Vevor vs Proxxon: Is this your new hotwire cutter?

[@DIORAMABOX]

Thanks for so much explanation! I've been using the Vebor for several years, and it has a few things you have to deal with with it. - When you cut very fast or at a very high temperature, cutting waves appear in the XPS. - If you use it with a temperature of 10, the wire deforms due to the temperature and a non-straight cut appears throughout the piece, it may vary by 2 mm. - It also becomes more flexible so the distance from the height of the thread changes and also the inclination changes, causing cuts that are not at right angles. But in the end, if you manage to control all this, you can make very good cuts, I can cut sheets of even 2mm without imperfections... but always with the window open or with a mask hahaha. And the guide is very bad, it does not tighten well and breaks the edges of the wood, I made myself a taller wooden one and held it with pliers.

[@Shiftinglands]

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience!

[@Karlmakesstuff]

When I saw the cutting height I thought this might be useful, but the other stuff is a bit much. It has an interesting tensioning system though. Thanks for this review!

[@CampaignTerrain]

Nice rundown, Gerard. Thanks for this

[@Stephen-rk2to]

I have the Vevor. Its true its not the best quality but it does work just fine. I might fiddle with mine a little more to get everything right but that doesnt bother me at less than half the price. Maybe one day I'll break and get a proxxon.

[@ben_r_]

Good in between and better bang for buck would be the Hercules 8500 with the included foot pedal.

[@shauntaylor9251]

That's more expensive than the Proxxon and no good for European electrics

[@thecraftydm]

Really enjoyed the review. I think I will stay with my Proxxon despite the limitations. However, if budget was a concern or the Proxxon wasn't available I think the Vevor would be a good alternative.

[@dkaustin98]

Why can't Proxxon create a stiff arm that can be swapped with the standard arm to get the heights you desire? I would think Proxxon would take your advice as you are one of the major influences in their market? I bought my Proxxon because of your videos as I am sure many other have too.

[@MrBrad9]

Yes I was thinking the same thing. Proxxon should sell a separate arm with slightly thicker wire to make up for the height.

[@Shiftinglands]

I did suggest to add a higher arm to the machine permanent or optionally but so far they did not do this als. Might have to contact them once again.

[@BumblebeeFern]

I came to the comments to see if there was any info on this being an upgrade option. Hope they add this in the future!

[@Bespelled22]

I have a Chinese cutting table very similar to the Vevor. Probably a knockoff. It works fairly well but it is a bit fiddly. Also it produces a lot of smoke and the wire is substantial. In the US we can’t get the foam like He uses. The closed cell sheet foam either pink or blue is only up to an inch thick from most suppliers so the Vevor does fine for most applications. For a beginner it’s not a bad machine. On a budget I call it a win. The Proxon is the gold standard but for cranking out terrain for the gaming table some of these other cutters work fine. If you are doing high detail crafts get the Proxon. PS I never use the miter adjustment either. Better to make a jig.

[@leonardd.hilleyii7554]

The thickest I can find in the US is 2 inches (Blue or Pink). I like the Proxxon but the wire seems too thin and breaks.

[@patrickbrun5830]

Ich arbeite mit dem Proxxon. Ein gewisser Gerhard hat mich dazu motiviert. Ich werde bei diesem Gerät bleiben. Ich habe auch die Proxon Bohrmaschinen. Ersatzteile und Zubehör sind beim Händler immer verfügbar und ich habe mich auch an dieses Werkzeug gewöhnt. Trotzdem: Alternativen sind immer schön. P. S. : Was die Musik der Saiten angeht... wenn man den heissen Draht genug lange anfasst, kann man auch wunderbar in hohen Tönen Singen!

[@MyklCarlton]

Try replacing the wire with the standard thickness Proxxon wire. It's possible that having the controller separate from the table makes it harder to get the wire temperature to where it will cut without burning - you can also get your Thermocut to smoke if you push the heat too high. I built a hot wire cutting table with a 25cm height, 32cm depth using hardware store supplies, an old PC power supply and Nichrome wire available at most electronics stores. Thicker wire means greater resistance/length for a little more physical strength, but I regularly use mine for cutting thick pieces of XPS at reasonable cutting speed and haven't had more breaks than I get on my Thermocut. I built the larger table because I wanted to cut larger styrofoam pieces down for use in my Thermocut and the hand-held cutters were too imprecise (in my possibly shaky hands!). I don't advise trying to make your own cutting table without learning some basic electronics and safety first! Should you decide to go ahead, there are excellent tutorials and instructions out there.

[@MyklCarlton]

The larger Vevor looks like it needs some more ground supports near the centre of the table. Both sizes of Vevor out of stock on the links provided!

[@markgnepper5636]

Great stuff friend 👏 👍

[@wendycarter8415]

Thank you so much for this!

[@robertmartin2968]

love the review but I have made my own and I have used the wire for the proxxon and it doesn't make fumes like that. ( For only $40.00 Canadian at the time )

[@fraserhardmetal7143]

Just bought the Proxxon and the additional TA 300 fence - which surprisingly leaves a gap at the bottom of the fence/table - it is , however , completely stable in use and produces great results on deeper and angled / compound cuts. For smaller cuts the standard fence leaves a lot to be desired - having dismantled the unit Proxxon should be ashamed of the fit tolerance between the plastic protractor and the metal centre bushing - not their normal German excellence. To mitigate this I cut down strips of 3M clear repair tape and wound it round the metal bushing to achieve a snug press fit into the protractor - then using the same tape ( which has a slight rubbery feel ) I stuck two strips to the underside of the fence extrusion which stops the fence sliding about on the table. Result - not perfect , but 100% better.

