Accurate Arc Systems Table vs GoFab and Premier.

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Piechow
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Accurate Arc Systems Table vs GoFab and Premier.

Post by Piechow »

Let me preface this with I tried the search function and it yielded nothing for AAS or the full name. And it’s late, so I apologize for bad grammar or duplications.

So I got to looking at plasma tables at the end of last year and started pinching pennies. I did enough research to realize I didn’t want the Langmuir table for a few reasons, one being the size. I found Premier and talked myself into a $5k-ish budget and quickly realized there’s no more “tiers” before 10k and 15k, both are out of my reach for now.

I found the Go Fab tables which are local (within an hour) which is great for support and avoiding shipping charges. Fast forward to this week I found AAS or Accurate Arc Systems in Oklahoma about 5.5 hrs one way, close enough that I'm still willing to make the drive. https://austin.craigslist.org/tls/d/sha ... 11394.html - $5200 for a 4x8

Has anyone seen, used, or heard of this company? I can’t seem to find a website or even Facebook page for them. The table seems to be built pretty well to the novice eye. The gantry seems beefier, the rails the gantry ride on also seem better to me. It has a slightly smaller foot print than the GoFab which is important to my limited space. It appears to be comparable to the GoFab table in features minus the tablet.

The idea of instant gratification for the AAS table is appealing to me. With GoFab I have to make a $4,000 deposit then wait 6-8 weeks. While this shouldn’t be a factor.. it is.

I’m not 100% sold on using a tablet, I understand the benefits, but I just feel more comfortable using a computer for daily tasks and I’m telling myself that would translate into operating a table.

I’m mainly building fire pits now but I want to branch into art pieces, monograms and potentially signage which is why I’m looking at a 4x8 over a 4x4 or smaller.

The AAS table says it’s not built with anything proprietary, and I’ve seen stories of companies going under, but I feel decently comfortable with my mechanical aptitude and the online support groups to figure out a problem if they do go away. Also like I mentioned I’d go pick it up so I could avoid sending money to a black hole.

My only con for the Premier table not wanting to pay shipping. The price is equal to the others and I like that they seem well established. Has anyone heard of/seem issues with the legs? I tend to overbuild the crap out of my projects so the beefier looking frame of the GoFab and AAS table are appealing to me.

The table will be for a side hustle so it won’t be meant for a sole means of income and won’t be run all day everyday. If the business take off I’d eventually get a bigger more well known table.

Thoughts? Advice? Am I way off kilter with my thought process?

Thanks!
Leeroy6392
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Re: Accurate Arc Systems Table vs GoFab and Premier.

Post by Leeroy6392 »

I actually bought the 6x12 aas table it worked great when I first purchased the table but I have been running into issues with my motors not running in sync. I don’t think it is an issue with his build however he was more than helpful leading up to and shortly after but when this issue came up I have little to no feedback. Will say it is a pretty nice set up compared to the torch mate my day job has. How he mounts the rack and pinion is better designed than the $75k table at my day job. That being said the mount for the torch is on the cheap side(get what you pay for) That is easy to upgrade though. The software you get with it is Mach 3, sheet cam and emachine. All are user friendly but I still have issues with Mach3 functions working properly though(reverse cut and run from here primarily). If you have any other questions feel free to ask.
mkingaz
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Re: Accurate Arc Systems Table vs GoFab and Premier.

Post by mkingaz »

I just purchased the premier 4 x 8 flat deck table. Received it this past Sunday night and should have my first cut done tonight after installation and figuring a few things out. I'm a newbie, however, table seems very stable and sturdy. I really don't expect any issue as far as a bolt together table. I'm excited to get using it. so far all is great.
tcaudle
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Re: Accurate Arc Systems Table vs GoFab and Premier.

