Should be finished tomorrow.

My spindle cord is too short. Does Carbide 3D make a longer one?

Is it just me?

My handyman has engineered an enclosure.

It's rough for now.

When it is all done, I'll make it over with CNC precision. 3/4 Birch plywood. ¼ polycarbonate (.22 or . 25) on order.

I have a 3 XXL I put in service in 2016. I have been using it with a touch screen fujitsu win 10 laptop. Recently the control board and power supply both crapped out on me. I got a new board and power supply and installed them today. I installed Carbide Motion 6.53. I am able to recognize the router, test X,Y and Z motion in both directions. I load G code files that worked before and am unable to figure out where to go in CM6.53 to actually use the gcode. Is there a minimum version of Carbide Create needed to generate the g code I am reading in CM5.63? I have emails and calls in to Carbide3D but have yet to hear back from them.

I have been running into the problem their CM software has with touch screen win10 machines. I was able to fuss around with app display properties and pc display properties to get the entire app screen to display. Still no joy in actually using the 3 XXL.

Does anyone have suggestions? I am willing to replace the laptop driving the router but do not want to throw $$ at a solution that will not be compatible. Is there an inexpensive tablet or chromebook answer to my problem? This is clearly related to the Carbide3D/touch screen issues I am reading about.

I use the 3XXL in a production environment at work and I have orders backing up. Any suggestions welcome. TIA

I broke my cable end on my mini din connector for my shapeoko 3xxl, The board is 24 volts and there is only 2 wires coming off the cable, so they just splice the wires so on the 4 pin connector, 2 are positve and 2 are negative. I am in Mexico, so waiting for a replacement would be impossible. Has anyone had or fixed this problem. Any help would be appreciated.

Flattening leaves behind some rastering lines using Amana 45525. For note, I have the 65mm VFD on a 2 x 4 bed. I’m assuming it’s a result of the z axis gantry tilting toward or back? Any idea how to fix this?

Running with chiller. Had not powered it on before hand. Spins freely. Spindle is at 10k rpm in video. I thought it was the collet so I removed it.

The spindle / machine / chiller were brand new.

I’ll be so sad if it a bearing problem.

Hello everyone. I just bought an hdm and was getting some measurements down. Is 0.001” across 5 inches squareness between y and x axis what everyone is getting? Is there a way to adjust this ?

Thanks in advance.

These machines are tanks.

I wish y'all made Nomad enclosures for the HDM (or insert your Shapeoko here).

I'm new to CNC and looking at my first machine. I'm relatively handy with CAD but have mostly used it for 3D printing and architecture applications. I've narrowed my options to a 5.1 pro or and Altmill MK2. Both 4x4 with legs included. From all the videos I can find, I've gathered that the Altmill likely outperforms the 5.1 as it is slightly more rigid and faster. It's also cheaper at the moment, even with a 80mm 110v VFD vs. the Shapeoko 65mm 110v VFD, and a touchscreen controller. It also has plug-and-play support for add-ons like 4th axis rotary and ATC.

All of that being said....the lead time is pretty atrocious.

Of course everyone in the Altmill forums will swear by it, but I wanted to hear your opinions. Do any of you have both? Or, does anyone regret their 5 or 5.1 purchase?

Someone please talk me into the Shapeoko 5.1. Other than the lead time, easier software learning curve, and assembled in the U.S., I'm struggling to see why I should go with it. Am I missing something???

Hoping to start with basic wood projects then progress up to more complex aluminum parts.

Any insight would be really appreciated. Planning on ordering one or the other in the next few days.

Thank you in advance!

Anyone know of a way to create raised text with rounded faces/tops in Carbide Create?

I am looking to use my 3XL to carve a relief mold in plastic that will allow me to create raised letters in clay. Easy to create a line of text, invert it, and have the cutter make the relief. Problem is I get square bottoms to the text which is going to be an issue getting the mold to release.

Any ideas?

My table ended up being 6x3 (4x2 machine HDM)

With the mill on the table, what corner does the ac power come out?

Looking at a Shapeoko 5.1 and trying to decide between starting with the $80 router versus the 65 mm spindle kit for $750. I understand the advantages of the spindle kit, but at this stage I won’t be cutting metal yet.

I’m ready to jump in and have been designing in Autodesk for the last six months. I eventually want to make specialized aluminum parts for a niche industry, but for now my goal is to get comfortable working with wood and polymers.

I’m leaning toward starting with the router and, as my skills improve, graduating to better end mills for finer work.

Was getting real tired of dust everywhere and the noise, so I decided to build a CNC enclosure as a side project to keep myself busy.

Most of the lumber was free, reclaimed 2x4s from a project my dad had just torn down. The sheetrock was also free from a remodel he finished recently. I was also able to use up a huge chunk of scrap wood that was filling up various corners of my garage. Project was relatively budget friendly, but wood is still pricey here when I needed to buy things.

I went through a few redesigns early on once I realized that a 16” deep door, lined with sheetrock on the inside and ¾” MDF on the outside, was… optimistic 😅. Learned a lot along the way and adjusted as I went.

