CNC SinkBot Pro

Free up your labor and let SinkBot cut your sink holes
Easy to operate CNC
SinkBot movements are protected from the stone slurry
Front & back clamping bars to hold SinkBot down
Front clamping bar and vacuum hold down for islands
Center waterfeed 3 1/4 hp spindle (1800kw) made in the USA
Oversized stepper motors for reliable cutter positioning
No toolchange needed for cutting a faucet hole after the sink hole
Splash shield with hinged arms allows easy access to cutter
Clamping the machine to the stone combined with a small bridge length guarantees the Z-height is perfectly indexed to stone's surface for profiling bits
Well engineered splash shield prevents stone spray, minimizing cleaning and maintenance while allowing access for tool changes
Stainless & Aluminum structure with sealed bearings for all movements

SPECS

SinkBot CNC router weighs 180 lbs
SinkBot Control-Work station weighs 185 lbs
3 1/4 hp (1800 watt) variable speed spindle motor
Digital ammeter measuring the load on the spindle for a safe and fast feedrate
Center waterfeed belt driven spindle
Standard 1/2" Gas thread connection
1st - 120 volt 20 amp circuit dedicated for spindle
2nd - 120 volt 20 amp circuit for the control and computer
Separate water hoses for the center waterfeed and the halo
Auto shutoff for spindle and the two water circuits
Belt reduction with a rack & pinion type drive for X&Y axis and a leadscrew for Z axis

FAQ

Why are you using an incremental finger bit vs a one pass type 15mm finger bit? - A 3 hp spindle is not strong enough to cut in one pass reliably unattended. One pass cutting method requires three toolchanges, core bit for a starter hole, the finger bit, and a z-wheel to get the hole to size and smooth like an incremental bit. The time and attention spent to do these manual tool changes and the potential for human error proves not to be worth it.
Won't incremental type cutting create blowouts? - This is true for the manual machines. What we found is there are two reasons that the SinkBot is not likely to break the bottom of the stone. First, the SinkBot's CNC control maintains a constant feedrate and a consistent incremental depth of cut. This allows the cutter to remove the stone at a uniform depth and not create any high spots in the kerf. These high spots will lift the spindle up and the machine's stucture will create greater down pressure thus breaking the stone. The 2nd reason follows the same logic. The history of manual machines were designed with a hinged arm or a long bridge and a flexing lightweight table, creating a spring like force on the cutter. The flex in the machine's vertical axis adds additional down force when the cutter encounters a high spot causing blowouts. The SinkBot has great ridigity because it is clamped to stone and has a short bridge length which prevents the machine from deflecting.
So are you saying all types stones won't blowout? - No, there are some natural stones we know are harder to fabricate because they fall apart and crumble. These type of stones you will want to mill differently. The beauty of a CNC is the program you create tells the machine what to do. So with this type stone you will program the SinkBot to cut down until there is an 1/8" left. Now you plunge to full depth in a spot preferably on the front rail (where it is less likely to seen) and now you side load the cutter therefore there is no down force to break the thin stone and you get a perfect edge.
Will the SinkBot polish the sink hole? - Trick question. Yes, it can, but even the full size CNCs are hit & miss. My point is, the CNC machines can do it, but you must be willing to put the time in to keep the bits dressed (remove rogue diamonds or grooves) and update the bits as they wear changing in size. Different fabricators have different standards for what is a quality polish. The SinkBot was engineered to polish out. We have a variable speed spindle, CNC control that has cutter compensation, and a machine with the structure and accuracy necessary. So yes it can polish and for some at least, you can get it to hone where you can start with a 400 pad. We are selling the SinkBot CNC initally just to shape (using a incremental bit to create a roundover) and cut the sink hole. This minimizes customer training and expectations.
How hard is it to program and how much time does it take? - After a little experience, you will spend less than 5 minutes to create the G-code file and be able to hit cycle start and start cutting the sink hole. The G-code file is produced thru the CAD/CAM software. Once a previously cut sink hole's G-code file is saved, your only time will be locating the file, so less than one minute.
How much time does it take to cut a sink hole? - There are some variables that will greatly affect this number. The toughness of the stone of course, the quality of the bit can affect it by 20% and the water pressure thru the centerwater feed can affect it by 20%. So for medium to hard 3 cm stone cutting a Kohler 2210 will take roughly 18 minutes. The edge will have a 1/4" radius roundover ready for a 100 grit pad.
What do you do for hard stone like quartzites? - Well you run it slower. The other advantage of a CNC is you can use the existing sink program and adjust the feedrate at the machine for the current conditions. This still won't be enough, because you won't know how slow to go and you will set the feedrate to what sounds good. Sinkbot solved this problem by putting an ammeter on the spindle to measure load and tell you how fast you can safely push the machine for the spindle and the drive motors. We have been amazed on how much this helps productivity because going by sound is too inconsistent. The sound will change due to the stone, different bits (even of the same brand), the depth of the cutter in the kerf, and the water pressure thru the spindle. Remember if you get this wrong, it well get costly.

CNC SinkBot Pro

Portable CNC for cutting sink holes. Using a incremental finger bit to radius the top edge and spiral cut the hole to full depth.

Stop moving large or L-shaped stones into a radial-arm sink machine. Use the SinkBot's control-work station to lift and transport the SinkBot CNC to the workpiece on your polishing bench.

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