Well…still looking… there seems to be a lot of CNC machines around,it’s like trying to buy a car… Shapeoko,altmill,long mill,fox alien,genmatsui…I could go new …some machines on Amazon are priced below 1,000 CDN…or I could buy used…still looking at the Shapeoko 4 standard,sure don’t want any vibration…as a CNC machinist over 40 yrs experience, vibration means loose and sure don’t want that…the learning curve should be no problem… really didn’t program much with the software just loaded edited and setup.Just want your opinion, thanks so much for all the help.
The Shapeoko 4 has larger V wheels and wider belts than the Shapeoko 3, so manages cutting forces quite well.
One thing which I’ve found which helps is to place the machine on a foam mat which dampens resonance noise and vibration. That said, the biggest help on vibration are to manage cutting forces, use well-balanced tools, and if in the budget, get a VFD spindle.
The folks at sales@carbide3d.com should be able to better assist.
CNC is a a tough world to jump into without any background. For me, I joined a makerspace with a CNC and started learning CAD on Vcarve Pro and CAM and machine operation on their ShopBot. Sometime after that, I knew a lot more and was able to make a decision on a home machine.
If you don’t have access to a community space, maybe it’s better to buy a used or inexpensive new machine to learn on, rather than dropping >2K on a new machine from an established brand.
I have 40 yrs experience in CNC…not a problem just maybe the software
Wow. That’s amazing. With your background, you’d be able to solve any issue that arose with any of these machines. Hell, you are a great candidate for some of the build-your-own kits out there. Or even a fully custom build. I think that’s the way many people say you can get a better than stock machine at half the price, but most people wouldn’t have the machining background to approach a build project.
I personally wouldn’t buy a CNC off Amazon. There’s lots of those cheaper cnc’s on marketplace and kijiji for a reason. Buy from a established company like C3D so you get warranty, support, parts etc etc…
I don’t know about other manufacturers but C3D has outstanding support, warranty and stands behind thier products.
I’m a person that does research on tools/equipment. I don’t have a problem buying quality for the long run. I purchased my S5 Pro a little over a year ago and have not regretted the decision at all. It checked all the boxes for me as a hobbyist. I figured I could always upgrade to an Avid CNC if needed. Don’t think I’ll need to at this point.
The support for this platform/system was a larger piece of the decision than the machine itself. Equipment these days in general is pretty solid, I have absolutely no regrets for my purchase at all.
Only you can make the final decision on the brand and size of your purchase.
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I have a 2x2 shapeoko 3 that I bought about 7-8 years ago. I cut lots of wood christmas ornaments and plexiglass templates for trim router work. I bought a 4x4 Shapeoko 5 pro for my work about 2 months ago to fab up brackets and stuff out of steel. I still feel like I’m a newbie, and definitely not a pro with 40 yrs of machine work. I went with Shapeoko the 1st time because the community is fantastic (and the 3 had upgradable parts if I wanted to tinker and make it bigger). Now having used a 5 pro, the community again has stepped up and helped me make the jump from wood to metal.
I looked at a lot of the other brands. The thing they’re all missing is the support for new users from the company itself. And being new to anything cnc, I bought new for the simple fact that if I did something wrong they’d replace what I just ruined. Carbide’s website doesn’t feel like a late night infomercial trying to sell me stuff with cutesy names of things.
I bought Cut2d for home, and have used a trial of aspire to do some 3d carving. I’ve never been a big fan of Carbide Create, and other software is so much more capable. The software is truly a “you get what you pay for” item. Fusion360 is free as long as you aren’t making serious money from it. I’ll be learning that eventually. Shapeoko is “open” enough that you can use different software and aren’t stuck with the junk that comes with the machine like some companies do (I’m looking at you, chinese laser engraver machines!).
If you went with a used 5 pro you’d probably do ok. Depending on what you want to do with it would determine the size & rigidity of the machine. I’d plan on learning different software. You can always play with different programs and do simulations in the meantime to get a feel. The machine only does what the software tells it.
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As stated there are a lot of CNC hobby machines. I have an SO3 XXL with HDZ and all the accessories like BitSetter, BitZero and BitRunner. I bought it used and it has little to no problems in the last 6 years.
A friend of mine bought an Altmill and really likes it. However he had to buy Vetric to use it. C3D has CC and CM integrated into the machine and is free. You can buy the Pro CC but most people can get away with the free version. We have users that use Fusion 360 but it is complicated and a steep learning curve. The free Fusion is limiting and requires an internet connection to use it.
I really like this forum. I used to log into the Inventables forum but it is not nearly as lively as this forum. Plus the C3D support gets bragged about a lot. I dont have experience with other OEM CNC machines so cannot comment on their support but this forum is top notch with helping its members and it is professionally moderated to keep out bots and advertising and scams.
The SO4 and SO4 Pro are good machines but are belt driven and if I were to buy a new CNC it would be the SO5.1 Pro. You can get it in 4x2 or 4x4 and with tiling you can just keep cutting no matter how long your material is. So you can cut 4x8 plywood with ease on an SO5.1 CNC. Personally I dont like to deal with full sheets of plywood but it is an option for cabinet and other similar work.
The SO5 is in between the cheap hobby class and much more expensive pro CNC machines. So for a hobbyist or small production shop the SO5 hits a sweet spot. Although the SO5 is quite good I dont think a full production shop that runs all day the SO5 would be a good fit. Although it is very capable it is not really an all out production machine and a pro level commercial machine would be better for a high output shop.
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