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One-Week Black Friday Deal: Trade In Your Old Desktop CNC Mill for Credit Towards a New ShopBot

In recent years desktop CNC milling’s barrier to entry has been lowered, thanks to a rash of Chinese-made machines that can be had for a seeming bargain. But as ShopBot Tools founder Ted Hall points out in “All Desktop CNCs Are Not Created Equal,” CNC mills are like many other power tools: You get what you pay for. That cheapie desktop CNC from overseas that seemed like such a steal…will eventually extract its true cost from you, paid in time spent correcting mistakes (if they are correctable at all), money spent replacing mis-cut materials, lost jobs you couldn’t take on because the machine couldn’t handle the task, and of course, frustration.

We’ll get back to the article in a minute. The bottom line here is that if you’re tired of missing deadlines and/or adjusting your workflow to compensate for the shortcomings of your machine, now is a good time to trade up to a quality tool. ShopBot has announced that, for one week only (starting today), they’ll grant you credit for your crappy desktop CNC mill towards the purchase of a new ShopBot.

For one week, beginning on Black Friday, November 23rd, through Friday, November 30th, owners of other desktop-type CNC tools can “trade-up” their tool to a new ShopBot Desktop, Desktop MAX, or larger ShopBot Gantry CNC tool. ShopBot will issue credits towards a tool purchase based on the make and model of the tool being traded-in. Included with each trade-up purchase is a free 2-Day Basic Training session, held at ShopBot’s Durham, North Carolina facility.

“We were inspired to offer a ‘trade-up’ promotion after listening to customers who have come to ShopBot looking for a professional grade, well-supported, reliable tool – after being disappointed and frustrated with other brands of CNC tools they have purchased,” says ShopBot’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Jeanne Taylor. “Many of these tools often lack rigidity – making clean and consistent cuts almost impossible – and come with very little support and training,” Taylor adds.

Whether you’re already familiar with CNC milling or are looking to educate yourself, I highly recommend giving Hall’s aforementioned article a read. He goes into detail about the design, construction and materials choices ShopBot has made, versus cheaper competitors’ machines, and explains how each decision ultimately affects the end users’ results. And ShopBots, unlike a lot of competing machines, are made in America.

“In this case, buy American because you get more for your money,” Hall writes. “It is often believed that the cost difference between imported products and products like the ShopBot Desktop and Desktop MAX is a result of inexpensive offshore labor. It does cost a little more to build equipment in the US than offshore. But as far as our Desktop CNC tools go, the cost differences in comparison to these imported tools reflects what you are getting.

"Our tools offer a stronger design that provides greater capabilities and more extensive features. You are buying more tool. You are buying the capability, configurability, agility, and support system to best accomplish your work and to make you productive.”

You can learn more about the trade-up deal here, and you’ve got until November 30th to file for one.