We had a very good class tonight for the Shapeoko 3, with a great bunch of makers, and spent some time working through some odd performance issues by formulating and trying a few ideas. After the class @Evan_Lott, @keoliver and I were able to complete the effort when we determined that at low Z heights the lower Z guide wheels were beyond their limit resulting in a very loose fit and a lot of movement. We adjusted the router lower in it’s mounting which alleviated the problem; the Z travel does not exceed the guide wheel travel any more. While we were at it we increased the Z belt tension, it was on the low side.
After running another test job the device appears to be working better than ever.
If we continue to see ongoing interest in the machine and, more importantly, more members using it to make things, I think we could get support in a monthly committee meeting for a Z upgrade.
@jphelps Howdy Jay, I need some help with the Shaproko. Do youbrecall maximum fimensions? I have a project 5.75" x 1.5" x 48" . I’ve taken the 101 class but need to make a prototype so looking for an expert to help me over the next few weeks. Can you help or pass me a referral?
Max size on the Shapeoko 3 XXL is about 33" x 33" x 3".
You can find this info on the Tools page, which is mostly up to date although in theory it is deprecated. It also links to the Shapeoko page with additional information.
That project will fit assuming that the 1.5” dimension can be in the z axis. The 48” can’t be the x axis but it can be in the y axis . You will have the shim the stock to account for the surfaced cutting area that is lower than the edges of the spoil board . The CAM will have to be done with a “tiling” tool path. This is a carbide create pro only feature, but vectric products like v carve and aspire have tiling options . You can manually tile the came with register pins and zero points that coincide with a registered position but this is pretty complex and hard to get much precision . There are videos online where people do this in carbide create .
I’d definately love help, I have the .stl file created exactly the way I want, and yes the 1.5" is tge Z axus. The length is 48" so it should work with a careful flip. The side grooves at 6 degree angle is the most precise requirement
So doing CAM for the shapeoko from an stl file is a challenge . The cam software generally works on vector geometry and stl’s are based on triangles in a 3d mesh. Carbide create pro will CAM from an stl, but only if it is 2.5d and not 3d. Carbide create and the shapeoko does not do undercuts and cannot cut true 3d tool paths, only 2.5d paths up from a plane. Think of a topographic map . That is an example of 2.5d . Perhaps I could look at your stl and see if it can be cam’d for the shapeoko . What software was the design created in ? It may be easier to cam from the native solid oat file and not the stl mesh. I am keeping this in the open forum because others may be interested in the discussion . Pm me and I will give you my email for the stl.