I’ve had my Shapeoko 4 for a few months now, and I’ve used it almost entirely with aluminum. I can cut aluminum for days without any issues that I don’t cause myself.
But I can cut wood for a few minutes at most before it disconnects. Consistently.
I read the other related posts, and I’ve made sure the machine is grounded well. I even moved it to a different outlet and switched from a Windows PC to a Macbook Pro - same results.
I am using a vacuum, and I tried switching from the vacuum adapter with bristles to the one without, but have the same results. The vacuum hose does have a metal wire coiled inside, which I’ve run a wire to and grounded. I filled my air tank (running the compressor before running the CNC to avoid that as a source of inteference) and blasted air to evacuate all the wood chips, same results.
I’m in Colorado with super low humidity, and when I run the unit I have chips danging off the outside of the vacuum adapter, so my money’s still on static. It’s hard to test without the vacuum running because I lack a proper workshop and it’s in the corner of my office and I haven’t built a proper enclosure yet, but the one time I tried it without a hose it didn’t disconnect for a few minutes.
My next step is to try a different vacuum hose. And from the other posts, maybe trying the Macbook without the power plugged in. Perhaps I should try a humidifier as well.
Has anyone else had a better experience with aluminum than wood?