Hi there. I have an XXL from 2016 and it’s served me pretty well. I don’t push it too hard, mostly 2D MDF cuts and some v-carving.
Anyway, I’m beginning to weigh my options for upgrading. The XXL takes up a little more space than I would hope relative to how often I use it. Something like the Shaper Origin is intriguing because it won’t take up nearly as much space and it fills most of my needs (simple 2D cuts, not carving though). But I’m a bit apprehensive to go that route for various reasons.
That’s led me to the option of either selling my machine and buying a new XL or XL Pro. Or just dealing with the space the XXL takes up and refreshing it a bit (new belts, wheels, and upgrade the Z).
I guess my question is how expensive it would be to refresh my current machine? I’ve read that my board might not work with the Z plus or HDZ, what do I do to make them compatible? Would I be better off just selling the machine and buying a new one that already comes with a Z Plus?
I know these are questions that are mostly personal preference but I’m curious if anyone else has dealt with a similar dilemma. I’m open to any input! Thank you!
This is a little bit like asking “What kind of house should I buy” - you’ll get 50 different answers… it depends on what you want to do.
New belts and wheels from time to time is just maintenance - if you haven’t done so in three years, you will likely gain a bit by doing so. HDZ is a great upgrade, works well. Not clear to me why you would need a new board to support either Z option.
Rather than a new XL you could update by just buying a Z-Plus, a replacement controller, and if need be, a Maintenance Kit — that would bring the machine up to be equivalent to current production.
Thanks Mike. Totally agree with the house analogy. Just wondering anyone had been through a similar situation. The listing for the Z-Plus and HDZ mention any machine older than Feb 2017 would need a new controller. It’s not entirely clear to mean what that might cost.
@WillAdams Thanks for the reply. That’s what I was considering. Do you know how much a replacement controller costs? I’m wondering if buying a Z-Plus, maintenance kit, and new controller would be the same cost to me as simply selling the XXL and buying a new XL.
Probably just because of the prox switches. If you’re comfortable with wiring and small electronics, you could do it the old way. I have some PCBs around here somewhere…I could send you one.
To give you a reference I typically see newer XXLs (with the ZPlus) sell for around $1800 with some accessories. Just something to factor in your equation.
With the ZPlus, newer board, and BitSetter on your current machine, you have a solid setup. The HDZ would give you 1" more X travel, and more Z travel.
Now that I have an updated and modified 2016 XXL as well as a Pro… the Pro is really worth the cost to trade in my opinion. And going to the XL… you might turn out even selling your XXL and getting the Pro vs updating it your existing machine.
But updating an older machine to current specs is also fun… been there and my Original XXL is a beast and I don’t plan to get rid of it. They coexist well.
Oooohhh, yeah, I’m a bad person to ask about upgrade vs buy new.
I have an XXL that I have upgraded the:
Wasteboard - with 1/2" aluminum plate drilled and tapped with 1/4-20 holes every 1.5"
Z axis - with an HDZ
Y-gantry - flipped the plates so I get more cutting area over the wasteboard.
Spindle - Upgraded to a 1.5kW water cooled spindle
End stops - Before they were standard, upgraded to Mr. Beavers’ precision non-contact sensors
Bit setter and bit zero
4" suckit dust boot
Drag chain - ridiculously large drag chain to hold everything except the vacuum hose.
Soon - linear rail on the Y gantry, and maybe all the way around - we’ll see how it goes.
Could I just get the XXL Pro? Yes. But I get kind of possessive, and this is mine, so I am going to keep upgrading it until I find that no amount of upgrading will get it to do what I want.
Thanks Josh. That’s a great setup. I’ve done some thinking about what type of machine I need. I got from the Pro to something higher end like an Avid, and like I mentioned in my first post, something more radical like the Shaper Origin. It’s all come back to just plain ole Shapeoko. Better the devil you know I guess. The Pro would be nice but I don’t think I really need it.
And if I could get $1300-1500 for my XXL (with Dewalt router and Bitzero v1), paying the difference for a new XL sounds better than upgrading my existing machine. Losing half of the working space doesn’t bother me because it buys more space in the shop, which is worth more to me (at least for now).
I have a 2016 XXL that I bought used and have upgraded to HDZ (Best upgrade), BitSetter, BitZero and BitRunner. I have the TigerClaw Clamps, Gator Tooth Clamps and 4 of the stainless steel stops. I have a threaded mdf spoil board and have dust collection. So I have just about bell and whistle you can hang on an XXL. I seldom need the full capacity of the XXL but occasionally I do.
IF I were to upgrade to the Pro XXL I would sell my existing XXL. The aftermarket for the Shapeoko is pretty good and you should be able to get a good chunk of the money needed for the Pro. You market for the used XXL is most likely someone wanting to get into CNC. You might get someone that already has a CNC but I would bet it would be someone without a machine.
You could always advertise on craigslist and see what interest you get. Craigslist is hit or miss but if you have something unique like a Shapeoko stick to your price or pad the price but get what you want for it or dont sell it. Just because you list it does not mean you have to give it away. I have sold a lot of wood working equipment on craigslist and you have to know what is worth and be patient. Sometimes the first person that calls buys but just hold on at least a month before you drop your price any. The next person that contacts you may be the buyer at full price.
One question to ask your self is “What does my machine not do that I want it to do”/ Do you really need to upgrade or do you just want to upgrade for upgrade sake. If you can justify the upgrade then go for it. If your machine does everything you need maybe you dont need to upgrade. You are always free to spend your money as you want just as long as it is clear your motivation to upgrade. Is it a want or a need.
Thanks Guy. You hit on some things I might end up doing. Your last paragraph is a good one. After evaluating my wants vs needs, I come back to some version of the Shapeoko. I think all I need is an XL but is it worth the hassle of changing, who knows. I guess. It’ll be smart to just sleep on it for now and see how it goes.
I’ll be rearranging things in my shop soon. Hopefully that makes the machine appear less bulky or in the way.
Thanks again for your response, and to everyone else as well.
We don’t offer downgrades from XXL to XL (or any other size) — best way to do that would be to find someone locally who wants to trade up and work out a deal.
I appreciate the offer Josh. As Will said, there are other components that Carbide doesn’t sell or stock to sell. I emailed them last year about this and they said it wasn’t possible. It seems like a simple enough set of materials to offer considering there are other upgrade kits but I may be oversimplifying the logistics.
