CNC vs Milling machine

Everything Else
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Absolutely :thumbsup:

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I may have come close to the spindle 1 or 2ā€¦or 50 times myself. :wink:

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Bahahahaha!!! As long as itā€™s not your meat hooks

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Hereā€™s the result of not fully clamping a workpiece in the vise. The face mill inserts survived just fine.

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Yeah, Iā€™ve got a few scraps around that have a lesson attached. Keep 'em for a physical reminder.

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Nice! Surely that wasnā€™t a SuperFly!

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I saw something similar when a piece on a lap grinder was not magnetically clamped into place. When too deep of a grind was taken it kicked the piece across the room and dented the far wall.

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No, it was Tormachā€™s 1-3/8" mini-face mill with 4 inserts.

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I currently have a CNC Shark Pro 24" x 24" router. In 2 to 3 years, I hope to be able to come up with a business model to justify buying one of these:

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Let me know, I might buy it from you when the time comes.

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Just moved my 9 or 10 year old Next Wave Automation CNC Shark Pro from the basement into the garage on the assumption that, if I walk past it every day, Iā€™ll use it more. My home office, printer/cutter shop, and future home of my Glowforge is above the garage.

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A new XCarve is now available on their web site.

For you guys in the know,
do the benefits look to justify the increase of $400 in itā€™s price? (1000mm model)

Their new model is $1,608 versus $1,202.

Notable differences are:
-side board for electronics
-X controller
-a stiffened x axis
-homing switch kit (same as limit switches?)
-z probe ($29)
-now they are throwing in materials (wood, mdf material bundle)

Can anyone explain the benefits of the X controller? They are currently selling that stand alone for a little over $300.

Do you think the differences justify the price?
Do you think this x axis reinforcement would eliminate the after market fix many are doing?

They are still selling the older xcarve on their web site.
They are also offering an inbetween size of 750mm in addition to the 500, and 1000mm.
I just toured a tech shop in my city last weekend.
With the glowforge, my proprietary crappy divinci 3d printer duo, and a big x carve, I donā€™t think Iā€™d ever have to leave home.

Having a laser will be great when it happens, but a lot of projects I have been coming up with in some fashion wouldnā€™t be compatible with the laser (type of materials and size).

hj

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73

I think calling it the X Controller can be a bit confusing. It refers to the X in Xcarve and not just to the X axis.

X axis stiffening was something folks talked about in the forums and in the product demos and upgrades. I{m only going for reading about it for a while and watching loads of assembly videos and wishing I had one. Was ready to buy and then along came the Glowforge.

The basic motion controller was Arduino and Gshield. Then add a power supply. Needed to solder up and fasten everything. It looks like the X controller puts everything into a tidy power and control box to make setup super simple for those less inclined to assemble the electronic package. Compare that to rolling your own with a tinyG ($135) and reliable power supply ($45). So put it all in a nice box and assemble it, sounds like a good marketing plan. I would imagine that the electronics assembly could have been a challenge to folks.

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My impression from the marketing info was that theyā€™ve beefed up the power supply and the stepper drivers over their previous version, but that might just be smart copywriting.

I have a shapeoko Iā€™ve never really gotten to use, might want the new thicker X axis, but might not want to bother quite yet. Theyā€™ve also got a Z sensor that may or may not be worth it (still requires a bunch of steps to zero the Z axis, just fewer and maybe mostly handled in software).

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Iā€™ve got a 1000mm and am considering selling to get a 750 - thatā€™s the perfect size for me.

If I donā€™t sell, I will upgrade - but probably not to the wider makerslide. I already did the stiffening mod, so Iā€™m good there.

I canā€™t give details on the XController other than to say that the people that have upgraded seem to like it. Personally I like how much cleaner it will make the whole thing be.

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I had a HORRIBLE thought! I could downgrade to the basic GF and use the refund to get an X carve. Ohh the dilemma!

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Donā€™t let my brain know these things.

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If X Carve was based somewhere in Europe, this wouldā€™ve been the tipping point!

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