Received my Shapeoko yesterday, machine is together and I’m looking forward to test cut today.
Dumb question. Is the router speed controlled by Carbide Motion or do I need to adjust the router speed? I don’t see where the router is wired into the machine? If I control the router speed how to you accurately measure the RPMs?
The router speed and On/Off functions are manual on the Shapeoko. (You can buy a cheap tachometer or just use the chart (speeds and feeds)). It;s close enough for a desktop CNC.
Please read the manual for your trim router — there should be a chart in it which lists the speeds for at least the major dial settings.
The speed of the router is controlled manually, by adjusting the dial. The official Carbide 3D chart has settings for some materials: http://carbide3d.com/shapeoko/feedandspeed/
The community has worked up a chart which has some measured and some calculated speeds: https://shapeoko.com/wiki/index.php/Materials#Router_Speed_Chart and farther down that page there’s a metric version which has some adjustments and corrections to the official chart.
If you wish, it is possible to wire in a relay to turn the router on / off, or a VFD to fully control it (which is wonderfully convenient). The community has notes on this at: https://shapeoko.com/wiki/index.php/Spindle_Control
Thanks! Will be test cutting shortly