Quote Originally Posted by SullyandChance View Post
Thanks for your comments. The frame and gantry of the AZYZ 6010 (which I believe was their most heavy-duty model at the time) struck me as very solid and well made, top class welding and finish, far superior to comparable Chinese-made machines I've looked at.

My concern is that AXYZ don't seem very interested in providing long-term support (possibly due to recent change of ownership?) which isn't a major problem if there are alternative sources of parts and expertise available.

Do you happen to know if the parts likely to fail soonest (motors? rails? bearing blocks? racks and pinions? drive belts? motion controllers?) are generic or manufacturer-specific? And if there are alternative parts sources in the UK for these?
I have operated and programmed CNC machines For over twenty years. four of these machines were the the AXYZ original model line that your 6010 falls into. They made these for, I believe, over two decades. Of all the machines i have worked with, the four AXYZ machines were by far, the most reliable and robust of all of them. Two of the 8012 models i worked with for over five years, ran 16 hours a day and were never turned off, neither of these machines had any downtime at al during that time frame. These machines were cutting heavy acrylic plastic and 1" thick MDF all day long. The Current AXYZ machine i am working with is the only one i have had to replace parts on. i can tell you from experience that if the machine is not abused that bearings will be your first major failure on your AXYZ machine. You have a good machine. it is a workhorse.

All that being said, parts and service with AXYZ can be a royal pain if you don't buy one of their service plans. i personally have not needed one of these plans as any issues that have arisen, have been parts like cooling fans, Bearings, and other items that can be sourced very easily from the original manufacturer of the part. if you go to AXYZ website for a part, the descriptions can be vague but if you look twice and at the pictures you can find alll the information you need to find a replacement part. and, really the majority of their parts dont have that much mark up. hopefully your machine came with a wiring diagram in the control box. AXYZ has done an amazing job of keeping their product information, both parts and service, off of all the CNC forums. you simply wont find the info anywhere. you do have to have a little know-how but its really not that hard to figure any of it out.

the reason they say your machine is obsolete is because AXYZ updated their operating system and can make a lot of money by requiring you to buy the new system if any of your boards or control pendant fail. There is nothing wrong with the upgrade and it gives you a whole list of new features. the old operating system, like the structure of the machine is built like a tank. i can not tell you how many times our control box has hit the ground, but its a lot. its never been phased. in fact after twenty years of use, i have never even seen any signs of wear on the keypad buttons. these machines were built to last.

As for updates on the operating system file, they did come up a little short on upkeep and usefulness. they did however create a program that allowed third party CAM software to be used. their program, Enroute, worked but it was not very user friendly. Now, you can run your drawings through your choice of software. i currently use two different operating system versions, depending on what i need the machine to do. 90% percent of the time, it uses one of them. they do sell the original software suite and it comes with all of the versions. but really if you need help with locating them, just message me. when it comes to the software and what computer you have to have to run all of it, all of the forums will tell you that you will need a vista or XP machine. We do have a vista computer connected to the machine, but my laptop running windows 10 has no issue running the software or communicating with the machine.

there is no need to think you have to prepare for disaster or find away around a problem that you will likely never have. chances are, if people are doing all these upgrades to AXYZ machines, its because its easier to do so than other machines, not necessarily because they need it. Its a shame people see something simple and feel the need to complicate it.