I’ve been utilizing the Carbide 3D Shapeoko 5 Professional for a few months now, operating it virtually each single day. In that point, I’ve put it via its paces throughout a variety of duties: reducing joinery for woodworking tasks, flattening boards too large for my jointer, milling aluminum and UHMW plastic, and even taking up small manufacturing tasks like software handles.
This machine is rock strong. The legs Carbide 3D has added are extremely sturdy—a lot in order that I often use the CNC as a workbench and have even used it as a platform for hand planing. It doesn’t transfer or wobble in any respect. General, the construct high quality is excessive all through.
One standout characteristic for me as a furnishings maker is the power to maneuver the gantry ahead previous the entrance of the machine, permitting you to clamp boards on finish and machine their faces. Whereas mortises have at all times been simple to chop mendacity flat on the mattress, having the ability to reduce integral tenons on the tip of a board is an absolute game-changer. I’ve now used this machine completely for joinery on a number of tasks, and whereas it gained’t change each joinery methodology in my store, it’s a absolutely viable choice.
Carbide 3D makes two companion items of software program: Carbide Create (CAD/CAM) and Carbide Movement (machine controller). Each are simple, and I believe that’s a energy—it makes the machine very accessible and retains the ecosystem self-contained. While you contact buyer assist, they may also help you with each facet of the workflow, from file creation to truly operating the machine.
Carbide Create handles all the pieces I’ve wanted for many tasks. I solely attain for Fusion 360 when working with recordsdata I’ve already constructed there. The default feeds and speeds are conservative, however you’re extra more likely to get a profitable reduce and fewer more likely to break bits. I haven’t damaged a single one utilizing their defaults. Not one thing I can say when left to my very own units with feeds and speeds.
Then again, Carbide Movement, the software program that controls the machine, feels restricted, and I’d prefer to see extra superior performance out there for customers who need it. As my workflows develop extra refined, I count on I’ll finally discover third-party controller software program to get again among the capabilities I’ve been lacking. I ought to notice that the Shapeoko isn’t locked right down to their software program; there isn’t a cause you possibly can’t wander when you choose one other program.
I did run right into a wiring problem proper out of the field (no fault of the manufacturing), and the customer support expertise was truthfully among the finest I’ve ever had. I used to be capable of video chat with a assist technician who may see precisely what was happening and walked me via the restore in actual time. Distinctive.
Be ready to spend a full day assembling the machine—there’s rather a lot to it. That stated, the method provides you an intensive understanding of how all the pieces works, and I believe it’s genuinely worthwhile.
For somebody simply beginning out with CNC, the closed-loop Carbide 3D ecosystem is difficult to beat. Every little thing works as you’d count on it to. I’m very impressed with the Shapeoko 5 Professional, and whereas I count on to regularly step outdoors their ecosystem as my wants evolve, this machine has earned a everlasting place in my store.
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