Hi, This is my first time on the forum and I am seriously in the market for a Shapeoko 4; first time user aswell. I live in a single story apartment, so I would have to set the unit up on the porch and I would have to build an enclosure for to help reduce the noise. Is this machine robust enough to live outdoors. I live in central Arizona so not much rain. Your thoughts please.
I keep a machine at my mother-in-law’s on a DeWalt miter saw stand:
would something like that be an option?
The answer depends. The MDF that the slats of the hybrid table will change shape depending on the humidity level. That happens even inside an unairconditioned shop. But would be more exaggerated when placed outside even under a covering. So how protected from the rain, cold or heat is the covering? The electronics can also be effected by environmental conditions. If there is any chance that the unit could get wet I would recommend a big no on having it outside. You could make a cover but the outdoor humidity will eventually cause you problems. Building an enclosure would help but can you make it weather proof.
Another issue is will your land lord allow you to keep the machine on the property. Many land lords do not allow anything to show from the outside with the exception of patio furniture and normal outdoor stuff like a BBQ grill.
Arizona is dry but still gets moisture at times. Depending on what you want to make would a standard work and keep it inside or maybe a Nomad. Those two machine foot prints would easily sit on a desktop and as long as you ran it in normal hours the noise proofing would not be such a big deal.
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Is there a big difference in temps between daytime and evening where you are? Different materials expand and contract with a temp and moisture level difference, so maybe cutting bigger projects in sections and at the same time of day could mitigate any difference there.
You need a computer to drive the cutter, so make sure it’s not positioned in the sun on an area that will get hot so it doesn’t overheat and shutdown. That may also apply to the Shapeoko controller.
The machine creates a lot of dust on it’s own from what you’re cutting, so kind of made to deal with it, but if you get a fair amount of wind like we do in Phoenix & Scottsdale, you’ll probably want to shield it from the desert grit and dust that settles on everything because that’s likely more abrasive that wood, PVC etc dust and it doesn’t blow off as easily.
Do you have space and power for dust management (shop vac, dust collector) tubing etc?
Not much rain (and/or snow depending on your location) isn’t ‘no rain ever’, so make sure it’s securely covered when not in use, so the wind doesn’t blow away your cover and then rain on your machine and projects.
Even in a noise reducing closure, depending on how much it muffles it, are you sure it’s not going to annoy your neighbors too much.
Without knowing more about your setup, those are just a few things that come to mind. You may already have all this figured out. Hope it’s a good setup.
First, thank you for responding. Both you and RichM makes some good points. First the weather, temps in the summer right now are upper 80s are the lows and the highs are reaching up to 110 and we have record number of days 100 plus. During the winter we will hit 40s for the lows and highs around 60s. So I can see this as a problem for the mdf slats and electronics. I can enclose three sides of the patio but only with wood screen that you find in Home Depot and Lowes. I am concerned about the noise and that is why I was thinking a building an enclosure. I already own a dust deputy/shop vac system. I have thought about setting it up inside but I am also concerned about noise and dust.
Both you and gdon_2003 have brought up some additional points that I hadn’t thought about. Even if I was to purchase a smaller machine, the nomad and the standard I feel are too small and limiting, and I would have to rearange the apartment and have to deal with noise , dust collection and ventilation. I am going to have to put this idea on hold until I can figure out a new solution. thank you.
I ran my first Shapeoko 3 in a garage I rented from my apartment complex. The power was really sketchy as a Shapeoko and any other powered device would trip the breaker.
Does your apartment complex have a garage you can rent with at least a 15 amp circuit?
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That would be a great idea but it is not possible at this complex. The last apartment complex that I had lived in it would have been possible. I have even thought about storage room rentals but they have all sorts of restrictions and the ones that I have rented in the past have no outlets. Thank you for you suggestion.
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