4 Years ago I made a choice on the 30x30 MK1. That machine taught me a lot. I then upgraded it to a 48x30 MK1.5 and went down the 1.5kw air-cooled spindle path. The one constant at each step as hobby and side hustle the Longmill and its upgrades have paid for them selves over time. My next step after 4 years of constant learning is I need a full sheet machine. In Australia there are couple of vendors with good solutions for full sheet. However I could not have got to where I am without my experience with the Longmill. Thank You
@@davidgrooms3463 After having 3 routers fail on me I decided I needed greater reliability. Why 1.5kw air-cooled plenty of power for what my Longmill does weight was another issue liquid cooled spindles have more weight to them and honestly my 1.5kw air-cooled spindle has no issues in Australian summers. Some people talk about noise levels and in static running yes they are quieter but by the time you are cutting and running dust extraction there isn't a lot of noise level difference. One solid piece of advice buy a spindle from a vendor that will offer support. Don't buy the cheapest option either.
would love to see you guys put out a 4x4 with atc. that's the magic form factor and feature set for home cnc. auto tool changes are a total game changer and there's a huge opportunity to bring this tech to a lower price point
I LOVE that you quantified the rigidity coefficient! Did you test the rigidity in other directions? (X, Z). Did you test the rigidity at the tool tip, or just on the gantry itself?
Glad you found this helpful! The Y-axis is almost always the weakest direction on any CNC router so we tend to focus on this. Our X-direction rigidity measurement for the AltMill was 1.26N/um and 0.16N/um for the LongMill. The Z-axis tends not be measured since it is typically the most rigid axis and is not subjected to as much cutting force during regular routing. We probe this just below the collet of the spindle/router at the tool shank about 1-2” from the table surface, with the machine in it’s weakest position (centered in the X and Y axes).
I think both of these CNCs look like lovely options in their respective segments. But 6:25 this is the cut quality you want to show off in an official video? I mean you're hurting yourselves here, surely some time dialing in cut settings and a good compression bit could've give you some nice video-worthy results.
@@SienciLabs If your community can get great results, you should too. Especially in videos showing it's capabilities. The box at 6:25 is really really bad. It's an insult to the machines actual capabilities, no one picked up on that?
No joke have been wanting to get an AltMill for a few weeks now but can not justify the purchase and not have it until April. Hopefully the fulfillment time becomes more reasonable
Thanks for the kind words! It was the 1.5KW air cooled spindle offered with the AltMill, but the spindle type would not have made any difference since gcode was generated to reasonably match the rigidity and speed capabilities of each machine. A more powerful spindle would’ve theoretically allowed for a faster cut time on the AltMill.
Can this be bought moduerly? Say I wanted to buy the frame and legs but none of the wiring or electronics? I have multiple machines from a 6040 to a 4x8 and some older vmc's. I convert them all to a cnc dealers direct kit. It's just my preference. I want to add a few 4x4s to my lineup. But I don't see any point in buying a complete machine just to ditch half of it in my ever growing pile of take-off parts.
@SienciLabs thanks for the quick response! I'm still interested. I've seen a couple of RUclips Wood guys idc and cutting it close show casing it. Have you sent one to anyone cutting aluminum on RUclips yet? I'd like to see how it handles it. I run 600oz steppers, g540 geckos with 48-volt power supply on my 6040 all double shielded wiring from front to back, and have no problem running aluminum at a respectable feed rate with 1/4 tooling. I would be looking to be at a similar rate with whatever 4x4 I end up with. I don't expect it or any other machine at this price point to handle it right out of the box. I'm just trying to see how much it will cost me to get there. I like the ease of mobility vs size vs rigidity potential of this machine.
In the case of foams and very light materials, maximum travel speed will usually be the limiting factor so the AltMill is the winner here. However, this will come down to the type of projects you’re doing, since the speed of the AltMill won’t benefit quite as much if you’re limited by the speed of the toolpath type. For example, engraving is typically a universally slow process across any CNC
@SienciLabs thanks for the response, I was thinking more in the sense of, if the extra rigidity of the AltMill doesn't really add significant benefits in cutting EVA ( think custom foot orthotics) then the Longmill should be fine. Now the Makita router might be the limiting factor in breaking down and maintaining.
That's one of the biggest advantages, yes. Of course for a more expensive CNC we can put more money into speed and rigidity but the LongMill already offers that to anyone who's planning to use their CNC as a hobby or for personal projects
4 Years ago I made a choice on the 30x30 MK1. That machine taught me a lot. I then upgraded it to a 48x30 MK1.5 and went down the 1.5kw air-cooled spindle path. The one constant at each step as hobby and side hustle the Longmill and its upgrades have paid for them selves over time. My next step after 4 years of constant learning is I need a full sheet machine. In Australia there are couple of vendors with good solutions for full sheet. However I could not have got to where I am without my experience with the Longmill. Thank You
Can you help me understand what the benefits are to running the 1.5kw spindle on the Longmill?
@@davidgrooms3463 After having 3 routers fail on me I decided I needed greater reliability. Why 1.5kw air-cooled plenty of power for what my Longmill does weight was another issue liquid cooled spindles have more weight to them and honestly my 1.5kw air-cooled spindle has no issues in Australian summers. Some people talk about noise levels and in static running yes they are quieter but by the time you are cutting and running dust extraction there isn't a lot of noise level difference. One solid piece of advice buy a spindle from a vendor that will offer support. Don't buy the cheapest option either.
Very honest and informative video.
Exactly the comparison I was after. Thx!
