Machine troubles with Shapeoko 5 pro

CNC Machines
1

Hello there,
I have posted a few topics here.
I bought a Shapeoko 5 Pro with 80mm spindle. My experience so far has been a nightmare.

  1. when it first arrived, had issues with some wires and the controller. They replaced that
  2. Then my VFD would not work. They replaced that - taking over a week to get to me.
  3. Now, it was having issues with z axis, and a tech told me today it has a bad gas strut - needs replacement
    I have been patient, but I have just about had it. I wanted to speak to someone in management to return the machine - declaring it a lemon for which i paid $5K.

over a month and have not cut anything meaningful yet.

The funny part is I have not seen many things like this on the community forum. Would like to know if others have had multiple issues with this. I went with Shapeoko primarily based on all the reviews I read and watched. what a bad experience. Lets see what the management has to say…

Mani

2

They have some issues with struts being over charged. My self and some others on here have dealt with it. It’s and easy fix and they ship quickly.

The only issue I’ve had on their end with my 5 is a bad wire harness connection to the z motor. Simple email to support with a video. They asked me to look at some things which were the problem. an email back and they shipped me a new harness drag chain and z motor.

Sometimes they have bad luck. Because these machines ship in assembled they can’t test everything as an assembly.

My suggestion. Just get the strut on there and get to cutting.

If you think there are other issues take the strut off and get to cutting. Just know if you hit the e stop or turn of power the z axis will Lower.

1 Like
3

The only reason you should need a gas strut is if you are worried about power failure mid cut or you shut down in the jog menu on older(assuming its fixed) versions of carbide motion.

Otherwise just take a nice piece of foam and put some 3mm rubber ontop mount that to the park position and bit or not you will be safe when it drops.

Additionally when overlubed/firstlubed you will almost always drop in the z axis especially if you lube your ballscrew with Vactra.

The electrical issues, dirty power and cheaper controllers don’t mix. Use a UPS for your machine and VFD preferably an insured higher quality one.

These issues are primarily engineering issues of which there are paid solutions but honestly there are much cheaper ways to deal with the issues.

The controller is ********* garbage I agree and we’ve seen tonnes of revisions with problem after problem and if I had to guess its because keeping things proprietary = repeat business and cheap components means lots of replacements. (also if you order in small quantities with expensive components you are paying soo soo much more for custom boards)

that said the machine was only 5 grand. To get into a machine of this caliber you’re generally looking in the 10-15grand range. To make something equivalent would cost an arm and a leg but this machine is a good starting point for say a Masso controller conversion and extended oilers, a ballscrew cover, maybe increased Z axis travel, Metalworking you can get a nice fixture plate setup or say a vac table going and a nice alignment setup for Tiling plywood sheets.

Also heads up if you E-stop with any of the spindles you will crash straight into the workpeice or whatever is below (sent my collet nut and 1/8" collet to god recently)

4

You are not alone. I wrote that post here: Desparate, disappointed, po’d

Mine is a pro XXL. It is not all about the machine, some of it is about design of the project or the grounding, so after having figured out some issues and with a really endlessly patient and always available support crew my machine now works nicely for some time. I would not have written the post with my knowledge now, but then I was really in a mood, and I am old enough not to pretend anything any more. That is why I can say now I would say things different now.

Yes, the controller is not the best one. There are production batches that need to be replaced, and sometimes obviously it needs some replacements to get to batch that is ok. Eventually you will get a good one that lasts.

And yes: I had the same with the VFD set. The first spindle just did not start. Got it replaced, all w/o any hassle with support, went as fast as it could, but shipping takes time. Then the controller just stopped working. It just did not react any more. Again the same, now the wiring had to be replaced what is some work.

The Z-Axis also went south in my machine, obviously was the end switch. Excellent design to use contactless ones, but in my set they had to be replaced. The replaced one again was not working properly. It appeared to me that this switch possibly also damaged the controller. After C3D replaced all switches and the controller with one that the customer support team tested themself the machine now works like a charm, for some months now. Just be patient, do not make any promises to friends and / or customers (yet). I recommend not to return the whole item: the frame is very, very good. I had XCarve before, there are several things another level with C3D, like the bitsetter and the bitzero thing, the automatic calibration of the tool length etc. besides the frame itself what makes projects much smoother to carve. The hickups will be solved eventually with the really extraordinary customer service.

And: it is worth to have a replacement controller somewhere in one of your drawers. In 30min back to work. The good thing what you get with mediocre quality: that does not cost you a leg.

(several other things I whined about in my post like path deviations were a combination of my thick stock with not optimal design -declaring a pocket cut as contour to avoid bits getting stuck- or suboptimal grounding -although It would be a wonderful thing to have a controller what is hardened against those influences- what probably caused the loss of connections…)

Recommendation if you are a newbie with CNCs like me: for precision cuts tram and calibrate the machine and level the waste board. GL!

5

Thank you.
Someone from management called me back and agreed to take my machine back for full refund. But, I thought about it more. The thing is I have now invested about 3 months of my time researching, learning Carbide create/motion, watching multitudes of videos etc. Also I have designed my workshop around the table I built for this, which is quite big (35"x60"). Also I have bought some accessories to fit this. So I have to modify all these and be able to find similar size to get an alternate machine on top of which I have to get used to a different software. So I thought I will give it one more shot and replace the gas strut. If that does not work then its definitely a return scenario.

The problem is the other contender i was close to making a decision is Onefinity. Which did not support their spindle but have one that they will sell starting about now. The size of the machine is going to be a challenge to match the 4x2 of shapeoko. They have one that is 48x32, which might be a tad too big, so I may have to go the 32x32 there, not optimal for me.

Do you know much about those machines? From what I read, the controller/motor etc seems more advanced but there are some feedback on the frame which isnt great. Also I have to come up with a flat spoilboard. I am doing a bit more research just in case. Also, there is a 6-8 week lead time which is going to delay my plans. So - its a difficult decision. I hope the replacement gas strut at least get me going.

I do agree - their support once connected is very good. Not sure how Onefinity will be.

Thanks again. This is definitle a journey.

6

I heard the same gripes about Onefinity in terms of CS. Supporting this type of equipment remotely is a difficult problem to solve, especially when your customer’s technical abilities are so diverse. Perhaps C3D can start a program for experienced users with good technical knowledge of the machine to sign up and offer in-person technical assistance to people in their area in exchange for credits towards bits, upgrades, or other accessories for every successful ticket solved.

The Onefinity machine is more expensive, and the Masso controller is nice, but in my opinion, it is overkill for a “hobby” CNC machine. Carbide Motion is too simple but easy to use. GSender is just right.

As you also mention, Onefinity does not have a bed and relies on your implementation, which in my opinion, is not as “turnkey” as Shapeoko 5 not to mention the added rigity.

I bought my machine a few weeks ago, and I also had my fair share of initial problems between shipping and a binding issue, but CS helped correct it fairly quickly. I have been using an Xcarve for several years with GSender, and I can tell you that this machine is on another level.

7

They’re really all a journey, noone makes a turnkey CNC router system that is actually as functional as advertised/promoted. C3D just happens to be the closest that also offers ballscrews and linear rails. Their homing is kind of stupid, initialization/ setup /probe time is a bit much and the Z travel is unnecessarily limited but the program does most of what you want it to do with fairly little work so there is a bit of a tradeoff.