Pretty good machine -- just overpriced. Only my opinion.
You'll end up buying that "Full Size Truck" after getting alot of work out the door... I make money by getting the work out the door. ... I'm still weighing the options and trying to find a way to get in to the cnc game without having to pay the price of a full size truck for my first time purchase.
They are likely made by one of the many Chinese or Taiwanese contract builders for Laguna/Powermatic/Axiom. Based on appearance, all probably come from the same builder. If you look on Alibaba, or check out some of the advertisers on CNCzone you can probably find the same machines being sold by a number of sellers. This is likely true for all the tools Laguna and Powermatic currently sell. I have not seen any other tools sold by Axiom, so I would expect they might be a little more focused on CNC, where it is only one of many lines for the other two.Who makes the Laguna IQ/Powermatic/Axiom machines?
"That being said, the three US sellers are probably much better able to provide support than buying direct."They are likely made by one of the many Chinese or Taiwanese contract builders for Laguna/Powermatic/Axiom. Based on appearance, all probably come from the same builder. If you look on Alibaba, or check out some of the advertisers on CNCzone you can probably find the same machines being sold by a number of sellers. This is likely true for all the tools Laguna and Powermatic currently sell. I have not seen any other tools sold by Axiom, so I would expect they might be a little more focused on CNC, where it is only one of many lines for the other two.
That being said, the three US sellers are probably much better able to provide support than buying direct. Check out their forums and see how responsive they are, look at their training materials, and ask about parts availability. Ask for example, about how often the bearings should de lubed, and exactly what lube to use, what coolant to use for spindle and see who can answer.
I have seen a couple of the Axiom machines at Rockler, and based on what I have seen, they are nice. Profile rails, all steel gantry and risers. Much better than any of the Piranha/Shark machines, but I have not used one. I personally do not like the pendant style controller, but that’s because I built my own CNC and like to tinker.