Newbie CNC question- Shapeoko 3

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!

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

and/or

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

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

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)

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

1 Like