Any idea when the Shapeoko 5 Pro will be back in stock? Likely to be after the late December lot?
Trying to coordinate a purchase of one of these machines for a non-profit - we were looking at the HDM but this machine seems more appropriate for our use-case.
With the lack of belts, is there any restrictions compared to the 4 series on the temperature range? I live around St Louis and we get lows around 0 and highs over 95 and higher heat indexes… would be mainly worried about storing in colder garage, probably running only when above freezing as I would be freezing too
For a point of reference: I live in Northern Illinois we go from -20F to 90F+ and my machines have always lived in a garage that is only heated (to about 45F) when I am working in there. No problems.
You may want to write in to sales to coordinate this.
@robgrz, you talk about new electronics and GRBL in the blog post. Can we get any more details on what version of GRBL you are moving to? How many additional inputs/outputs did you add for expansion? 24V based IO?
The only thing we can share right now is that we added dual-Y homing to the current GRBL on a 328 CPU.
I guess a kinda apples-to-apples from my experience running the HDM in my shop in SLC. We range from the teens to 110 F here. The only issue I had with he HDM and low temps is the BitSetter. I had to clean and switch to a PTFE lubricant for the plunger. I sent that info to the people at C3D last winter. The motion system itself experienced no issues.
Yes because doing it manually is a pain
Is the cutting area the same as the stated machine? e.g. 4’x2’ machine has a cutting envelope of 4x2 with say a V bit cutter, or is the 4x2 only with a fly cutter/surfacing bit?
thanks !! I did end up mailing support and they essentially said same
You can cut the full dimension — cutting area is actually a bit more than the nomenclature:
Size 4x4 Machine Travel 48.7 in(X) x 48.7 in(Y)
Size 4x2 Machine Travel 48.7 in(X) x 24.53 in(Y)
Size 2x2 Machine Travel 24.53 in(X) x 24.53 in(Y)
That’s awesome, and what I was hoping. Thanks!
That’s reassuring to hear that that’s been your experience with the 4, since it hasn’t been mine with the 3. Definitely looking forward to an upgrade in the near future :).
My one complaint with the Shapeoko Pro has been that I can’t set and forget a mechanical zero if I want to batch out numerous products from a consistent start point upon turning the machine on and off. Anyone know if the ballscrew drive system would solve that issue?
We’ve got thoughts on how to approach it. I’m not sure when/if it’ll make an appearance. (It wouldn’t depend on a particular machine either way)
It should be better than a Pro, based only on the fact that the step length is smaller.
That sounds like a possible mechanical issue. I’ve never had an issue running from the same zero location unless I’ve skipped steps and didn’t re-home.
Maybe this has always been the case, but this really impressed me:
For the first 30 days that you own your machine, we’ll replace or repair any Carbide 3D-branded item that gets damaged, even if it’s your fault!
I don’t know how many people on the fence about buying a machine don’t do it because they think “eh, I’ll probably ruin it in the first week,” but still, I really applaud the gesture/offer. It is a bummer when you inevitably make a mistake, and I think it’s really cool to give someone a free “boo boo” or two while they’re learning.
The rest of us can convince ourselves that battle scars are cool 
From my understanding there isn’t a way to “reset” the zero to a fixed position. IE… I want to always start at XYZ where I set up a jig to hold a 10x12" piece I’m going to make 20. That way I can place the object in the jig, tighten, and hit mill, without having to run a zero each time I power up. Once I shutdown the machine I have to home/initialized and then set zero once the machine comes back online. Does that make sense?
Hum…I’ll try to see if I gotcha. 
The zero you set last time should be persistent even when powered down. Mine has always been. I have ran a part, turned off the machine, and re-ran the exact same part in the same position without having to reset zero. Quite often I have also ran a different job that used the same zeros without physically resetting it. Is that what you’re referring to?
Or are you referring to maybe different spots on the same jig? You want to have your XYZ zero re-set to a pre-determined position?