I just ordered a Scienci AltMill, and given the backlog, I guess I have some time to cancel the order if I change my mind. I had narrowed down my choices to two CNC machines - The AltMill, and the Avid PRO4824 for WAY more money. But I do worry about the “buy once, cry once” thing. I could potentially come up with the money for the Avid, but I’ve been unable to come up with good justification for it. Any PRO4824 users here that wish they had gotten a less expensive machine? Or just in general, in the 4’x2’ size, what do you think makes the Avid worth the cost over something like the AltMill?
I just purchased mine back in January and I sincerely considered some of the other machines out there. I looked at Shapeoko, Scienci, Axiom and even i2R. The only part of me that wishes I had purchased a less expensive machine is my wallet.
To be fair, only YOU can decide if the cost is worth it. But I’ll lay out a couple reasons why it was worth it to me.
- I could fit a 5’x3’ machine in my space in the garage. That allows me to use half sheets of 5’x5’ baltic birch which is really convenient because that’s what I purchase when I’m buying ply.
- I just started doing 3D carving on my machine, and I have one model that uses a 4" tall block of wood with 3" deep inside carving. That means I need at least 7" of z-height which I wouldn’t have from the AltMill or its various competitors. Not to mention, if you exclude using your own spindle, the base spindle is substantially nicer than any of the other options out there.
- The setup and configuration was flawless. Although I emailed support once while getting the machine setup, I actually found my answer on this forum which was super convenient. I have complete confidence in the machine, and while I know your mileage may vary with any of the brands, I simply have complete confidence in AVID for after purchase support.
- There’s no brand drama with AVID. On reddit or Shapeoko or OneFinity forums there seems to be a lot of mine is better than yours kind of drama.
I got a product that perfectly fit my space, my needs, and would accommodate my work without drama or any support concerns. It was fit to my needs, I didn’t need to alter my needs to it. That was worth the money to me. Again, this may or may not match your needs or be worth it to you.
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You interact with the controller every time you’re at the machine. It’s easily as important as the mechanical stuff. I had an Axiom, and it was pretty nice mechanically, but the RichAuto controller was atrocious, and I really only got to understand all the shortcomings once I used the machine for a while.
Centroid has made industrial CNC controls for many years, and Avid’s EX controller takes all that know-how and has made extra effort to improve user-friendliness for router users. I don’t want to be a Centroid fanboy here, because there a bunch of things I’m not crazy about. But it’s really solid with lots of capabilities you will not outgrow.
You owe it to yourself to compare the strengths and weaknesses of both control systems.
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Just my opinion here, but I think you may be comparing tennis shoes to work boots. Sit down and make an honest assessment of exactly what you’re going to do with the machine. You can “what if” things to death (I’m an expert at it,) and overthink things easily. Especially when it comes to things “I might want to use it for some day.”
I relate it to buying a truck. If you’re planning on using it to haul lumber, plywood, and just generally move stuff, does it make sense to start looking at 5 yard dump trucks on the outside chance you might haul a load of gravel 5 years down the road? Only you can make that call. Just be honest about it.
I went with Avid for lots of reasons, and I’m very happy I did. I have a 4848 Pro, and I love it. It’s a beast that out performs anything I’ve used/built. I’ve never had an issue that wasn’t caused by me. And if I had to do it all over again, yes, I’d do it all over again - with a big goofy smile on my face. Your mileage may vary.
And hey - there’s no law that says you can’t have both. Just throwing it out there…
When I was looking at buying a cnc I was thinking about buying a 4x4 openbuilds…but then I went all out and got an Avid 5x10…I did look at shopsabre and cammaster.
Now that Avid is running Centroid I love this machine …(Mach4 = pain) the pendant is a time saver as well.
Since it is modular I can modify as needed. I can make intricate small parts and cut full sheets if needed.
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I’m with Mark - think about what you are going to use it for. For me I’ve had 3 onefinity cnc’s and they were great, but I kept asking YouTubers about using a 1/2 roughing bit to really clear out some wood on a tray. They said it could it, but they never showed me. And to be honest I was thinking about selling one of my onefinity’s for an altmill, but recently I ran across an 4824 avid on marketplace. It was price very cheap and i spend about a week going back and looking at avid’s again. After my research I found an avid is more what I’m looking for. I want something bigger or at least something I upgrade to a larger size with and I wanted the ability to run a larger spindle. So for me it’s worth selling all my onefinity’s and search for a Avid in my price range. I did miss out on that Avid but I know they are out there if I look hard enough. Plus the folks in this forum are amazing.
Like others, it really depends on what you want to make. I did a whole video describing my decision process from a few years ago:
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