A little bit about me: by day I work as a HMI/PLC programmer for industrial equipment, been a hobbyist woodworker for 2 decades, also worked in IT for a number of years.
I haven’t gotten a CNC yet, but I’m 85% sure I’m going to get a Shapeoko 5 Pro.
My questions in no particular order:
Where do I get some starter friendly projects?: Do I plan on buying every project from say Etsy unless I am designing them myself?
Torsion box: One of the first videos I watch was a guy cutting out a torsion box with his CNC as his first project while it sat on the floor. He didn’t provide any links to it (that I saw), is this something that is easy to find? Or is that even a good recommendation for a first project?
Does the CNC’s computer need to live in the garage with the machine? If not what type of connection to the CNC am I looking at: ethernet? USB?
Designing my own projects (eventually): Can everything be done in Carbide Create or do I also need some CAD software (ie Fusion360) to pair with it?
Storage/Usage: Can this machine run vertically (wall mounted) or does that tax the motors too much? Is there any fold down/up ideas for keeping it out of the way when not in use?
Thanks in advance! Also sorry if these questions have been answered elsewhere, I didn’t see much in the FAQ as far as questions were concerned. I am looking forward to joining the community and getting my own CNC!
and we will gladly walk you through designing things:
The chicken/egg nature of that sort of thing appeals to some folks — other folks just source a sturdy workbench and run with that:
that said, we do have a video on this:
as well as:
Most folks just work in the bundled version of Carbide Create, some folks get Pro, a few use Autodesk Fusion 360, or a smattering of other programs. Which one uses depends on what sort of work one wishes to do and how one wishes to approach it. For what is probably the most extreme instance of using Carbide Create see:
While a Shapeoko is a machine we envision in a shop space and the Nomad is the one for use at one’s desk, many folks keep machines indoors, even without an enclosure — my SO5 Pro lives in a finished basement.
Wall-mounting would probably be fine, but it’s not something which we support, mostly because of the difficulty of loading and securing stock — our recommendation for space-constrained folks is to use a hoist to lift it up to the ceiling, then lower onto a suitable surface for use. That said, I do have my machine at my mother-in-law’s on a rolling/folding stand:
As implied above, what one needs is determined by what one does.
Thank you kindly for all the info, links, and videos! I guess I ought to start down the tutorial path to get familiar with the software. I’m not an artist type, so I like to make things that have a function before form. That said I’m sure the wife wouldn’t mind some wall art/trinkets for around the house. My plan with it was to find a niche and eventually make some money selling the things it creates (once I get a handle on the software side of things).
I think you answered all of my questions except: what type of connection is between the CNC and the computer/software controlling it. I’d assume it must be ethernet/USB/wifi(?) My concern is keeping a computer in a garage that is only going to get dustier than it already is.
For the design aspect, mechanical things can be as simple or complex as one wants, see:
if your wife wants decorative things, then maybe she could at least do a sketch? If you then ink over it in Sharpie it should trace quite well:
Correct, the machine needs to have a computer connected to it via a USB cable when in use — some folks get an inexpensive Rasbperry Pi and leave that in the shop, other folks get a used laptop (some luck into a rugged one) and leave it connected — other folks will use the same computer used for designing in Carbide Create to run Carbide Motion, and just carry it out to the shop and plug it in.
For a long while, inexpensive fanless Windows tablets were a thing, and being sealed, they were well-suited to the rigors of a shop environment. Since Carbide Motion is moving to 64-bit, the less expensive computer options are getting left behind, we’ll have to see.
I would absolutely start with Carbide Create. I thought at first about using another program, but landed back on CC as my final answer. Honestly, it hasn’t failed me yet. Yes there are a few features that I WISH it had, but I’ve gotten more than used to living without them and Carbide 3d continues to add new features along the way.
A few things I like about it:
It really is a stream lined CAD program and is fairly easy to use comparatively
It seems to have a few “short cut” tasks, if you will, that take a couple more steps in other programs I’ve used
You can jump right in with it, especially with CutRocket projects
Should you want to jump further in, you can always subscribe to the pro version. I have not found the need as of yet. Everything I’ve wanted to do has been able to be done with the free version.
On another note…I have ZERO regrets about purchasing the 4x2 Pro 5 with the spindle. And, most importantly, the SUPPORT!! both directly from Carbide 3d and this community have been ridiculously awesome. I jumped in never touching a CNC (or even seeing one in person for that matter) before purchasing ours and I just cannot say enough about how everyone helped me without ever, not once, making me feel incompetent. Instead I have received a massive amount of help across the board. If you have a problem, “Post the file,” they say. And wouldn’t you know it, crazily, they open it up and find the issues and fix them. Crazy!!
