A friend has one from a few years ago and it's pretty flimsy. My understanding is that they've improved but I would want to make certain before buying. Another friend has a Onefinity and it's fairly rigid, seems like a better machine.

 

this is what it looks like now...does it look like sam design as your friend's?

 

I own the model you're selling, and i also sell the Next Wave brand, and i've never had a machine come back. Is it an Axiom or Avid cnc, no but then again itless than half the cost of those machines. Where most people go wrong on CNCs is they don't take the time to learn the software, learn about Feeds and Speeds, and generally expect to push a button and have the machine just carve something. The spindle is a 2hp water cooled spindle that accepts 1/4" and 1/8" shank bits, but you can upgrade to a 3hp spindle and on board coolant system for another $500. This spindle takes bits up to 1/2" shank size. I also design and build CNCs, so, is this as strong as three of my other machines, and can it cut at 250 IPM, no, but it will do a fine job for a hobbyist not doing production work.

 

I just got a 3 HP spindle and the power cable to the spindle seated incorrectly which it shouldnt do. It blew up the inverter and NextWave called it not a Warranty!!
Thats pretty lame. They picked that 4 pin plug that should be idiot proof. It;s a cheap chinese 4 pin that allowed the pins to touch in the wrong orientation. the ring even screwed on a turn or two. Now they want 500 bucks for another VDF inverter. They are pretty customer unfriendly to pull this crap.

 

4 years and still making all kinds of stuff. Shark HD510. Great machine.

 

You can do better than the shark. In that price range, there are a lot of compromises. Personally, I would look at an Avid 2x3 desktop machine. You might pay more but you'd get a very solid machine. Some assembly required. Think about why nextwave is throwing so much extra stuff in the deal.

If that's too much money, you should understand the tradeoffs in the 5K area. VWheels (inaccurate, high wear), relatively small (flexi) extrusions, single motor moving gantry, lower power motors (slower cutting, more passes). You can still do a lot of stuff with those machines but at every price point there are trade offs. Unfortunately, a lot of companies make their machines look better than they really are.

 

I don't get it. My Shark HD510 performs the same in Hard Maple, Walnut, Oak as it does in Cedar and Pine. It's perfect every time. If I program it right it does exactly that. There is no flex or sag or glitches. I am over 400 plus projects on it and almost 4 years later it's performing like new. 25x25by7 has been big enough to handle most of what I do with it. If I needed a larger size for example 48" by 96" or wider or longer there is tiling that works just fine. If I want 14 wooden cedar plaques carved out it does each one of them exactly as programed. I will say the power is in the program. Vectrict desktop, pro, Aspire have all been great software and I have upgraded 2 times from Desktop to Aspire. The CNC machine does the same every time. These are Hobby machines. They will turn out 23 wooden canteens, 48 cedar, walnut, maple, Mohagany candle lantern even in kit form each one personalized with carvings for the individual.

Perhaps if I wanted to make a living with a CNC I would go with the biggest fastest money could buy. Yet the Shark HD510 makes everything I put at it and it does a nice job of it. The footprint fits in a shop garage and it's mobile in my shop. So when I need to roll everything to the back corner of the garage for some moving transistioning that is a very easy to do thing as everything is on wheels.

A bigger machine would be a anchor that would not allow me to be so flexible. I have friends that have a 4x8 CNC. If I needed that size I could take my material and thumb drive and go cut it on their machine. In 4 years that hasn't been needed. If I had a 40 by 60 dedicated wood shop and purpose and passion was to have it full of top of the line wood working machines I could do so. However, It's not my passion to do so that sounds like work to me. HA! 42 years as a lineman / trouble shooter for the phone company has made me appreciate hard work and nice shops. I have been in lots of cabinet shops over the years. Most were very dusty places. My shop is pretty much dust free. The eye of the beholder is what makes sense to them.

 

The weakness in Nextwave's CNCs is the plastic parts. My plastic router mount/clamp eventually cracked and had to be replaced. With a big router in them the cantilevered weight contributes to more flex and bit vibration in hardwood full width passes. We've stopped using our earlier HD model in the fab lab at our college except for thick 3D model cuts that can't be cut on any of the Probotix CNCs we have.

 

College lab? I work with Church Scout Groups. Boys can tear up a piece of rebar. Grin! My Porta cable router has been working great. I have a 2" fly cutter on it and all is well. No cracks or wear at all on my CNC. It makes something about every week. I highly recommend the Shark. It does a great job.

 

I highly recommend the Shark.

As has been said, every machine has its limitations. As long as you work within those limitations then all should be well. I've seen photos of Mark's work and not once did I ever question his machine or his process so that tells me his setup and what he cuts fits his machine.

The CNC machine I built is what I would call rigid, stout, stiff and at around 600 lbs. it's no flyweight. But as stout as I think it is and as good as it cuts with my 3kW water cooled spindle it is in no way comparable to a friend's 4x8 CNC with 12HP spindle. He can cut 3/4" MDF and plywood in one pass all day long at a very fast rate (very busy cabinet shop). My machine 'might' cut 3/4" material in one pass but it would be much slower than his and I honestly don't want to even try it.

 

Thanks David. Woodworking is great fun so many machines and ways to get it all done. I was watching the other day a woodworker using a festool skill saw with vacuum attachment and guide rail. 600.00 for the saw and more next video showed a guy using a garage sale 20 dollar skill saw and a straight edge and 2 clamps and both got to the same place with either tool. CNCing is fun at all levels. Just upgraded to Aspire a couple of weeks ago and playing around with 3d carving and modeling. Good stuff that keeps our minds thinking.

 

My experience is the same as MarkJonesRanger. I'm not in a business producing products for others, so my needs are those of a hobbyist. My machine is also the 25x25x7 model. I wish I had the larger 25 x 50 machine, but I work around larger projects as needed. I upgraded my machine to use the all-aluminum router clamp. The newer machines also have a more substantial gantry. I could replace my machine's gantry with the new version but haven't found the need. My Shark has served me well and meets my needs.

 

If any of you guys are interested there is a bunch of videos that i have put on line using the shark and Vectric software. I am not a professional but with the CNC a lot of people go wow all the time on stuff that comes off the CNC. Here is my channel. Most of it is stuff I make for Royal Rangers (Church Scouting group) as not for profit.
Channel content - YouTube Studio

Well my wife has me painting the stair case and front room wall....grrrrr I guess I should get back after it. (I wanted to hire it done.... she is such a tight wad...but love that lady.)

 

Also take a look at Facebook on the Shark HD500 series page. Tons of very detailed carvings on there. Some of that stuff is just simply wow. All done by Shark CNC's. They work great and have a good price.

 

Welcome to the forum @Darrent

 

Welcome to the forum, @Darrent .

That does not sound like a happy result.