Post by tcaudle »

Some things to consider:
1. Their statement " The software is wholly supported by the developer and is used by the majority of the CNC community," is not accurate. MACH3 is obsolete and has been declared so by its developer over 3 years ago. MACH4 is not an upgrade is a total rewrite. SheetCAM IS current and supported by its developer.
There have been problems running MACH3 with WIN10 (solved but needs a pathc)
2. No mention of a THC of any kind. I suspect is optional or you have to supply and implement it yourself.
3. No mention of a touch off (IHS) method. Needed for any automated cutting even without a THC
4. No mention of the PC connection type (Ethernet, USB, Parallel Port?)
5. Home switches ?
6. Beware where a vendor pushes support of the software off to the developers. You are on your own to get answers
7. The "rails" are angle iron with V bearings running on the outside angle .
8. Statement they have tables all over the US seems questionable since they do not seem to have a website and there is sparse little information While having a website does not make you a repeatable company NOT having one could indicate they are not who they say they are.
Leeroy6392
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Re: Accurate Arc Systems Table vs GoFab and Premier.

Post by Leeroy6392 »

So I messed up it looks like..... the motors are cheap and have been losing steps/ coming out of gear track. I’ve tried tightening the spring to where it can’t skip teeth but still gets off after a short amount of cutting. The first 2-3 months it seemed to work great though, so I thought I messed up something.

Would that be the Mach 3 issues you are talking about? What should I do to make this a better unit?
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Ironken
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Re: Accurate Arc Systems Table vs GoFab and Premier.

Post by Ironken »

I have a friend that got an AAS. I was not impressed. You get what you pay for. His came with an unlicensed version of Sheetcam and was just kinda cheap. Never really worked that well.

Looks like AAS further cheaped out and went with angle iron and ditched the linear guide rails.

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tcaudle
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Re: Accurate Arc Systems Table vs GoFab and Premier.

Post by tcaudle »

Motors climbing out of the racks indicate that either the tension mechanism is bad or something is slipping. Go to each motor with the motors turned on and locked (powered up) and try to move the motor back and forth...hard. If it has play its something loose in the linear mechanics. With a direct drive you need pretty big motors for a gantry over 50 lbs.

I hesitate to suggest you replace the whole controller and motors and maybe modify the linear mechanics. Its going to cost you close to 3000 to do it right . Maybe some tweaking and tightening will get you far enough along to earn some money and get a better set of controls and motors .

There is a run to the bottom on cheap tables (happens every time the economy is good) and its really hard to look at photos and a video of it cutting and spend thousands of dollars .
Piechow
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Re: Accurate Arc Systems Table vs GoFab and Premier.

Post by Piechow »

So I won't be using this table all day, day in, day out. It will most likely just be a few hours a week. I need a No B.S. assessment (Black Hawk Down reference, sorry), while I understand I can get a better table for 15k or 25k or 50k, that's just outside what I can afford.. maybe down the line.

It's more for a hobby, cutting out main pieces for the fire pits I build (trying to cut down my labor time, really), logo's and designs into fire pits, potentially art work for my main place of employment funded from the crews.. just fun to fill up my spare time with the added benefit of making money.

A friend said something along the lines of, "so you're just making stuff to feed your addiction?" way before I got the itch for a CNC table, but it's pretty accurate.

What kind of things should I be looking for if I go look at it?
tcaudle wrote: Wed Aug 14, 2019 8:12 pm Some things to consider:
1. Their statement " The software is wholly supported by the developer and is used by the majority of the CNC community," is not accurate. MACH3 is obsolete and has been declared so by its developer over 3 years ago. MACH4 is not an upgrade is a total rewrite. SheetCAM IS current and supported by its developer.
There have been problems running MACH3 with WIN10 (solved but needs a pathc)
2. No mention of a THC of any kind. I suspect is optional or you have to supply and implement it yourself.
3. No mention of a touch off (IHS) method. Needed for any automated cutting even without a THC
4. No mention of the PC connection type (Ethernet, USB, Parallel Port?)
5. Home switches ?
6. Beware where a vendor pushes support of the software off to the developers. You are on your own to get answers
7. The "rails" are angle iron with V bearings running on the outside angle .
8. Statement they have tables all over the US seems questionable since they do not seem to have a website and there is sparse little information While having a website does not make you a repeatable company NOT having one could indicate they are not who they say they are.
1) Will Mach3 work for someone like me? Not looking to go too crazy, etc. It looks like Premier Plasma also supplies Mach3 and GoFab uses a Mach3 controller plugged into their magic box that connects to the tablet. It feels like going with a machine with Mach4 is going to be out of my price range.
2-3) I had a small conversation via text message with him before posting this. "It has IHS with touch probe for contour following." - I'm assuming this means it has THC? (complete novice)
4) I'll have to ask. What is ideal?
5) See above
6) Meaning sheetcam, Mach3 etc?
7) Whats the downside? I understand there's probably better ways, but it seems a hell of a lot more sturdy than GoFab. Premier appears to have the gear track on top of the Y-axis. GoFab and AAS market the gear track underneath to avoid crap landing on the track. Myth? Merit?
8) I agree. He said they used to have a website/facebook but when they moved shops they "lost their IT guy and the passwords associated so he shut the pages down, and hoped to have them back up soon" still seems suspect.


