Meet the Machine

Used Komo VR-510: A Router Built Like a Machine Tool

The Komo VR-510 is a 5 x 10 ft CNC router, but it was designed by a company that spent its first two decades building machines for metalworkers. That shows in how it moves: a fixed bridge, a moving table, ball screws and a Fanuc control. It also shows in what a buyer needs to check.

Komo never published a single spec sheet that covers every Komo VR-510 built, and the machines on the used market span more than 15 years. Most of what follows comes from dealer listings, labeled as such, cross-checked across several machines.

Built by a Machine Tool Company

Komo Machine started in 1966 in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Its founders, William Koska and George Molus, were machinists and engineers, and the name comes from the first two letters of each surname: KO and MO. New owners bought the company in 1981, according to Komo.

The router business came later. Woodworking Network, marking Komo's 50th year in 2016, wrote that Komo introduced a line of CNC large-bed, large-travel machining centers for metalworkers in 1984 and then expanded into high-speed multi-axis CNC routers for woodworking and plastics. Komo says it has installed over 3,500 machines since 1987.

Komo has been a subsidiary of PMC Global, based in Sun Valley, California, since 1999, and moved to Lakewood, New Jersey, in the fall of 2009. It is still based there today. That history matters for a used buyer in two ways. It explains why the VR-510 is built the way it is, and it means the company that built your machine is still answering the phone.

Fixed Bridge, Moving Table

A dealer listing for a 2000 VR-510 Mach One describes a heavy-duty fixed-bridge router with a 60 x 120 inch moving table in a front-to-back configuration, on a 2 inch solid cast aluminum table. A listing for a 2005 VR-512 Mach II SHO describes the same layout: the bridge stays put and the table travels under it.

The drive is machine-tool practice too. Listings for the 2000 Mach One, the 2005 VR-512 and a 2012 VR-510 Fusion all describe closed-loop AC servo motors driving preloaded ball screws, with all axes on THK linear guides and automatic lubrication. Every VR-510 listing we found that describes the drive describes ball screws, not rack and pinion.

The 2012 Fusion listing describes a fixed, center-supported gantry covering the full 10 ft of the table, without saying clearly which part travels. If the layout matters to your floor plan, confirm it on the machine. A moving table needs room in front of and behind the bridge for its full stroke.

Mach One, Mach II, Mach III and Fusion

Komo sold the VR-510 under several version names. Komo has not published what the Mach names stand for, and our reading of them as successive or better-equipped builds comes from the specs, not from a Komo statement. Here is what dealer listings show for each.

Two Mach One listings disagree with themselves on spindle power and tool count, which is a good reason to read the plate and the build sheet rather than the listing. The pattern that holds is the one a buyer cares about: the later machines have more Z, more spindle and HSK 63F tooling.

The name itself appears to track the table. Listings show a VR-508 with a 60 x 96 inch table, the VR-510 at 60 x 120 inches and a VR-512 at 5 x 12 ft, which suggests the last digits are the table length in feet. We found no Komo statement confirming that, so treat it as a reading, not a rule.

The Numbers Underneath

Two VR-510 listings, 12 years apart, show how far the machine moved:

Both columns are single dealer listings, not Komo specifications. Use them to know what questions to ask, then confirm on the machine in front of you.

Which Control You Are Getting

Every VR-510 we found runs a Fanuc control, and Komo says it assembles its electrical panels and operator consoles with Fanuc controls in house. The early machines pair a GE Fanuc 210i with a Windows PC front end. A Mach II S listing shows a Fanuc 180i. The 2012 Fusion listing still describes a CRT screen, a 3.5 inch floppy drive and a 1.6 GB hard drive.

The Fanuc side of that is the part with a long support life. The PC side is the part to inspect. Check the age of the PC, its operating system and whether the hard drive has been backed up. Ask how programs get onto the machine today, because a floppy drive is not a workflow.

Check the post processor as well. In a 2016 Autodesk forum thread, a VR-510 Mach One owner with a 20-drill bank was looking for a post that would drive it, and noted that the router spindle on that machine was on or off only, with no programmable speed. If you are moving the machine to new CAM software, budget time for the post.

Vacuum Is Not Always Included

The vacuum table is half the machine, and the pump is not always part of the sale. VR-510 listings show 25 hp and 40 hp pumps, a Quincy pump, or a plain statement that no pump is included. A 5 x 10 ft table without a pump cannot hold sheet stock, so price the pump before you price the machine.

Check the table too. Listings describe single-zone and multi-zone plenums, pop-up locating pins and, on the Fusion, pop-up roller balls for loading. Ask for the condition of the spoilboard and whether the zones still seal.

Boring Blocks and Aggregates

Many VR-510s carry a boring block beside the router spindle. Listings show a block with six vertical spindles and horizontal spindles on X and Y on a 2000 Mach One, a 9-spindle block on the 2012 Fusion and a 14-spindle block on a VR-512. The Fusion listing also notes that its tool changer can load and change aggregate heads. Count the working positions on a used machine, and confirm your CAM post can call them.

Used-Market Value

We are not going to put a price on a used VR-510. Public sales are few, and an asking price is not a market value. These are the factors that move the number:

1. Version and spindle. A 16 hp HSK 63F machine with 15 in of Z is a different machine from a 12 hp BT30 Mach One.
2. Vacuum. Pump included, its size and its condition.
3. Control and PC. Fanuc model, PC age and backup.
4. Tooling and boring. Tool changer size, boring block and any aggregates.
5. Condition. Spindle hours, ball screws, guides and lubrication.

What to Check on a Used VR-510

Read the plate and build sheet. Confirm the version, spindle power, taper, tool changer and Z travel. Listings for this machine contradict themselves often enough that the plate is the only reliable source.

Run the spindle. Check runout and listen for bearing noise across the speed range. Ask for the service history, and whether a spare spindle comes with the machine. At least one listing included one.

Check the ball screws and guides. Indicate backlash on each axis and confirm the automatic lubrication is reaching the guides.

Test the vacuum. Run the pump, put a sheet on the table and confirm it holds.

Check the control and the PC. Boot it, load a program and back up the hard drive before the machine is moved.

Cycle the tool changer and boring block. Run every pocket and every drill.

Confirm the electrical supply. At least one VR-510 listing specifies 480 volt service. Plan the transformer if your shop does not have it.

Plan the floor space. On a moving-table machine, measure the table's full stroke in front of and behind the bridge.

Watch a real part run. Cut a sheet on the vacuum, at the feeds you plan to use.

Who Runs One

Komo names cabinetry, aerospace, automotive and metal fabrication among the industries it serves, and lists wood, plastics, composites, aluminum and steel among the materials its machines cut. The 5 x 10 ft table on the VR-510 takes a full 5 x 10 sheet, and with the HSK 63F spindle and boring block on later versions it fits nested-panel cabinet work, plastic fabrication and aluminum sheet routing.

U.S. Parts and Service

Komo is based in Lakewood, New Jersey, and assembles its Fanuc panels and consoles in house. It says many parts are available for overnight delivery and that its field service technicians are located across North America. Komo also sells pre-owned machines of its own. For an older VR-510, call Komo with the serial number before you buy and ask what is still supported for that build, especially the control and the PC front end.

Resell CNC Take

A used VR-510 is three purchases in one: the router, the vacuum and the control. Settle the version and spindle first, then confirm the pump is part of the deal, then look hard at the PC behind the Fanuc. The iron is the part Komo built to last. The rest is where the money goes.

Frequently Asked Questions