[xminus1]

Hey guys, new to the game on CNC mills in general, but I'm a pretty technically knowledgable guy. I'm looking to get a Taig CNC Mill with 4 axis's, controller and motors put together. I'm going to be using the mill to mostly produce small wooden items, maybe some plastic too. i've been doing a bit of research and I've come across a myriad of packages from multiple different suppliers online. I don't necessarily need a package, and am willing to buy the CNC ready mill and purchase the controller and motors separately if it will A.) save me some money and most importantly B.) be of high quality and last for years to come. I came across some info that said 48v is the wary to go, and also saw someone talking about how Teknic Clearpath motors were great quality.Also, which specific model of Taig is the way to go? I'm definitely getting the long bed version but which one? Is the DSLS 3000 going overboard? Maybe the 2019 CR-ER, or the 2027 ER? I'll be running this machine often. Specifically, looking for advice on package vs buying motors and controller separately, and which package/motors and controller will provide me with the most reliable service and little to no maintenance, while getting the best bang for the buck. Thanks in advance for any help!

Brian

[awerby]

I'm a Taig reseller, so I'm pretty familiar with these machines. If you want to cut wood, the extra speed of the DSLS will come in useful. It goes about twice as fast as the (2026/2027) standard controller. If you get a CNC-ready mill (CR-ER)and add a 48v power supply and a Gecko G-540 drive, the speed will be somewhere in between. The main advantage of getting the whole system from Taig, as opposed to cobbling together your own, is that Taig will be able to support it. If reliability is important to you, that makes things simpler.

The main maintenance issue you'll have is keeping the wood dust out of the slides and screws, where it tends to amalgamate with the lubrication oil and form a paste that turns into a dough and eventually impedes motion. A dust collector helps a lot, followed by frequent cleaning and re-lubrication.

[nivlek]

I too would suggest buying the whole package from Taig. I purchased my DSLS 3000 in 2010 and had a few teething problems, but after a couple of emails, it was sorted. I cut mainly aluminium and wood. but sometimes Perspex.
At least with a complete package, from Taig, I could start machining within days of receiving it.
Learning programs is another story.

Taig is also a good sturdy machine for small work.
Regards
Kel

[lsces]

The only think that has not been pointed out so far is that the DSLS3000 is only available as a full package since the controller and stepper motors are a Taig/Microproto proprietary design. It does work well but with a couple of limitations.
While you can get a higher speed in free air, once on starts cutting material the DSLS3000 will start cutting corners unless you slow down. Not too much of a problem for decorative parts, but variable between parts so a stack of wooden elements may not be the same shape. As the closed loop system buffers up to 200 pulses, a change of direction can start before the previous cut has actually been finished. This is a similar effect that CV mode can have in Mach3, but while absolute stop cleans up the corner problem on a normal controller, Mach3 does not know that the DSLS3000 has not actually finished a cut.
The other thing is work area. As long as you keep below the 6" width then there is not a problem, but a couple of my clients found that many of the wooden toy designs they wanted to build were on A4 panels and had trouble cutting them out. One now has an A3 router table and the other switched to a laser 'thing'. So it is worth taking a little time to confirm just what you are going to need to cut.
The Taig hardware IS probably the best desktop machine available but I would suggest a more modern control system which is available as a package deal from various Taig distributors.