Continuing the discussion from What’s your Form1+ (plus) experience?:
Your experience is very interesting. I have been wanting to hear first hand opinions about it. I see the MDX40a widely used on small modelshops from schools and universities so I assumed it is not bad.
I kind of sense it is “old” and a new generation must be coming up soon. They are introducing a new line of products with the Monofab: monoFab SRM-20 | Desktop Mill | Roland DGA. Unfortunately it as a ver small build size.
I have been searching for CNC machines with a closed cabinet to contain the noise and particles. To my surprise, I still don’t find good alternatives.
What I also like (from what I see) from the MDX-40a and MDX-540 is the included CAM software. Seems quite user friendly with a fairly short learning curve.
As you say, the MDX-540 looks awesome and has all the features I would want (in terms of build size, materials it can handle and the automatic tool changer!) but the price tag is crazy (€ 36247 for the higher precision version and including all accessories). I can only dream about it…
Something else that I’m taking into consideration is the need for electric cutting saws, good vacuum cleaners and a nice working table, all that can easily add an extra € 1500 to 2000 (+ the need for the extra space)
I was excited when I first learned about the Carvey, but taking a closer look, the build area is very small, software is not good (only 2.5D) and delivery times are crazy long. I think Roland will come up with a replacement for the 40a in the meantime.
Do you know any other interesting options in the market at the moment? I think the CNC field is yet to see an explosion of new options as we have seen on the 3D printer world.