Newbie CNC question- Shapeoko 3

[tvohnoutka05 (Toni Voh)]

Hi there-
I bought my Shapeoko 3 in 2019, used it a few times and then it has sat for about 5 years. I just got it up and running again and saw all the great tutorials Carbide now has that I have been following. I am following the coaster tutorial and everything was working fine but had a few issues. Looking for troubleshooting tips and suggestions!

Troubleshooting:

• Each time i did a bit change, the machine had me switch bits but never had me zero out z again… I tried jogging it when it was paused but it wouldn’t let me go to that screen. I don’t have my bitsetter set up and have the very old probe but was trying to just use the paper method for this project. I ended up stopping the machine rezeroing Z and then reuploading the project with the next path.
• Lastly, when the machine was cutting the circle to cut the coaster out it wouldn’t cut perfectly on the path- not sure what the issues was because overall it was cutting almost perfect.

Suggestions:

• what clamps work best on shapeoko 3 XL?
• Is there a way to create the beds similar to the Shaepoko 5 and attach it to my current bed so I can use the crush it clamp set?

Any tips is much appreciated!

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

In order to have multiple tools in a single file you will need a BitSetter:

Shapeoko BitSetter

in the absence of one you will need to limit each file to one tool and manually set zero for the Z-axis in-between each tool.

If the machine is electro-mechanically sound, then any difficulty is down to either feeds and speeds or excessive tooling engagement — where possible avoid slotting and add geometry and cut as a pocket

Making vacuum hose adapters

While cutting up vacuum extension wands for this is expedient, it’s a bit problematic given that Shop Vac recently filed for bankruptcy, was bought at the last minute, and production hasn’t caught up. I need a receptacle for the Sweepy 2.0 dust fitting — one option would be to purchase one from Woodcraft, but Carbide 3D sells blocks of HDPE: which looks to be just barely big enough for things to fit. Measuring the hose fitting I get a diameter of ~63.5mm — offsetting that twice we arrive at…

and/or

Adding geometry to cut as a pocket with a finishing pass

One technique which is often suggested to avoid slotting is to add geometry around a part which one wishes to cut out and cut as a pocket down to tab depth — here’s one technique for that. In this case, the project is a bevel gauge which will be cut out of 0.0625" (~1.5mm) thick aluminum: [bevelgauge] Due to the narrowness of the angles, an 0.03125" endmill has to be used, so after importing and scaling the file (we will be cutting out one which is 3") we select the perimeter and offset it tw…

and consider leaving a roughing clearance and taking a finishing pass.

Best Bit for full cut through

One which has a cutting flute length equal to or greater than the thickness of the stock — pretty much any tool should work. Big thing is the toolpaths — if cutting out, rather than just cutting a slot: [image] Offset to the outside by endmill diameter plus 10% or so: [image] [image] [image] Then cut as a pocket: [image] down to tab height or the penultimate pass: [image] then move the contour down to below the pocket and start cutting at the bottom of the pocket: [image] and…

Clamps are whatever is suited to your stock and setup — that said, the new Crush-it Essential Clamps are amazing:

Crush-It Essential Clamp Set

and to use them, either attach T-tracks (though note you won’t be able to use the Teez-Nutz — get some M6 square nuts instead)

A different sort of filler strip

Decided I wanted a slightly more efficient usage and mounting of filler strips, so this is what I came up with: the existing strips were cut off a bit shy of the working area at a 45 degree angle, and additional holes added to secure them just short of where the angle meets the baseplate underneath the wasteboard strips were then cut at a 45 degree angle so as to fit snugly underneath at the back, and at the front to fit, and a hole with a countersink to accommodate a nylon bolt was cut in the…

or install threaded inserts (I like to do this where- and as-needed):

Threaded Inserts (Qty 100)