George Vondriska

Fall 2022 Product Showcase: ShopBot Zeta

George Vondriska
Duration:   9  mins

Description

CNCs add so much to what you can do in your shop. Thanks to their inherent reliability, they make great employees. ShopBot’s Zeta machine can be equipped with a 4’ x 8’ bed, or 4’ x 10’ bed. Don’t forget the vacuum hold down and automatic tool changer. We watched it cut cabinet parts in ¾” plywood making a full depth pass at a blazing 500: per minute!! The Zeta has a 5 hp spindle.

What’s the deal with vacuum hold down?

In the absence of vacuum hold down you’ll need to find creative ways to hold your work in place. Your toolpaths also need to accommodate the hold downs to make sure you don’t run into them. With vacuum hold down, you don’t need mechanical hold downs, in most cases.

ATC (Automatic tool changer)

Here’s a feature that will spoil you almost instantly. No more changing bits at the conclusion of each toolpath. With an ATC the machine automatically makes the change for you. This significantly increases efficiency. No manual bit changes, and automatic rezeroing of the Z axis.

Find these features on a desktop machine

If you love the idea of vacuum hold down and ATC but don’t have the space for a large footprint machine like the Zeta, don’t sweat it. These same features are available on ShopBot’s Desktop Max. Not too long ago we made a double-faced sign using the Desktop Max with ATC.

More info

For more information on ShopBot tools visit their website www.shopbottools.com.

Share tips, start a discussion or ask one of our experts or other students a question.

Make a comment:
characters remaining

No Responses to “Fall 2022 Product Showcase: ShopBot Zeta”

No Comments
Get exclusive premium content! Sign up for a membership now!