Any chance of an XXXL upgrade in future?

I’d love to cut 4x4 foot / 1220x1220mm sheets.

Shapeoko would have a whole new market at that size.
I’m sure there are lots of reasons why this isn’t possible, however over in the UK Ooznest have managed a 4x4 foot machine for an affordable price.

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As far as I’m aware no other manufacturer machine their rails. They are cut on high end band saws similar to what a window manufacturer uses.

We put everything in one of our Haas VF4’s these days, machining the ends to be perpendicular and run drill and tap operations.

If we were to make a 4x4 or similar we would need to get a VF6, we have looked at this a couple of times but they are the the price of a small house. That said 2021 might be the year, it’s gonna be a fun one for sure.

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Hi Luke, thanks for the update and transparency. Fingers crossed.

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If I may make a suggestion. Go 5x5 not 4x4. Or offer both options if your going to go that route.

I use 5x5 Baltic birch and would kill to have an affordable 5x5 actual cutting areas machine.

Currently cut it into quarters and machine 30x30 doing nested parts. Even if my feed rate stays the same that’s 1/4 of the tool changes needed and the time spent breaking down the material.

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I see your 5x5 and raise you 6x6. Jk :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:. Y’all are already going to make me have to build a bigger house. A 4x4 would be very cool to see from the Carbide3D team. Ideally with slightly increased Z clearance if it doesn’t compromise rigidity.

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I could get by with 4x4 but it would increase my material costs by 20 percent

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Yeah, we discussed upgrade sizes ages ago on the old Shapeoko forums:

https://forum.shapeoko.com/viewtopic.php?t=5652

4x4 and 4x8 were the big winners, and the same argument was made for 5x5 since it’s a standard size for Baltic Birch — I’d also like to see a 2x4 (or 32" x 48") option, but I doubt we can do that many SKUs (would love to be wrong), so QS (maybe), HS, and FS for nomenclature would be my suggestions, and maybe BB or 55 for the European-themed 5x5?

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You could use the same electronics packages for a 4x4 as a 5x5. Would just have to tie up some wires.

That would mean the base board, extrusions, and base frame would be different.

You could make the end plates all bolt on so those would carry over.

Just a thought.

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Oh man, I just checked out the Haas website and you weren’t kidding—the base VF-6/40 is $124,000. The real question: is it worth upgrading to the 50 slot tool changer for $18k :thinking:.

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That’s a different world for me. I just want a 5 position tool holder. Would kill for a 10 position.

Can’t imagine them needing more than 5 tools anyway if they are just using it to square, drill, and tap extrusions.

My personal wish list would include:

  • 4 foot or 5 foot width with tiling for 8 (or 9) foot length
  • A real spindle
  • Ball screw X, Y and Z drive
  • Tool Changer
  • Still runs on 120V

And yes, I know this sounds a lot like an X-Carve Pro but I’m something of a brand loyalist.

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Interesting, I’m doing the exact same thing with 5x5 Baltic Birtch!

Yup, I would build a bigger shed to house it if I could get one that I could put a 4’ x 4’ sheet of plywood in it.

You could call them:

SO3 XL50 - Has a cutting area of 50.25" x 50.25" - Allows for a 125cm x 125cm (or a 4ft x 4ft) sheet of plywood, plus 2 x 6mm (1/4in) for the bit plus 12mm (1/2in) allowance for not getting it EXACTLY where it should be when you slap it on the waste board. I originally dimensioned it for a 4ft x 4ft piece of plywood, but I added on a little more so our friends across the pond could use the same size as well.

SO3 XL61 - Has a cutting area of 61" x 61" - Allows for a 5’ x 5’ sheet of plywood, plus 2 x 1/4" for the bit plus 1/2" allowance for not getting it EXACTLY where it should be when you slap it on the waste board.

Yes, I am dreaming, but if I am going to dream, I might as well dream big.

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If we keep suggesting bigger and bigger machines, maybe C3D will have to compromise and make a 4x4 machine… :wink:

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If you ask for a big enough machine you might end up with one which has M instructions in the GCode to open the enclosure, erm, shed, I mean shed, doors… :wink:

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Funny enough, I have a pneumatic ram I salvaged from an automotive spring compressor sitting in my shop for that very reason. Was planning on using it to open my enclosure door and programming a solenoid off the pwm signal to the spindle. Spindle turns on door closes. Spindles off door opens. Haven’t had the free time to make it happen yet.

Also don’t want to get thrown across the shop should I not get the pressure correct.

I’d be happy with just the Pro series actually shipping. :disappointed:

See:

https://carbide3d.com/blog/2021/shapeoko-pro-update/

Check in w/ sales@carbide3d.com for further details if available.

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@Luke it should be possible to machine a longer rail accurately, it would just require two setups: machine one end, flip it around against a stop, machine the other end. I understand that’s going to be more work (aka more expensive) than doing it in a single setup, but it should be possible to get accuracy within a few thousandths.

Yes it’s possible but not something we’d likely do.

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