02-22-2009, 04:51 PM
Tools:
Unimat displayed a range of machine tools from a set for kids, to a set for hobbyists, to a more "professional" set. The difference between the hobbyist and professional set is quality of materials - you can work harder metals with the latter and do so with a finer tolerance, otherwise they were essentially the same tool. A kit can be configured into two tools - a mill or a lathe. These are the perfect footprint for me if I were in the market, but are somewhat expensive. I got the impression of great manufacturer support. The two folks pictured knew the product and were very enthusiastic. You would think this was a no brainer at a trade show, but some folks were surprisingly standoffish.
The first photo is the hobbyist line, the second, their professional line. They also had a CAD CAM set up going - that's the mob of people in the background of the second photo. The kid's set would be a lot of fun for a machinist grandfather to introduce their kids to the craft. My buddy may pick this line up. Incidentally, Unimat is also the distributor of Sherline machine tools in Germany - they had one Sherline set up for CAM as well.
Question: Unimat rings a bell - were they previously distributed in the U.S.? I think I recall the name popping up when I was drooling over Sherlines a few years ago.
Unimat displayed a range of machine tools from a set for kids, to a set for hobbyists, to a more "professional" set. The difference between the hobbyist and professional set is quality of materials - you can work harder metals with the latter and do so with a finer tolerance, otherwise they were essentially the same tool. A kit can be configured into two tools - a mill or a lathe. These are the perfect footprint for me if I were in the market, but are somewhat expensive. I got the impression of great manufacturer support. The two folks pictured knew the product and were very enthusiastic. You would think this was a no brainer at a trade show, but some folks were surprisingly standoffish.
The first photo is the hobbyist line, the second, their professional line. They also had a CAD CAM set up going - that's the mob of people in the background of the second photo. The kid's set would be a lot of fun for a machinist grandfather to introduce their kids to the craft. My buddy may pick this line up. Incidentally, Unimat is also the distributor of Sherline machine tools in Germany - they had one Sherline set up for CAM as well.
Question: Unimat rings a bell - were they previously distributed in the U.S.? I think I recall the name popping up when I was drooling over Sherlines a few years ago.
Matt Goodman
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio