Robs blog post sums allot up - to say I’m pleased to announce this, is an understatement. Check out the post here (Introducing Shapeoko HDM) I’m sure you will have questions which we can address here on the community.
Here are a few pictures of some parts made last week on one of our test rigs. These are all aluminium parts but have a wonderful finish and have come right off a machine.
The Shapeoko HDM is a very heavy duty machine.
Can confirm it’s real, and it’s a beast. Here’s a brief look at the machine in action:
Just wanted to drop in and thumbs up on the clever move of going backward to go forward using an isolated RS-422 interface. That should take care of the low humidity USB issues. Does this mean one could (theoretically) locate the PC far far away as well?
Theoretically, it could be pretty far away. I think we test with a 10 or 20-foot cable though.
Would it be able to handle steel if one was patient 
?
Congratulations Luke!! I know you have worked hard on this beast!!
Steel is specifically mentioned:
- A machine capable of cutting wood, aluminum, plastic, brass, maybe even a little steel.
This machine is screaming for a solid aluminum threaded table.
This is a super exciting new product.
But as a Pro owner, who is currently awaiting the new HDZ (and has been for months) so he can use an 80MM spindle instead of the compact router, I’m disappointed this was the announcement today 
Hot damn, that’s amazing!
I’m curious, what’s the pitch on the ballscrews and the machine’s resolution and repeatability? With ballscrews, I could see it exceeding the Nomad?
Also, any plans for an ATC spindle? 
Will the Z axis on this machine handle the weight of a true ATC spindle like the JGL 80 2.2KW it weighs 7.9 kg?
This looks to be a good fit for my needs if it can be upgraded to a true ATC in the future.
It’s been a busy and tough year with a supply chain that has fluctuated allot in the last 8 months. Rest assured the HDZ 5.0 for the pro is in production and will hopefully be announced shortly.
Off the top of my head resolution is 0.00625 mm. We feel a +/- 0.05mm tolerance can be kept and on some of the tests we’ve been doing have been getting even tighter than that *obviously materials, end mills and feeds/speeds come into the play here.
At this stage there is no commercial plans for and ATC, that’s not to say it won’t happen but not yet.
It will take the weight easily, although needs a 6mm spacer plate between the spindle mount and front plate. It would also drop between power cycles. Don’t ask me how I know…
Adding on to Luke’s response: In some instances a well-lubricated, precisely built Z-axis will slowly drop when the machine is powered off. This is also common on larger industrial routers without brakes. You will probably want to stick a 2x4 or something under the spindle when it is not powered on.
Any more photos or details on the electronics? A higher voltage and more powerful stepper driver system sounds pretty cool.
I’m sure @Jorge can chip in here, we’ve been testing them for a while and they are robust. No random disconnects, a huge amount of pushing/pulling power.
We’re using a very good VFD for spindle control with a special control built in house.
The HDM uses NC switches which adds a little something extra to it.
Forgive my ignorance, why does NC vs NO switches matter?
If there’s an electrical disconnect or any damage to your cabling, an NC switch will show as triggered or flutter all over the place, so it can be easier to determine that something is wrong than with an NO switch, which will only indicate there’s a problem when you try to use it (e.g. crash your machine).
There is no doubt this is a stunning machine, but I can’t help but feel sympathetic to those who bought the Shapeoko 4/PRO and didn’t see this one coming!
I bought my SO3 XXL in September 2020, and not too long after that the SO4 and SO4 PRO came out - and now the HDZ?
In less than a year? Very disappointing.
EDIT: The SO3 is pretty much obsolete now, so how long will it be supported, I wonder…?
How much flak are you going to get for mentioning the S-monster? 
I think it’s worth stating this isn’t a replacement machine to a 4 or pro. It shares no common parts other than the hybrid table. Shapeoko refers to our routers range.
We can’t publish our road map, honestly that would be disastrous for us. Where possible we make upgrade routes but in many cases it’s not possible. You can’t upgrade a Shapeoko 3 to a HDM - because over time ideas, tooling and machines develop. However where possible we make all our accessories backward compatible.
Whilst there is a large number of our users who run wood projects this isn’t really designed for that - it’s not a large format router so if you want to make large projects don’t even look at it. The Pro/4 would be more than suitable.
However if are If you are machining non-ferrous metals, composites and possibly some small hard wood projects in batches this would likely suit your needs.
Typically you get what you pay for and I will start by saying we machine everything. I don’t say that lightly, literally every single part of this has been on a bigger cnc. Why do we do this? Run a DTI gauge over a 80/40 extrusion or a round steel rod. Why don’t others do this… Others do, and why I say others I mean, Datron, Haas, Doosan.
Whilst the bed is “small” we ran through a bunch of customers projects, something like 80% of projects would fit on this bed and in this work envelope. It’s 2-3 times bigger than what you might get on a 3d printer, and stacks up really well against any entry level vmc.
We designed this machine to stand above the likes of Tormach, Axiom, Avid, Stepcraft or Inventables to name a few. We’ve not built it to be the cheapest machine out there (although it will likely be less than those mention) it’s built to be the best and for most users it’s overkill. If anyone is unsure on what machine they need just drop us a message. We are more than happy to point you in the right direction, even if it’s not one of our machines.
