I’m involved with a high school robotics club that is likely going to get an HDM in the next few months and had a few questions:
(1) We’re going to run a new 220v line for the HDM. How much current should the line be able to handle? I know that the Spindle is rated for 2.2kw, which says 10 amps (at 220v), but I think it should be higher than that.
(2) We are primarily going to be cutting aluminum and polycarbonate and will probably add a mister in the fairly short term. I know MDF spoilboard works poorly with liquids and have seen various YouTube vides where people seem to have an aluminum bed that’s drilled to accept various screw-down clamps. What is that, and where do we get it?
(3) I know that we’ll need a good flat table and will probably want an enclosure. Considering buldng the enclosure out of 80/20 and using arcrylic or polycarb for the walls. Has anybody else done this, and does it work well? (any suggestions?)
(4) We do our CAD in OnShape, which exports step and STL files, among others. I know that we’ll need to export into Carbide Create – anything in particular that we’ll need to know?
You actually don’t have to use Carbide Create, or even Carbide Motion. The two together work very well, but other design programs (like Vectric VCarve) can be used (with or without Carbide Motion), and other GCode senders work fine with the Shapeoko machines.
1 - I run my HDM and the one at work on a 30A circuit. But I also have a S5Pro at home and want to run both spindles on the same circuit. For a single, might as well run a 20A.
2 - The SST mister is nice for the money. I run the Saunders Machine Works plates and Mod Vises on both HDM machines. I would hate running aluminum and plastics without them. Expensive, but soooooo nice.
3 - I welded a table/enclosure out of 2" square tubing and it has 6mm polycarb for the sides for the work machine. At home I have one of the lab style resin top benches and run an 80/20 enclosure with polycarb walls. The resin top tables are nice.
4 - OnShape should be able to program the toolpaths, but I haven’t used it. I use Fusion 360 for precision work, and Carbide Create Pro for decorative stuff. I would not endorse a workflow that programs to an STL unless you’re doing decorative 3D relief type work. STL’s are a mesh and a pain in the rear having no actual features to select. STEP is more universal, but Carbide Create doesn’t import STEP files.
We are doing SO5 Pro 4X4 for FRC parts also. We are not planning to run mister but air vortex blast. side wall or enclosure is nice to contain the aluminum chips. Currently running on 20A 220V Single Phase. I did 2" sq tubing welded table, but 80/20 or even wood frame is sufficient. I would get the table as flat as possible, maybe Birch Plywood.
I don’t think Onshape can do CAM. We do our CAD/CAM in Fusion and seamless.
Was thinking about HDM also, which I think is more rigid than SO5, but machining 36" long 1"X2" Aluminum tubing for Elevator and full 28"X28" belly pan in one setup is a nice option to have, so we sacrifice the rigidity for table size.
I use Onshape for design ( free version ), but I use Fusion 360 for the CAM work.
I export an ACIS .SAT file from Onshape for Fusion.
I am not a fan of the Fusion design world, and the Onshape CAM product is not available to free use accounts ( when it is ready ). It seems Onshape CAM is not focused on the 2D / 2-1/2D environment as far as I can tell.
I do simpler 3D designs in Fusion and it is nice that the changes are reflected in the CAM world.