I live in Arlington Texas and would like to know if there is anyone in the Ft Worth area that has an AVID CNC that I could look at and hear. I am considering to purchase a machine in the near future but am concerned about the noise level. The machine will be in my garage. I know that using a spindle is a lot quieter but have never heard one. I am sure I will have other general questions as well. if you live in the area and would not mind me seeing your machine please contact me. my email address is danielcarpentery@sbcglogal.net
I know this doesn’t align with what you are asking, but I will share that noise was a big concern of mine. My 4HP CNC is in my garage as well. I live in a typical mid-range 90s home and sub so there is nothing special about how my house is built. My garage is insulated, and it’s louder in the house than it is outside. The router by itself is harder to hear, but depending on the operation the sound level can vary greatly…which makes it more notable and annoying. The spindle is quiet without load, but the cutting is the same as any noisy router operation. If you have a decent size router, you could probably test this in your own home by simulating a similar cut you would take on the CNC. I’d wager it’s not the motor you would hear…it would be the noise generated by the cutter and forces.
Our living room shares a wall with my shop area and the CNC is right on the other side. You can watch TV fine, but you can hear it for sure. “Movie night” would not be very fun with it running. I have a pretty powerful surround sound system, and during quiet suspenseful parts the noise would ruin it for me. The consistent tone of my 3HP dust collector keeps it from being too annoying and drowns out the variations from the CNC noise.
Outside you can’t hear anything and we live in a pretty quiet neighborhood. No traffic sound and nothing but the birds and the occasional kid squawking, so my neighbors are undisturbed. Luckily it’s just my wife and I and she is never sitting around watching TV if I’m in the shop anyway. I think you are taking the right approach. You need to hear it for yourself, but keep in mind sound is a complex thing and there are many variables that can affect the “perceived” sound levels.
Bean thank for your information as well. The dinning room and kitchen are next to the garage. The CNC would be on the far side of the garage. I don’t know if that will help but it is at least distance. The room my wife watches TV is in the middle of the house. I am hopping that I can still find some on locally that I can hear for myself. That said both of you gave me some good information. I know more than I did.
I dont remember exactly the db level but I downloaded one of those db measuring apps on my phone several months ago. I have the older 3hp spindle and a smaller dust collector. The db level with just the spindle running was below 60db. With the spindle cutting and dust collection running it was around 95db. This is in a 40x40’ open area. 40x22’ of which is shop.
I have some more stuff to cut today. I will measure it again. If there is a large difference I will update this post.