horse power cnc machine

[conjured2018]

HI, I am getting a new machine. I cut hardwood, plywood and make furniture. I see many cnc machines have 3-4 hp spindles. I believe this to be underpowered. any thoughts?

I am gettting a industrial strength machine from Laguna tools, or industrial cnc.  Thank you JR

[seth.madore]

Horsepower, in many respects, is only going to be as good as your workholding. There's little value in a massive spindle if your vacuum table or clamps aren't up to the task. 
While I don't have a huge amount of experience with wood routers, I do know that a lot of people use 2.25 HP router spindles in their semi-industrial machines (Avid CNC and the like).

Spindle speed is where my interest would be, especially if you're doing surfacing on a regular basis. What's the largest bit you expect to use? The larger the cutting tool, the more HP you're going to need. If you're staying under a half inch (12mm) you should be fine with a 3-4hp, provided you don't plan on dropping down 2" and trying to make it all in one cut. (exception to this would be a surfacing tool where you're taking light axial cuts)
One of the bigger concerns with gantry routers is the rigidity; is the machine (z axis) going to flex when you take a heavy cut?

[programming2C78B]

I've stalled a 1.5kw with a 1/4 tool in oak.
The 2.2kw is stronger then my machine. 

shouldnt Laguna tell you what you can expect? I assume the most youll wanna do is cut a 3/4 ply in a single pass?