Breton or Intermac cnc

[Tom]

Hello everyone,

I'm about to buy a cnc-machine for our natural stone company. It will be used for different kind of applications: kitchen and bathroom countertops, porches, funerary monuments and tombstones (<4inch thick) , ... . It's important that the machine can handle the complete finishing by itself, including full edging!

Currently we're in doubt of two models: the Intermac Master 33.3 and the Breton NC300 K19 EVO.

Which one would you prefer and why?
Are there any other brands/models worth looking at?
Any other suggestions or advice is more than welcome!

Thanks in advance,

Tom

[BellaTerra]

We are leaning towards the Intermac ourselves. Unless you absolutely don't have the space I think it would be a mistake to not go for the Master 43. Way bigger bed and its only about 10% more cost...

[maxstone]

Hands down the Breton. I did the same post about 2 1/2 years ago.
A very good freind that taught me about stone has the Master 43. I was real close to buying the same thing because I could get any questions answered by him. But when you need a step ladder to get into it, set pods by the spindle, and don't have the laser to set tools for the same price The Beton is the way to go.
I could not be happier with my purchase, it's a work horse.
People say that Breton service is no good, they are wrong. If they are busy with someone else I usually get a call back within an hr.
If you want to come se my NC 300 k26 yiu are more than welcome.

[Alex DiPietro]

I was in the exact same dilemma six months ago. I went with the k19evo. It hasn't arrived yet, it leaves italy this week so I cannot comment on the performance of the machine yet. I chose the breton because I wasn't sold on the bsolid software and because the bretons footprint was a little smaller and space is a big factor for us.

[Andy Ross]

Intermacs support is terrible. They seem to be mak8ng adjustments but it still feels like youre on your own....unless tim farr has a solution. Intermacs do sit off the ground some but i actually prefer that. We rarely get on the table and its nice having things at thigh level vs. Bending over all the time. We have a 33 and run single parts so i think if you had a 43 and loaded multiple parts the height would be an inconvienence.

[SbergeronMG]

We are happy with Breton and I would choose them over intermac.
They've always answer my call, the tech are pretty good and will do has much over the phone as possible.
Moreno, Mike and Stefano.

With that said as well design has those machine can be mechanical part wear. Electronic break.
If I look at my past 7 years with Breton I can say they've been pretty reliable.
This is one thing.
For most part specially regarding a router they should have in Stock.
It did happen to me that they didn't but both time I was able to find it locally.
Breton definitely has the upper hand on the spindle to. The only thing I could complain about
Is the gripper system and hsk cone. While giving more rigidity I think it's a pain to maintain compare to iso-40
I'm sure other Breton guy can related, we change gripper every years and clean every 3 month. (3 time the price of a iso 40 gripper)
Cone needs to be really really clean ( that's why Breton put a guarding system in front of them)

I would consider brembana and northwood before intermac to just my opinion

[Alex DiPietro]

the evo version of the nc300 = iso40 spindle

[SbergeronMG]

I also want to say don't go with a small machine.
My k23 is a robocup so I loose about 12 inch from the back. Reference to reference I got 60 inch and I hate it.
Really limiting if you ask me.
We solely do vanity full backsplash and small thing on that machine.

[jrupert3]

I have 2 Breton NC300 K26's and have been extremely happy with them, the guys at Breton have always been there when I've needed them.

[BellaTerra]

Not sure what kind of pricing you have in the States but up here they're not even close. $225k for a 43 and $270-$280k for the Breton. Thats' just over $1000 a month more...

[Alex DiPietro]

k19 table is 126 x 76... Which is pretty good for a small footprint machine IMO. I am excited for it to get here

[Ger Vanderbas]

Not sure what kind of pricing you have in the States but up here they're not even close. $225k for a 43 and $270-$280k for the Breton. Thats' just over $1000 a month more...
[

too much involved to discuss pricing of several models over the air, but you know I'm always extremely happy to help.

Based on what you are saying 225K Canadian equals 159K euro give or take. (169K USD give or take)

If someone is selling a quality machine at those prices and who will service it too, I'm surprised, but very possibly missing something. Maybe something major.

G

[BellaTerra]

Ger, do you consider a Master 43 a quality machine?

