Well I did it. Just purchased the 2x4 5 Pro with VFD

Here in SW Ontario Canada. Looking forward to getting my new machine. Now time to build a nice workstation for it to sit on and find a computer to put motion on.

Plan to post pics of the install and first start up… Here’s hoping all goes well.

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Good luck to you. I have a cheap laptop coming to set along side mine. Amazon has a bunch under $200.

What laptop did you go with?

I picked up a refurb HP with an i5 processor. Should be more than enough to run the SO5.

Related, I never thought I’d say the words “my garage computer arrived today!” :joy:

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I picked up a clean refurbished Surface Pro (I5, 8GB) with the Surface Keyboard and Pen for $150. Works great as a dedicated machine in the workshop (garage) running Carbide Create (Pro), Carbide Motion for the 5 Pro and Laser GRBL for my laser machine. It also runs a lot more, for when I’m sitting baby-sitting a project in process. No complaints here - my 5 Pro (2x4) and Carbide VFD spindle are both performing like champions. I’ve completed both wood and aluminum projects, as well as some PCB engraving and drilling with Carbide Copper.

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That’s awesome. The exact same machine I purchased. Still in the boxes as I need to build the table for it. I will check out the surface pros for sure!

I got a good deal on a Harbor Freight hardwood workbench. I modified it by adding a deeper top of 3/4 board with the rear overhanging edge fixed to the wall with a length of scrap angle iron cut from an old bed frame, and a couple of coats of PU varnish. I have no space to make a moveable machine table, and this works great for me. Made for a very solid support with three nice felt-lined drawers for storage and a raised space underneath for wood pieces etc. I couldn’t buy the hardwood and fittings for anywhere close to the price of the finished bench, so it was an easy answer.

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I keep looking at that (and regretting the on-going price increases).

For folks who aren’t familiar:

https://www.harborfreight.com/60-in-three-drawer-hardwood-workbench-58832.html

I went with:

which has worked out about perfectly.

I got this workbench new when it was on the 20% off deal - so around $150 after tax. I actually have another older version (came secondhand from a friend who moved to an apartment) that supports a Mini-Mill that I converted to steppers and ball screws a long while back. The drawers on the new version are a lot better, with decent slides.

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Just put my 4x4 Pro 5 together today , haven’t powered up, but confused if I need to plug the spare limit switch in , just got one and not sure what to do with it, sorry in advance for possibly dumb question

Not a dumb question at all. We are all new at some point. I believe I saw somewhere that they ship an extra one. Not 100% sure. Someone should chime in pretty quick.

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I suck. Canadian guy here so everything is quadruple from what you guys get :wink:

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Yep, they included spare one. Good thing too, since the right rear Y on the machine had no connector (bare stripped wires only), so it got used immediately. I’ve since put a connector on the original one so it’s back to having a spare.

I went thru carbide motion setup, everything went smooth, I have no Jog buttons , using vfd spindle, seems like it goes too far to the front and to far down when i hit initiate machine. no file loaded, have yet to hear spindle run, watched videos, tried to uninstall motion and reset machine now have homing error 8

Jog only appears after the machine is successfully initialized.

Were you able to complete machine configuration?

https://my.carbide3d.com/docs/shapeoko-setup/

for Grbl errors see:

https://my.carbide3d.com/faq/error-codes/

for addressing homing issues see:

https://my.carbide3d.com/docs/troubleshooting-homing/

if you continue to have difficulties, let us know at support@carbide3d.com and we will look into them with you.

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Yes Everything moved perfectly thru the setup wizard and said finish after I saved setting per each step. then took me to main screen and no jog. Can I clear cache and reinstall?

On my CM I have to initialize (yellow button?) before jog appears. Did the machine initialize?


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ok got irritated, unplugged everything and restarted everything, now I haver jog commands. I think I need to reset bitsetter center , that is tmrw project, out of juice today. any extra advice appreciated.

well it looked like bit was gonna go too deep in bitsetter, so I hit E-Stop on pendant. and back to square one. no Jog etc. my patience has had enough today. Sure its something silly in front of me , but at this point, its supper and bed.

We have an article on too-deep plunging at:

https://carbide3d.com/blog/unexpected-z-axis-plunges/

If you’ll put up the .c2d file, step-by-step notes on how you are securing your stock and setting zero relative to it and managing all tool changes, and a photo showing an attempt at cutting still in place on the machine we should be able to walk through this with you.