Ironken wrote: Thu Aug 15, 2019 12:03 am I have a friend that got an AAS. I was not impressed. You get what you pay for. His came with an unlicensed version of Sheetcam and was just kinda cheap. Never really worked that well.

Looks like AAS further cheaped out and went with angle iron and ditched the linear guide rails.
The guy I was texting said it came with full unlocks, maybe he was dancing around the question and was just talking about Mach3

At the 5k mark it doesn't feel like there's a "perfect" option, but it beats the Langmuir.. and I know I won't really be happy with a 23.5" x 25.5" table. It could cut small art and logo's but I'd like the option to do large signs.
Leeroy6392
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Re: Accurate Arc Systems Table vs GoFab and Premier.

Post by Leeroy6392 »

It is a solid table the adjustable feet are just some small bolts (easily changed). After getting mine I converted it to a water table to cut down on smoke and sucking out my heat. The bones are there to handle miss use on loading and unloading.yes that does qualify from what I understand as a thx and in the post processor it will say thc31 edited, however I would spring for a true thx that will adjust during the cut automatically. The y travel has been my only and major complaint worked great for the first few months the started jumping out of track or over torquing the motor. The software seems acceptable sheetcam is easy but seems to not be current program as well as Mach 3. It also throws a this computer may be working of counterfeit Microsoft warning not sure if that is based on it being a refurbished tower. Overall for the price downstairs seem bad just is a pain to get him to respond to any questions you may have. So plan on it being a diy plasma just that someone else assembled.
Piechow
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Re: Accurate Arc Systems Table vs GoFab and Premier.

Post by Piechow »

I was thinking about seeing if he'd just give me the software on a flash drive or something, maybe even get a small break on the price. That way I could run a laptop to cut down on the overall foot print.

I'd most likely get a water table too, it seems to be the consensus that it cuts down on the mess considerably. Water table vs. down draft seems to be a pretty heated topic with both having they're advantages, but I have no where to blow the crap, so water table it is.

Are the motors for the Y something easily upgraded? Or does it require a whole re-work of the wiring and other electronics?


I'm not opposed to the Premier table, being they're a more established company and I know there's more information about them out there so I'll look around. If I went with theirs I'd be $1000 over after the THC, water pan, freight, residential fee and lift gate fee.
Leeroy6392
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Re: Accurate Arc Systems Table vs GoFab and Premier.

Post by Leeroy6392 »

Sorry it took me so long to respond. From what I have seen the motors are not horrible the z axis is the biggest problem but looks easy to swap just make sure you get the same amount of wire count and then it’s just setting the steps from what I can tell.I would recommend getting them on flash drive also the computer I received with mine in March was a 2011 model.... it works but does seem like new computer would help. On the y issues I have been complaining about I think it turned out to be an issue partially in my motor tuning it hasn’t done it since I messed with the pulse settings. The water table to me is easier I was more concerned about the smoke and what I was pumping out and filters clogging and catching on fire etc but to me with water no chance of fire no filter save heat seemed like a no brainer, but to each their own. Overall I’m happy with more irritated with my lack of knowledge of programming and tuning. I think I have caused almost all my issues lol.
Piechow
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Re: Accurate Arc Systems Table vs GoFab and Premier.

Post by Piechow »

No worries, thanks for the insight!

Maybe I'll invite myself over to check out your table and chat if I end up in Oklahoma. :HaHa
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