Hey Everyone. I have considered purchasing a CNC Router. My question is this, how loud are they? Is this the type of thing that could possibly generate noise complaints? Any ideas on soundproofing? Shopbot? Thanks much! - Sarah
Posted by Tom & Kathy Durham (Member # 776) on :
Different materials generate different noice. If you have a vaccum hold down the noice increases. With the vaccum and the router running I would say it is very loud. Loud enough to wear good ear protection.
Posted by Joe Crumley (Member # 2307) on :
Well I'm not too concerned about noise. Not at all. Since we moved over to a spindle and a puck hold down there isn't any need for ear protection.
We up-graded from a wobbly, loud Shopbot to a 5'X10' Ez CNC with a 5HP. spindle. When the spindle is running, at lets say 12000 rpms, you can hardly tell it's on. I have to double check before changing bits it so quiet. Any noise that's generated has to do with the material being cut.
If we are doing HDU, Trupan, Extira and that kind of material the noise is very low. Aluminum and 3/4" mdo does raise the decible level considerably.
There are some alternatives to the big vacuum holdowns. A puck system is quiet, cheap and effecient. Also there is the Fein 3 vac. system. You can stand right next to one of those and cary on a normal conversation.
What are you thinking about for a purchase?
Posted by Raymond Chapman (Member # 361) on :
Well, in contrast to that old guy from Oklahoma, I have a ShopBot with a spindle and the noise is very low...and like Joe, I have to be careful when changing bits and such because it is so quiet I have to look to see if it is running.
The dust collector makes the most noise. We don't have a vacuum hold down, so there is no noise there.
Joe is right about one thing (at least I found something) - MDO and aluminum make the most noise when routing.
Insulation in the shop walls would help prevent the noise from escaping into the neighborhood.
Posted by Joe Crumley (Member # 2307) on :
Sarah,
The newer CNC's aren't set up with the big old loud routers. Ear protection isn't needed as often now.
Ray removes the double A's from his hearing aid when the noise gets too much. He sure does nice work though.
And why do we still call this process Routing? It should be called Spindleing.
Posted by Raymond Chapman (Member # 361) on :
Huh?
Posted by Sarah F.Evans (Member # 7022) on :
Great feedback on this guys! I plan to go for the spindle as I have researched enough to find that it may very well be the solution (several thousand dollar solution) to the problem. Money well spent. Thanks so much guys. It's so reassuring to know you all are out there! Over and Out, Sarah
Posted by John Arnott (Member # 215) on :
Sarah, I recently bought a Shopbot with a spindle that works on a 220v single phase outlet. SOOOOO glad I did. I bought a used woodshop type central (2hp) vacuum for $150. It's so quiet, I had to mount a red light next to my switch to tell me its on. Best investment I've made!
Posted by Dan Sawatzky (Member # 88) on :
Our shop is super insulated... R40.... which is double what a typical modern house or shop. I did it as much for noise as heating efficiency. When we built the building a router wasn't part of the equation but I'm glad I did.
Hammering and cutting steel is a lot noisier than a router by far. The vaccuum hold down is probably the noisiest part of the routing equation. The big compressor also adds to the din. And as others have said solid material is noisier than soft stuff. Longer bits are also noisier than short ones.
We've decided to relocate our router from the main shop into a side garage as listening to the router for 8 hours straight wears on you after a while.
Unless my big shop doors are wide open and I'm routing something real hard the neighbors wouldn't have cause to complain.
If you can I would advise you to go listen to a similar router operate before you make hard plans.
-grampa dan
[ October 01, 2007, 07:34 PM: Message edited by: Dan Sawatzky ]
Posted by Joe Crumley (Member # 2307) on :
Yes, to Dan't suggestion. Visit a shop with a spindle powered CNC.
Posted by Dave Sherby (Member # 698) on :
A spindle is a much larger investment at first, but you'll replace a standard router many times over the life of the machine since they do not have the quality bearings and other guts that a spindle has.
