The limitations will come into play with any heavy work, such as cutting or carving hardwoods or machining aluminum. One less motor and one less drive system helps reduce costs in the imported tools, but racking will be a source of inaccuracy that needs to be managed. With this system, as cutting moves further and further off the centerline, the gantry can be deflected or racked from the asymmetrical forces to each side of the centerline. This screw is attached to a tie bar that is then attached to the two ends of the gantry. In contrast, the imported CNC has a single, center-drive screw and motor for the gantry that is positioned in the middle of the bay under the deck. Dual-drive insures that the gantry moves evenly and that it will not be deflected or racked when machining on the left or right side of the centerline. Dual-drive means there is a motor and drive system at each side of the gantry.
![shotbot gantry shotbot gantry](https://wrea.ca/4922a.jpg)
ShopBot Desktops and Desktop MAXs have a heavy, solid aluminum frame and a ‘dual-drive’ gantry. We thought it helpful to directly compare a few of the characteristics, capabilities, and features of this tool to the ShopBot Desktop and Desktop MAX CNCs. From published specs, the tools are apparently identical though they do have different decals.
![shotbot gantry shotbot gantry](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0016/3620/4589/products/1_2310db34-089d-426e-84f2-6495de4352f3_1600x.jpg)
Prices for the tool vary from $2,800 to $6,500, depending on the reseller.
![shotbot gantry shotbot gantry](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9cJFjz0R0KE/maxresdefault.jpg)
It is also available directly from China from the internet. This tool is imported from China by several different resellers in North America. The CNC below is frequently compared to our ShopBot Desktop and ShopBot Desktop MAX tools.