Shop Sabre Vs. JD Squared $ X 8 Table

[borris]

I am in the market for an upgraded plasma table. I have a small farm shop and use my plasma table to do farm metal crafts including farm signs, yard art, and other items to sale at our farm store. Additionally, I need to cut small repair part items where added accuracy is needed. I have narrowed my selection down to the JD Squared PVD 4 X 8 with Stainless water table vs. the Shop Sabre Side Kick. I like the build of the JD Squared table over and above the Shop Sabre however, the Shop Sabre Software seems preferable over the JD Squared. Please provide your thoughts or recommendation on one machine vs. the other.

[adbuch]

I agree that the JD2 looks like a nicer build. What software does the shopsabre come with?
David

[borris]

Shop Sabre uses the EnRoute Plasma software. JD Squared uses in-house developed software.

[adbuch]

So which machine did you end up purchasing? Maybe you can update with some photos and a review of your new machine.
David

[camotoe]

I had it narrowed down to the same 2 machines about a year ago. I liked the stainless steel water pan on the JD2, however Shop Sabre assured me that you will get a better ground with a mild steel water pan. Keep your plasma juice in the water and it will be fine for a very long time. Also, the gantry on the Shop Sabre is super heavy duty which is good if you want to run a router or spindle. I decided on the Shop Sabre side kick and its been a great machine with great support. No regrets at all, I'd buy the same machine again.

[borris]

Thanks for the information. I did go with ShopSabre. The big selling point for me was the WinCNC Controller on the ShopSabre vs. the Proprietary Controller on the JD Squared. The JD Squared uses their own GUI front end which tends to be very cumbersome and difficult to use compared to ShopSabre which looks very efficient and easy to operate. I also noted that ShopSabre Z Height is 9" vs. JD Squared 4". It seems to me that the ShopSabre is much better for routing with the greater z height.

[adbuch]

Borris,
Thanks for the update! This is nice to know for future reference.
David

[jkesler89]

I run a Sidekick 8 as well. I've been running it for 5ish years now with zero regrets. Their tech team is wonderful and always a call away when needed! It was definitely the smart choice when i got mine!

[weldguy]

Good call, especially if you want to do routing as well. ShopSabre systems work amazing as a router as well. Excited to hear what you think of it!