Great video thanks for sharing. Still learning Cnc
For those interested, I measured my Shapeoko Pro XL's Y axis rigidity at 0.24 N/μm.
would love to see you guys put out a 4x4 with atc. that's the magic form factor and feature set for home cnc. auto tool changes are a total game changer and there's a huge opportunity to bring this tech to a lower price point
After our 4x4 release, we've been looking into ATC support - we'll have more new about it in the coming months 👍
@@SienciLabs best of luck!
I LOVE that you quantified the rigidity coefficient! Did you test the rigidity in other directions? (X, Z). Did you test the rigidity at the tool tip, or just on the gantry itself?
Glad you found this helpful! The Y-axis is almost always the weakest direction on any CNC router so we tend to focus on this. Our X-direction rigidity measurement for the AltMill was 1.26N/um and 0.16N/um for the LongMill. The Z-axis tends not be measured since it is typically the most rigid axis and is not subjected to as much cutting force during regular routing. We probe this just below the collet of the spindle/router at the tool shank about 1-2” from the table surface, with the machine in it’s weakest position (centered in the X and Y axes).
I think both of these CNCs look like lovely options in their respective segments. But 6:25 this is the cut quality you want to show off in an official video? I mean you're hurting yourselves here, surely some time dialing in cut settings and a good compression bit could've give you some nice video-worthy results.
Agreed
That's fair enough - both machines are definitely able to produce great results that you can see in other videos and pictures from our community.
@@SienciLabs If your community can get great results, you should too. Especially in videos showing it's capabilities. The box at 6:25 is really really bad. It's an insult to the machines actual capabilities, no one picked up on that?
No joke have been wanting to get an AltMill for a few weeks now but can not justify the purchase and not have it until April. Hopefully the fulfillment time becomes more reasonable
Excellent comparison at the end however was that the 1.5kw spindle pitted against the Makita or was that a bigger spindle?
Thanks for the kind words! It was the 1.5KW air cooled spindle offered with the AltMill, but the spindle type would not have made any difference since gcode was generated to reasonably match the rigidity and speed capabilities of each machine. A more powerful spindle would’ve theoretically allowed for a faster cut time on the AltMill.
@@SienciLabs Does that indicate there is little benefit to running a 1.5kw spindle on the Longmill?
Can this be bought moduerly? Say I wanted to buy the frame and legs but none of the wiring or electronics? I have multiple machines from a 6040 to a 4x8 and some older vmc's. I convert them all to a cnc dealers direct kit. It's just my preference. I want to add a few 4x4s to my lineup. But I don't see any point in buying a complete machine just to ditch half of it in my ever growing pile of take-off parts.
At this point no, you can’t buy just select components. But thanks for asking!
@SienciLabs thanks for the quick response! I'm still interested. I've seen a couple of RUclips Wood guys idc and cutting it close show casing it. Have you sent one to anyone cutting aluminum on RUclips yet? I'd like to see how it handles it. I run 600oz steppers, g540 geckos with 48-volt power supply on my 6040 all double shielded wiring from front to back, and have no problem running aluminum at a respectable feed rate with 1/4 tooling. I would be looking to be at a similar rate with whatever 4x4 I end up with. I don't expect it or any other machine at this price point to handle it right out of the box. I'm just trying to see how much it will cost me to get there. I like the ease of mobility vs size vs rigidity potential of this machine.
do you do 240v spindles for the uk market thanks Mike
We're looking into it 👍
If I want to do production, but only using foam and EVA... Do I need to go with the Alt Mill, is the router the limiting factor?
In the case of foams and very light materials, maximum travel speed will usually be the limiting factor so the AltMill is the winner here. However, this will come down to the type of projects you’re doing, since the speed of the AltMill won’t benefit quite as much if you’re limited by the speed of the toolpath type. For example, engraving is typically a universally slow process across any CNC
@SienciLabs thanks for the response, I was thinking more in the sense of, if the extra rigidity of the AltMill doesn't really add significant benefits in cutting EVA ( think custom foot orthotics) then the Longmill should be fine. Now the Makita router might be the limiting factor in breaking down and maintaining.
Do you sell a pneumatic spindle setup so we can use 3rd party tool holders? The Onefinity has that but it's more pricey than I am willing to pay
Not yet but we're looking into it - and some 3d party systems are already showing great support for our machines
I Want to buy the altmill in January but worried about the tariffs..
Lol, stop being afraid of such silly things. Either buy the machine you want or don't.
What size ballscrew and pitch do you use? Is whip an issue?
They're 5mm pitch. We've run the machine about as hard as you can and whip hasn't been an issue at all. Great question, thanks for asking!
Would the only advantage the LongMill has over the AltMill be cost effectiveness?
That's one of the biggest advantages, yes. Of course for a more expensive CNC we can put more money into speed and rigidity but the LongMill already offers that to anyone who's planning to use their CNC as a hobby or for personal projects
What’s up with the longmill table?
It's made from timber and uses the same legs we use for the AltMill. You like it?
@ yes can I get a set of legs for my 48x30?
If you contact us we might be able to arrange that 👍
@ message sent, thank you!!
@@SienciLabs they do not sell them separately
Sorotec Compact line 😉
How much did you buy it for?
@@SienciLabs 4000€
Wow that's a lot for such a small machine
@@SienciLabs 700 x1100mm Arbeitsfläche und für Aluminium gut geeignet
too bad the lead time is so long, I need a new cnc and while I would love the altmill, the 3 month wait is just not feasible.
Thanks for the kind words! We're trying to shorten lead times the best we can but if you're in a rush then do what you gotta do 👍
Precio