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When I first saw this article on the top 11 CNC routers for 2020 I kind of just shrugged but I looked at it a bit closer and realized how bad it was. That compelled me to this post.
It started with a post on a different forum about the "top 11 routers for 2020". I am always a little suspicious of lists like this and within a few seconds it became clear my suspicious were warranted. First off, all of these routers are "low end". Most expensive is about $1500. Cheapest is about $250. There is no discussion along the lines of "what to look for in a CNC router".
To begin, this is posted at the top of the page: "When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission." OK, not necessarily a bad thing but... At least they are up front about their place in the marketing chain.
Next I read this "I and the rest of the team combined our extensive knowledge in CNC routers in a bid to find the market’s very finest." Oh, so a site with the word "Toolz" in the name has extensive knowledge of CNC routers. Of course glancing at the team's picture is very reassuring. They certainly look like they just popped out of the, uh, er, central casting lounge.
Then, onto the meat of their reviews. The number one CNC router (based on their extensive CNC knowledge of course) is a $250 machine with 3D printer steppers/drivers, a tiny work area and a vastly under powered spindle. That's number one. Oh, and their vast expertise leads them to say this about the work area "Although this may not be the greatest volume a router can offer, it is large enough to handle nearly all your DIY projects." I guess so, if all your DIY projects are for things around the doll house. I'm not saying this router is useless but it has a lot of limitations and these weren't addressed at all. Sadly, this router now becomes "Highly rated". Oh, and "not the greatest volume" - uh, maybe that should have been "is close to the smallest possible volume".
Each of the subsequent 10 routers on the list gets a similar treatment.
I wonder what their criteria for ranking is. Maybe the size of their affiliate commission?
[edit] The URL was removed by the mods because they don't want to send people to bad sites like that. I support that. If you care, you can use google to find it.[/edit]
It started with a post on a different forum about the "top 11 routers for 2020". I am always a little suspicious of lists like this and within a few seconds it became clear my suspicious were warranted. First off, all of these routers are "low end". Most expensive is about $1500. Cheapest is about $250. There is no discussion along the lines of "what to look for in a CNC router".
To begin, this is posted at the top of the page: "When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission." OK, not necessarily a bad thing but... At least they are up front about their place in the marketing chain.
Next I read this "I and the rest of the team combined our extensive knowledge in CNC routers in a bid to find the market’s very finest." Oh, so a site with the word "Toolz" in the name has extensive knowledge of CNC routers. Of course glancing at the team's picture is very reassuring. They certainly look like they just popped out of the, uh, er, central casting lounge.
Then, onto the meat of their reviews. The number one CNC router (based on their extensive CNC knowledge of course) is a $250 machine with 3D printer steppers/drivers, a tiny work area and a vastly under powered spindle. That's number one. Oh, and their vast expertise leads them to say this about the work area "Although this may not be the greatest volume a router can offer, it is large enough to handle nearly all your DIY projects." I guess so, if all your DIY projects are for things around the doll house. I'm not saying this router is useless but it has a lot of limitations and these weren't addressed at all. Sadly, this router now becomes "Highly rated". Oh, and "not the greatest volume" - uh, maybe that should have been "is close to the smallest possible volume".
Each of the subsequent 10 routers on the list gets a similar treatment.
I wonder what their criteria for ranking is. Maybe the size of their affiliate commission?
[edit] The URL was removed by the mods because they don't want to send people to bad sites like that. I support that. If you care, you can use google to find it.[/edit]