[Lovinglife]

Welcome to the Router Forums.

I would be afraid of twits on the Millright CNC because of the open gantry design. I have heard mixed comments about Shapeoko and many were wishing to buy a different CNC. The Probotix machines usually get good comments and most of the people I know that own them like them. I like the double Y axis drive so you have an open bed design, opens more possibilities to you.

As far as laser add-ons there are several on the market but you do need to research and see if the control software will allow you to use a laser. If the CNC uses proprietary control software then they will have to provide the correct drivers to run a laser attachment.

A lot of people do buy a CNC with the thought of selling it later to buy a new one. If it does not have any resale value then you are back to square one and paying for a new machine again. If you can afford a little more then I would buy a better machine first.

This is good advice, I've read a lot of bad about the millright. I think a lot of it comes down to what you plan on doing with the machine. If you just want a basic machine that you can play around with then maybe the low end hobby machine would be ok. If you want any sort of consistency without having to constantly tweak the machine then you need to go for better quality. I've talked to a lot of people with the Shapeoko and it seems like the vast majority of people like the machine but if they had a chance for a redo they would just spend the money of a higher end machine.

I also see a lot of people buying the low end machines and then spending money to make them better over time, my thought is to put the money into the better machine right off the bat and focus on paying yourself back with quality items. I know the initial price point of a higher end machine can be a hard pill to swallow but I haven't read many regrets from people who did it. A friend of mine has the CNCRP machine and he made his money back in two years making and selling stuff part time. I haven't seen many regrets from those who bought the Probotix line either.

As for working with soft metal I wouldn't even look at the low end machines. Can they do it? Sure, but your are going to spend a lot of time getting it right and reproducing the same results is going to be difficult at best. Just my 2 cents