aluomala]

If you are only going to use it occasionally (not production work), I suppose it could be a decent investment, but spending that kind of money on something you might only use occasionally isn't really a good ROI (return on investment).

I have 2 (rotary axis attachments), oddly enough, as I bought one when I purchased my AR8, and then I bought one (used, in excellent condition) for my older AR4 for 2 reasons: I wasn't convinced that my original rotary axis was working properly (ie I might have had a lemon) and also because I thought I would use them both more than I ended up using them (I thought I had a bit of a slam dunk in terms of products that I would sell, but I over-estimated the market). As it turns out, my second rotary axis was the same as the first, and the stepper motor is, in my opinion, not "strong" enough for the application. You have to really reduce your toolpath strategies so that the stepper motor doesn't lose steps, thereby increasing your carving times. I eventually bought a 3rd party stepper motor, with a higher holding torque, but due to a number of factors, I wasn't able to get it to work right out of the box, and I've put that upgrade on the backburner.

I have been VERY critical of this particular attachment, and some people disagree with my opinion on it, but you have to ask yourself: is this going to be worth the money/time I invest in it?! My advice: find alternate strategies to accomplish what you need to do. 2 sided machining. Slicing toolpaths. Etc. Odds are that you will PROBABLY be able to do what you want via those methods, without a fairly substantial investment in money/time (there is a fairly healthy learning curve involved). Some of the items I've created with the rotary axis would be impossible to do via those 2 methods (see picture below), but the time required to make those things requires a fairly high budget (ie sticker price) for the customer, unless you are fond of losing money/time. As a point of reference, I charge $250CDN (about $200US) for these pieces, and I have only had about a dozen customers. Granted, I am the only person I know of in Canada making these things (with carvings on them), so I am probably able to command a higher price, due to lack of competition, but how many people want to pay that much for what is essentially a block (tube?) of wood? NOTE: those are replica 76mm and 105mm tank rounds, in case anyone is wondering. Not marital aids as some people have alluded in the past  




I would be MUCH more inclined to recommend the rotary axis if there was a way to increase the "power" of it (simple swap out of stepper motors (ie replace original with a better motor)) either right out of the gate (at purchase time) or after the fact, which is less than ideal, since you'd have to pay for a stepper motor twice. As "grossmsj" states: "I suspect the marketing boys won the battle over the engineers. "Give them something at this price point"." I understand this from a bean counters perspective, but the reality is that it creates disappointment amongst your customer base, that a very decent capable machine (the AR4  and AR8 in my experience) gets saddled with less capable ancillary equipment, at a fairly substantial price-point. I don't know how smart it is to have multiple versions of the same equipment (ie a budget rotary axis attachment (minus the current chuck for example); a mid-grade version (the existing product); and a high-end version that has a better chuck (or no chuck at all, as it is fairly weak (or fair-to-middlin' at best); increased stepper motor power; and better build quality overall). 

There is a member of this forum who I believe offers custom made rotary axis attachments, and while I imagine it would cost more than the Axiom version, it might be more suitable for anything that approaches production work. 

Allan