[@NicolasPhilippini]

J'ai acheté la Vevo thermocut la petite, elle est valable pour faire des grosses découpes, mais pas pour faire du modèle réduit. Le fil est difficile à régler avec la roulette, il n'y a pas de pédale comme sur la Proxxon. Penser à bien régler les pieds, et faites attention qu'ils ne se dérèglent pas Incliner l'arc pour certaines découpes est compliqué .

[@aaronbono4688]

I like the height and large surface but it looks like dealing with a broken wire is a royal pain in the rump. I get that regularly and would be incredibly annoyed at having to do so much work dealing with a broken wire. It is too bad they don't have a T-track on the X and Y axies. I do like its simplicity. Maybe soon someone will combine the pluses of the two cutters to make one even better.

[@K-Fred]

Great review!!!

[@naroe2001]

Designers of that larger one did not consider the stiffness of the arm. They have used same aluminium profile extrusion, it should have been a different cross section for that length. cross section should have been twice as high as they have, and bend fabricated.

[@gerritrietveld7359]

Diese Maschine gebrauchen wir nur für schneide große und hohe Platte danach mit der proxon 😊

[@LeonardAndHisBiscuit]

The custom fence for the Proxxon doesn't work as well as it should for the tall cuts, since it can't have an even weight applied against it due to the much higher height range. I feel it would need its own custom fence to make full use of that feature. That said, just spitballing an idea here, the fence it does come with could have its own custom inserts due to its more unique shape, see those almost dovetail spaces in it? Getting a dovetail to fit in like that for an 8" tall cutting side, then another platform fitting on the opposite side with braces to fit against the cutting side can work, and it can be taken apart and collapsed much easier as well, but is it really worth the hassle just for that ten inch cut?

[@joek600]

Τhe Vevor looks more like a nice and clean diy project. The fact that it uses an external adapter doesn't help its image. It seems that the wire is needlessly long. I get it that they are doing it to avoid it snapping under tension but I feel that a very hard spring at one end, could do the job without all those wheels. This extra length is probably the culprit for the non stable temperature along the length of the wire. On the other hand though to be fair, Proxxon might have the image of a professional tool, but the fact that they dont have a basic working straight line guide is super annoying considering its price.

[@Sqalman]

With the circle cutter, I think you tightened the mounting skrews the wrong way. If you turn them the other way they pull the nut in the rail up to grip instead of pushung down. :)

[@PsiQss]

6:18 The higher the wire The more heat it does require, It needs a tad bit more power But you can build a bigger spire! Cut whatever you desire, I ain't a liar, Get it hotter than fire! ... Uhh, sorry, I felt inspired 😎

[@julioaviles3939]

A la larga creo es cuestion de gustos y posivilidades de compra, creo que vevor con todos los articulos que as creado para proxxon se perfilaria muy bien, e visto muy buenos cortes con proxxon como malos...

[@manuelurdaneta8649]

What about the price?

[@knghtbrd]

Unless the Vevor is not much more expensive than the parts, I don't know why it's a product. If you buy nichrome wire and connect it across the wires of a low voltage DC power supply, it gets hot enough to melt foam. A foam cutter or cutting table is just a way to hold the wire taught so you can make a straight cut with it. Many DIY tables look just like the Vevor with different methods for marking measurement on the table (or not and measuring by hand every time.) The reason to pay the hefty price for the Proxxon table is that it's got some precision, and it's got those very predictable rails at the edges which fit so many Shiftinglands tools, jigs, and guides so well. The wire isn't special. You could just as easily buy the thinner gauge used by the Proxxon, though it might cool too quickly to work well on thick foam. And you can buy a roll of the thicker stuff without any kinks in the wire that should cut more evenly (although is your wire is long enough you'll always be fighting physics…)

[@Shiftinglands]

Thanks for your input And yes , if you have the skills I agree it’s better to make one your self than buying the Vevor.

[@LostWhits]

The first half was very VLDL. Definitely came out with an impressive finishing move though.

[@gluuuuue]

I assume the wire needs to be thicker in order to have lower resistance for the longer length.

[@Shiftinglands]

Yes the wire of the vevor is thicker.

[@kchiem]

So, you're near the ocean?

[@Walsfeo]

The one you are reviewing doesn't look exactly like the one you linked in the description. That linked one looks like it could be deeper.

[@Shiftinglands]

You are correct! I finally found the other one: www.amazon.co.uk/VEVOR-Electric-Cutting-Polystyrene-Styrofoam/dp/B081GVB3NM/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 There you go!

[@aaronbono4688]

The large one looks like it needs a foot in the center - it already appears to be bowing.

[@neilbosher4350]

Re the circular cutter attachment, @27minutes into your video you have the 2 bolts slid into the rail with the slit pointing towards the viewer of the video. I think it should be tuned 90 degrees so that the slit goes either side of the wire. I suspect you need to slide the 2 nuts on the cutter, that you said stuck up, into the end of the rail, presumably push along the rail into position, tighten the bolts to lock it into position and then slide the rail so that the wire goes into the slit and you can then use it.

[@Shiftinglands]

Thanks for the tip, I will try that out👍

[@scifimodelshop]

I will stay with my proxon and your jigs, it looks like spend more time adjusting this crap then cutting the foam

[@Erectus666]

Just as i bought a proxon 😢

[@hitone4319]

The ads make the Utube a real garbage now. An alternative to this formerly great application is badly needed now. It should not be too hard with all the AI tools now available now!