I just got my Shapeoko 5 pro about a month ago. I’ve had a few rounds with support but everything finally appears to be running smoothly. Last night I ran the larges job I’ve run so far. This was the first job that had parts running from the very back of the bed all the way to the front. I noticed that all the parts on the back of the bed were cutting into the spoil board slightly and all the parts on the front where i Zeroed the machine, were perfect.
You can see in the photo that the cuts are progressively getting less deep into the spoil as they come to the front of the bed.
Before I go and surface the whole board, i want to see if there something else I should look out for and if this is normal for a new machine.
When you get a new machine you have to make sure the base is level and then level the machine. The SO5 is a big machine and you have to tram the router/spindle and level the spoilboard. Since the SO5 is so big the base has to be rock steady.
So you need to tram and level the spoilboard. Maybe after tramming you will have to level again. That is a normal part of a startup. It is painful but necessary. So make sure your table/bed is level and that the machine is level.
One last point is when cutting through material it is a good idea to use the bottom of material. I replaced my spoilboard in Oct 22 and use bottom of material for all projects that cut through. My spoilboard is almost pristine after a year of heavy use. However using the bottom will not fix anything if the machine is not level and trammed and the spoilboard leveled.
