Helping a buddy pick out a new cnc machine for cabinets - closets.

He is now totally old school with a slider and manual line boring.
He has no CNC experience.

Trying to get him in a higher quality machine.
He is looking at:
CNC factory
Laguna
and Biesse.

He has a tight budget but I am pushing for the extra dollars for the Biesse Rover K.
I think a sweep is almost essential.
I think the training at Biesse -1 week class at Charlotte - up to 120 hrs of operator training on site(wow) is a huge plus.

Biesse has an entry level Rover K with ISO30 spindle and 5 drill bank that lists at 75K without the sweep. 10K for the sweep.
While this is at the top of his budget (actually quite a bit over it).
I am rooting for the Biesse.

I have only used HSK tool holders.
Is there that much difference between ISO and HSK for the average cabinet / closet shop?

With proper maint and warmups the ISO 30 should give plenty of capacity and reliability over the years.

Sweep arm is definitely a benefit and wouldn’t want to run a cnc without one

On my 3rd cnc with Biesse

1st class service and support. Installation is ready incredible.

We purchased a Biesse Rover S three years ago and it has been awesome. (no sweep on ours.) The great thing about Biesse other than the machine is that the service department is #1. If you have any machine problems or operator error problems they call you back within an hour or so to resolve. Whomever you get a machine from, make sure they have a great track record for picking up the phone. Nothing worse than having a $75k paperweight because you don't know what's wrong.

I bought a 20ft CNC from cnc factory. The quality of the machine was incredible, Built like a high end machine and there knowledge and service is great.We also have a homag 5 axis so I can vow for there quality and the price is unbeatable.
They will work with you to even customize your machine if you have an idea of how you want your machine to be set up

If your friend currently has no CNC a 30 taper spindle will be a big step up.
We have been using 30 taper tool holders on a Thermwood for 20+ years cutting thousands of sheets of stuff.
Some times it would of been nice to have a larger taper or HSK style spindle but it has never really been an issue.
We are looking at a new Thermwood and I would get the HSK spindle on the newer machine but we would be able to afford the upcharge.
Many times good enough is good enough.

Only have experience with HSK and they're great. So no real input there.
However, if your guy is a 1-man show with a slider and borer, he's going to have so much time on his hands with a CNC (after the 1st year or so of figuring it out) so maybe 10k for a sweeper isn't necessary? We don't have one and I've got 4 guys out in the shop. Truthfully, the machine sits idle for more than I'd like it too, so the time it takes to label and unload the parts is negligible. Plus, you have to have an equivalent space to sweep to, so the footprint almost doubles.
We're high end residential and almost no commercial though. So we're not cranking through case parts where a sweeper makes more sense.

Trust me, if you ever used a sweep, you will never purchase a machine without one. I have never heard anyone who has one who does not have the same opinion.
(see above post)

The increase in productivity is up to 40%.
The cost benefit is a no brainer.
The whole decision on machine selection comes down to ROI.
I would give up machine speed before giving up the sweep.

I totally understand what you are saying that it may not affect the amount of sheets he produces in a day at his volume today.
But he expects to grow into the machine.

Less time in the shop allows more time to increase business!

We just signed a contract yesterday on a Rover A FT full auto load/unload. Hopefully some guys in Italy are hard at work building it. I can't wait. It is going to be a hard 4 months waiting on the new Green Machine.