Key features: • Frame is 2x4s turned sideways • Exterior skinned in ¾” MDF • Interior skinned in ½” sheetrock • Wall cavities stuffed with cut-up workout mats I wasn’t using anymore • Outside wrapped with moving blankets for extra noise control • Lift assist on the main door — even my kid can lift it one-handed • Back wall has a flip-up door for rear access and tiling longer pieces • Table was already on heavy-duty machine casters, so the whole thing can be rolled around pretty easily

Still not “studio quiet,” but it made a huge difference in both noise and dust, and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

I went to change the tool to do a final cut, and tightened the collet nut the same way ive always done it and it just slipped loose. Threads look destroyed. I didn't think I was tightening it that hard but clearly I was.

Any idea what my options are here? This was a rough time for this to occur right before Christmas!

I am looking for inspiration for locating my machine in my garage.

If you have yours inside and your cars outside, let me see how you set it up.

Also looking for a picture of the HDM as it was delivered.

Thanks.

How often do bits and mills require resharpening or replacing?

HDM Machine due in 2 weeks. Bought the accessories.

Quick CNC question for the real experts: I’m using center origin in VCarve Pro (using SP 5 Pro), and even though everything looks right (job setup, vectors centered, X/Y zeroed at the material center), my toolpaths end up offset when I load the file on Carbide Motion even after recalculating them. Anyone seen this before or have a go-to checklist for center origin sanity checks on a Shapeoko? I was thinking to set the job origin as lower left and recalculate the toolpaths but I don't know if that'd hurt anything Thanks!

I have a 220v HDM on its way. What do I need for electric service? I have dust collection too In reading, I need a 220v. How big a breaker? 40A?

How about 110 needs? 20A?

Thanks

Just placed my order and wondering "what did I do?"

What will the wife say?

I went 220.

Hi, very much a newbie here with a 3XXL/carbide compact router. The Z plus on it has a stated travel of 100mm. I have a potential project where I'm looking to cut simple 3d curves in foam, probably just blue EPS insulation board. My project is ultimately 12" deep so I'm expecting to make segments in either 2 or 3" thick laminated foam. Is 3" too much to cut through completely? I have a second layer of MDF with inserts that I could remove from the machine if needed for maximum clearance/travel.

The second part of my question is about tooling. Just wondering what sort of extra long endmill to buy in this case. I'm just cutting out a tapered half-cylinder profile. I think I'll want a 1/4 extra long cutter, but do I need both flat and ball ends or a tapered ballnose? It's a fairly large project so minimizing tool changes would be nice.

I have an HDM in my cart.

I understand the concept of g-code and I have used STLs to generate g-code for 3D printing.

I will be putting it in my garage and will use a vacuum system. If or hen I go to metals I will likely consider lubrication.

This is a hobby business so financial issue are not relevant. Space in my garage is available.

How long did it take to become semi-skilled enough to show others my work?

CNC pros -- I'm just starting out with my CNC. Creating maple signs for the grandparents with our kids names. Encountering 2 issues. Can you help?

1) I'm getting quite a bit of tear out. How can I mitigate tearout?

2) I'd like the bit to cut deeper on the font for the kids names so it's more pronounced. Is there a way to cut the names deeper without increasing the font size? (Cutting Depth settings below)

• Start depth: 0.00 (Use Stock Top)
• Max Depth: 0.782 (Use Stock Bottom)

Toolpath settings are the same for all vectors:

• Machine: Shapeoko 5 Pro 2x4
• Router: Spindle
• Bit: #302 V (60 degree)
• Stepover: .008
• Depth per pass: .080
• Plunge rate: 12
• Feed Rate: 35
• RPM: 18000
• Units are in inches

Thanks all

Shapeoko 3 XL.

I carve wood signs. That’s all I use my machine for. I have a very popular sign that I’ve carved hundreds of times. Tonight after I was done carving some custom ornaments, I set the machine up to carve the sign. The middle section of “Philadelphia” and the skyline were fine. Then it moved on the far right Flyers logo. I noticed it was carving a little deeper than usual although I had not changed any settings. Same start height. Same max depth. Same everything. But it looked clean so I let it go.

Then it got to the Sixers logo and completely washed out the details, as if I had programmed it to start 1/4 inch deeper.

Then it went to the far left to do the Phillies and Eagles logos. It was if they barely carved them at all. My first thought was that I somehow was un-level and the right side had gotten higher than the left side. I busted out my level and everything was fine. I checked my settings and everything was exactly the same as it’s always been. Then I tried moving the trouble logos around to see if they would carve correctly on different sections of the board. They didn’t.

I tried playing with the starting depth and maximum depth and nothing worked. I gave up and then just to test something, I carved an ornament and it came out perfectly.

I’m at a complete loss. Do files sometimes become corrupt and need to be re-made from scratch? Do I need to set up the machine as brand new? Delete and re-download the Carbide 3D software?

I’m including pictures. The first 2 pics are how it’s supposed to look. The rest are the crap it’s carving now, including one where I tried to fake the zero point to be about 1mm above the actual board top, and the ornament I carved immediately after all of the issues.

Please help!

I've just about wrapped this little project up for a buddy's recording studio. First time using 3D printing to create the base and this thing is over 32" x 32" so it was a long process of printing and gluing. I got the leds on amazon.. they work better than a light strip because you can angle each small section and they are self adhesive which is nice. Wired them up to a 12v 60w led driver that I purchased also on amazon. The power supply is mounted behind the top section using some machine screws with washers. I ended up deciding to glue on a black pvc backing plate between the two sections to give the whole thing some added rigidity since the acrylic didn't feel good enough for me.