[jrupert3]

Ger, do you consider a Master 43 a quality machine?
[

Does it really matter what a salesman from a competing manufacture thinks of competitors equipment? It's tough believing what they say about their own equipment half the time!

Have you had a chance to visit a shop running the machines you're considering? You're welcome to spend some time at my shop, we run NC300 K26. I'll show you the good, and bad.

My suggestion is narrow down which machines your considering, spend time at SFA shops for a day or two. Observe the programming, tool setup, table changes, pod placements, problems they run in to, everything and anything you can. I'm sure after two or three shops you'll have your decision made.

[Andy Ross]

I agree, spend some time sitting in a chair watching one run. Then try to imagine your shop work flow and if it fits. One thing i was having trouble grasping was how to take a digital file, cut it manually without a plotter. It was a programming thing and once i saw part of the programming that would accommodate it, i felt more comfortable. When your getting a new machine, sometimes you dont know what to ask. Honestly, you could probably buy anything and be fine. The machines themselves are similar enough. The programming can vary slightly but you just figure it out.

[deacdon]

Hello everyone,

I'm about to buy a cnc-machine for our natural stone company. It will be used for different kind of applications: kitchen and bathroom countertops, porches, funerary monuments and tombstones (<4inch thick) , ... . It's important that the machine can handle the complete finishing by itself, including full edging!

Currently we're in doubt of two models: the Intermac Master 33.3 and the Breton NC300 K19 EVO.

Which one would you prefer and why?
Are there any other brands/models worth looking at?
Any other suggestions or advice is more than welcome!

Thanks in advance,

Tom
[

Tom - The new Intermac Master series machines addresses many of the issues that we had in the past. Reading the threads, one of the biggest complaints seems to be the high table. While this option is still available, our standard configuration for stone machines coming to the US is now a lower table. One other major complaint and quite honestly a bit of a service issue is the tool rack. We have done away with the rotary tool racks and gone to a covered rack in the back of the machine with much larger storage capacity. Three sizes are available depending on your needs: 33.3, 38.3 and 45.3. I'd check these out if any of these items were concerns. Finally, like everyone has said, service in the past has been an issue and we have acknowledged this and addressed this by doubling our field technician staff and adding another "hotliner" in the office

[samhanbury]

We had our intermac master 33.3 delivered yesterday, just waiting for engineers to turn up and and get it installed, i saw a previous post about needing a step ladder and i know what you mean we have the master 53 and it is a nightmare to get on and off without tripping on suction pod pipes, this one has the option of high and low bed, we opted for low bed and it looks like its gonna be nice to get stone on and off

will update what i think about machine in next couple of weeks when its running.

[samhanbury]

Right then, the machine is now up and running.

the travel speed of this machine is immense, made the engineer jump out of his skin when he parked it at front of machine,
this beats the master 53 we had last year hands down. normally takes around 50minutes from start to finish bowl cut / pol, drainers and drainer polish taps etc. with new 33.3 its taking around 35mins. my only concern with the speed is if it failed to release tool properly when changing, I think it may resemble a bowling alley if it does.


really cool looking with LED strip which changes colour when paused started or stopped.

extremely quiet machine.

however the water system that comes with this seems very rushed. it cant keep up with itself and trips the recirculation pump out at least once a day, collection tanks are very small compared to older master machines. I mean very small approx. 8ft x 1 1/2ft by 8 inches deep there are two of them but they constantly overflow and turns the shop into a small pool.


overall so far the machine is good and I'm really pleased with the results I'm getting polish is like glass. but I genuinely think Intermac have rushed this machine out the door compromised severely with water system.

[Ger Vanderbas]

Ger, do you consider a Master 43 a quality machine?
[

Sorry late to answer.

Generally speaking IMHO yes. I have not examined it piece by piece.

Are there advantages of a Breton? IMHO Yes. I have examined it piece by piece year ad infinitum.

Price is price, cost is cost, cost of ownership vs. total productivity is what's important.






G

[Ger Vanderbas]

Ger, do you consider a Master 43 a quality machine?
[

Does it really matter what a salesman from a competing manufacture thinks of competitors equipment? It's tough believing what they say about their own equipment half the time!
[

Like when we told you the machine printed kitchens?

Hope you are doing well and in actuality we ended up to be pretty accurate with what we stated about ours.

G