Which is more dependable? Biesse service seems solid and plenty of accolades for the Andi Fanuc controller longevity but what about Andi service?

We are a small, custom wood shop that found success in panel processing margins. Mostly use pre-refinished maple ply for kitchen cabs, looking to make shaker MDF doors and submitting bids for commercial casework? Looking for a machine to grow into and a unit and company that supports after point of sale.

I have never bought an Andi, the only thing Biesse in the shop is an edgebander. As far as service, no clue but I would put huge points in favor of the Andi based on the Fanuc control. Of all the controls on woodworking machines that I have used, Fanuc is by far the best and most trouble free of them.

If you are looking at those two, I would look at the Giben G4 too. It is built by Anderson (Andi), uses the same components, is built right next to all Anderson products and has Syntec Controller. That will save you thousands when it is time for you're first service call. Fanuc is super, super expensive to deal with after warranty and IMHO it is way overkill for wood working applications. They are great controllers for aerospace applications, 5-axis and stuff like that but for wood, Giben is the best machine I think.

Either machine should work well for typical nested manufacturing. Both are good manufacturers, good presence long term presence and both make good machines.

As for the control, either will work well for what you need. Biesse is a proprietary control used only on their machines. Andi with a Fanuc control is common control used in the wood industry and many others.

Check with both Biesse and Andi on their support, spare part costs /availability and service technicians in your area. One may be much better serving your area than the other.

You mention a machine to grow into. Is this a 4-8 year or 9+ year life for the machine. If it is the longer life I would lean toward the machine with the Fanuc control, vs a machine with a proprietary and/or lesser known control.

I posted earlier about the Fanuc. When Dan made his point about the lifespan of the machine, I should say that our Fanuc controlled machine is over 16 years old. Just upgraded the Fanuc Panel mostly because I wanted a Windows upgrade from 2000 to a new version. This is only for the machine operator, the control is original. Upgrade took me 3 hours to complete on my own for the hardware swap. No real issues and no new training required. Last time I upgraded an Italian control, it took a tech a half day to complete the hardware and I had to go to Charlotte for a day or two of training.

Do yourself a huge favor and go see the machines.

We have Biesse cncs and although excellent service and support, the BNest and front end are not what I want at all.

We have an older Biesse Rover 30 FT and the controller is very easy vs BNest or the older software.

Seriously go look and ask questions

Looked for some information on the Giben and read about a few issues with writing a bug-free post but the machine looks almost identical to the selexx. Could be isolated or remiedied by now, but have not read any post issues on the Fanuc and upfront price looks to be within 10 %.

Each machine has been seen in action and both are beyond adequate for our current workload so we’re have to step up to justify the expenditure one of these units. Am I wrong in thinking that quotes are negotiable and reflect larger margins due to favorable labor costs in countries of origin?

Ted,

never had an issue with our post, but I guess every situation is unique. I would look into that with your sales guy and ask for a demo on your specific model with your exact software. Regarding the price, I would negotiate hard. The andi shouldn't be more expensive then the beisse since they are built in Taiwan. when we bought our machine we looked at several different models from Biesse, SCM and a few others, but the giben offered us the best and most machine for the money, even if the discount wasn't the biggest. It was, in the end more cost effective then the other manufactures however. It is all about a value per dollar for us.

I was looking at Giben, Biesse, and Weeke.

I think they're all pretty comparable machines, both in quality and parts availability.

My impression was the Giben was the lesser of the three, but was my top pick because of the value. Our cnc doesn't run hard or even daily, so i was more willing to spend money on things like a ride along changer and a separate drill block with more bits, instead of spending money on lifespan. But I think the difference is marginal.

We ended up with a used bottom end Weeke, that I bought used. I'm happy with it. My only complaints are I wish we had a bit more pump, (pretty sure that's universal), and a separate drill block not tied to the spindle z axis. It drives me crazy that it has to do a tool change and pick up a plug to drill shelf holes. Now that we have a cnc, the next one will likely be the same brand. I hate learning anything. Love knowing stuff. HATE learning it.

Thanks for the feedback, we’ll be taking a harder look at the numbers and see who can offer the best value.

Ted,
you are crazy if you do not attend the AWFS fair in Las Vegas starting in 2 days.