Printed Circuit Board Assembly & PCB Design SMT Electronics Assembly Manufacturing Forum

Printed Circuit Board Assembly & PCB Design Forum

SMT electronics assembly manufacturing forum.


T tech vs LPKF

Views: 5898

dmascare

#43705

T tech vs LPKF | 31 August, 2006

I am currently contemplating the purchase of a pcb prototyping machine. The machine will be used to prototype some patch antennas, microwave circuits, embedded systems, boards for various surface mount chips evaluations, possibly milling PZT material, and possibly milling aluminum/plastic for some small mechanical assemblies.

Right now I am considering machines from both LPKF and t tech. The LPKF system is about $6K more than the comperable t-tech machine considering work area and max spindle speed (for my application I think these are probably the most important concerns). LPKF claims that their machines are more durable and will last longer than the t-tech machines, but I am not sure if I really care about a difference between lasting 10 years or 15 years. Anyways, I was wondering if anyone had any experience with either/both machines and had any comments/complaints that they would like to share. Thanks

reply »

sant

#43715

T tech vs LPKF | 1 September, 2006

Hi In my previous organistaion I had worked with LPKF m/c model C60 and have seen the T-tech m/c working also. I'll give the weightage to LPKF because of its performance. For your application I feel 100Krpm spindle will be more suitable. Support/service/spare parts from LPKf is good. Yes , it may be true that LPKF m/cs are costlier than T-tech.

bye

reply »

Loco

#43716

T tech vs LPKF | 1 September, 2006

Just out of curiosity, what do machines like that cost?

reply »

dmascare

#43722

T tech vs LPKF | 1 September, 2006

The machines I have been looking at range from about $13K to about as high as $30K. These numbers reflect a complete system with all the various sound enclosures, vacuum systems, starter kits etc. Right now I am looking at 60K rpm spindle machines with around 13" X 19" work areas, but lately I have been considering the 100K rpm spindle after looking at some of the machining info on the Rogers board website.

reply »

dmascare

#43723

T tech vs LPKF | 1 September, 2006

I forgot to mention, for the 60K rpm spindle with 13" X 19" work area I am in about the $21K to $24K price range. The 6K price differential is due to t-tech offering a 15% percent educational discount. LPKF would only give me at most a 3% GSA discount

reply »

Echo

#43863

T tech vs LPKF | 11 September, 2006

I had an LPKF and nothing was as good as advertised so I contacted T-Tech and never been happier. I have the 100K motor and it works great, even the software was simple.

reply »

EK

#43881

T tech vs LPKF | 12 September, 2006

I'm in the market, also, but vasilating over cost vs performance. I've also used both. In general, the LPKFs have more bells and wistles.

On the LPKF S62, I love the tool magazine, and vacuum table. And, the fiducial recognition camera is great once you get the hang of it. Both machines require tweaking to set depths when cutting fine traces, however, the LPKF does a tolerable job straight out of the tool magazine. I've cut 100mil+ material on both, and the process for the LPKF is somewhat involved.

The LPKF tech guys are helpful, but don't bother trying to get them on the phone. I've never tried to use T-Tech's.

I like the LPKF software better. It does more, at an equivalent increase in complexity. Although it has some issues converting from inch to metric. My copy of ISOPro was prone to crashing, and difficult to edit with.

Both companies tech manuals suck. LPKFs Training CD is no better.

If I was not limited by cost, I would buy an LPKF. The bells and whistles, along with the peripheral products, like ProConduct and ProMask, make it worth it. On a limited budget, I'm willing to go with T-Techs nearest match.

reply »

Dave from Ohio

#44459

T tech vs LPKF | 10 October, 2006

We currently use both machines side by side in our lab now and LPKF is by far the better machine. Both are comparable systems to each other but the T-Tech machine always seems to have problems of some sort and their tech support department isn�t very helpful. I�ve never had a problem with LPKF�s tech department and found them very helpful and knowledgeable. The LPKF machine is a few years older than the T-Tech machine and has had fewer problems and generally seems to be a better built machine. They are a German company so that might have something to do with it. I will be purchasing their new S62 w/ the auto tool change soon... It may cost a little more but in my opinion its well worth it. Hope this helps�

reply »

ICT Total SMT line Provider

Reflow Oven