Although I guess I could MAKE a box for my electronics too. 
ah man, great input! luckily im really OCD about all my wiring and connectors, so I pretty much have that stuff sitting out all the time. haha. I heard that assembly was a bit intense, but I didnt know they gave you unshielded wiring where it was necessary. i might have to make an emergency run to the wiring store.
This is generally how the end of my desk looks on a daily basis. the rest of it is just about as bad lol. right now its covered with arcade customization parts for a custom cabinet im making. gonna use the CNC for some custom aluminum pieces to go on the control panel.
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The stepper motor wire is already shielded. The homing/limit switch wire is not. I guess people have reported noise issues with those when using the stock spindle, which now isnât even an option anymore. Iâve got the Dewalt 611, so wire for the switches isnât shielded - so far I havenât had any problems because of it.
Just be sure to read every step thoroughly & watch the videos too before you do any of the assembly and youâll be fine.
Oh - and if you are using the 611 or some other router instead of the stock spindle, definitely do the x-axis stiffening mod during assembly - itâs easier than taking stuff apart after the fact. (learned that one by experience)
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I did get the 611. I bought it separately, but ordered the mount. Unfortunately the mount is on backorder, so Ill have a little more time to get things working, and not be so impatient about it being done.
Ive seen one video about the stiffening mod. Is there a preferred method for it?
I just PMd you guys so Iâm not filling this thread up. 
One type of desktop machine to mention that I saw on the interweb was this robotic arm type thing Makerarm. The novel idea here for a maker is the claim for their ability to change out arm attachments i.e. 3d printer head, or laser engraver, or cutting tool all in one. I like the concept and yet a bit undecided if it would be too much versatility for me. I would really have to be comfortable fine tuning and understand all settings and such. Perhaps if Iâm wandering around Home Depot in a few years and happen to see one of these on a shelf, I might give it a try. I see the goal for them was met on kickstarter with plans to ship out next fall. In comparison, I like the fact that I can chuck something in the Glowforge and just push âGoâ. The record breaking pre-order sales and Glowforge name familiarity has earned traction and establishment. I was playing around with Google Trends out of curiosity and I donât know if I have figured out how to use it objectively or scientifically, (and i dont know what volumes or variables are represented) but it seems when I compare search terms âLaser Cutterâ, âLaser cuttingâ, âLaser Engravingâ, and âGlowforgeâ, the Glowforge term appears to be keyed into google searches, on average, more often than these other search terms (since launch). Iâm sure I could compare all different search terms, but that is just what I was looking at this am:
I think all 100 searches were mine.
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Ha! 100 from me as well. So my guess is that 100 is just a small subset ratio of a larger pool of possibly hundreds of thousands of searches. I dont know for sure, i might have to ask someone who has worked for google⌠JK
edit: i think that was also selected on a day in the life of Glowforge when Glowforge nearly broke the internet
@dan @SDB_Guitars: howâs your experience(and others) with the reliability on the Carvewright?
Went looking across the internet after seeing it mentioned here and 9/10 times, the reviews are near horror stories of constant break-downs, terrible tech support, constant money grabbing(parts listed as consumables that normally wouldnât be so no warranty) and an overall feeling of âItâs super great when it works, if only it was every workingâ from most places.
Least ways on Amazon, there are 3 different models of the CW and the 1 stars far exceed the 3, 4, or 5 stars(a few of them combined still leaves the 1 stars the majority) and a couple of other user forums leaves a bad impression of them.
IMHO, the PCNC 770 is a better bang for the buck though it really depends on your needs and budget. They designed the 770 to make it fairly easy to partially disassemble so that it can be moved through tight doorways or moved up and down stairs.
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Yeah, it seems the 440 is a tough sell when compared to the 770. I havenât analyzed at the pricing myself (I wonât be buying either one) but the people on the Tormach subforum of CNCZone seem to think the two machines are too similarly priced. It seems the 440 is designed for people who would like a ârealâ CNC mill but are very limited in weight and/or space (e.g. people who live in apartments).
The 440 could be good for schools too, where the emphasis is on learning rather than more commercial enterprises. The 440 would be a good way to maixmise available space and budget. These are interesting times we live in. 40 years ago it became possible to put a computer in your home and now we can put a manufacturing plant there too.
Iâm with you @dan, I love my desktop CNC router. Here are a few pics of my"desktop" CNC router I designed and built a while back. Of course if you are going to have a desktop CNC machine it has to have an enclosure :). I can upload the Solidworks files if anyone is interested.
I have to preface this post by saying I was a little hesitant to post these photos. The photos and techniques are quite old and I have made a lot of changes and improvements. (I know that no one really cares, but sometimes I get a little self conscious 
) Anyway, they are kind of fun.
My little prototyping machine. Sits on a desk and doesnât make a mess⌠or at least not a very big mess.
The dust skirt is held on by neodymium magnets and can quickly be removed.
Electronic zero plate makes it easy to quickly set height of the Z-Axis cutter.
You can see my quick and dirty clamping solution. It has actually proven to be quite convenient and fast.
It also had its own Skype address so I can keep an eye on it from anywhere. Not the safest thing, but it sure is fun.
The enclosure as well as the side panels of the CNC machine are made out of MDF.
All painted up and lit with some LED lighting.
I use the CNC machine to make buck molds for the desktop vacuum former that I designed and built (I know, I know, I am a super nerd, but I love it!).
Testing out my proof-of-concept thermoformer/vacuum former.
I have found that MDF is a cheap and easy material for creating buck molds for the vacuum former, especially when I am just prototyping. I seal it with a sanding sealer and it gives it a nice hard glossy coating.
More buck molds. My desktop vacuum former is 100 times more valuable in combination with the desktop CNC.
Here is a finished product and an âin progressâ shot.
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Hmm. Since Iâm thinking for my home shop, I was deterred by the 800 lbs. But if it disassembles sufficiently. MaybeâŚ
@markwal - Tormach has a YouTube video that shows how the 770 mill can be disassembled into pieces that make it fairly easy to move to a basement shop.
You may need a Tormach moving kit and and other tools but it doesnât look too bad to me. My wife and I moved an 1100 (1,100 lbs) to the basement by ourselves in a similar manner, although Tormach doesnât officially support dis-assembly of the 1100. Iâm just in the process of moving their ânewâ CNC lathe to the same location but riggers will be handling the two heaviest parts as my back and knees are no longer up to the task.
The way we moved the 1100 is illustrated and described in the links on this page on my web site:
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@wesleyjames The CarveWright is an interesting beast⌠it doesnât have much Z-axis, around 1", has a 14" Y axis and of course the 12 foot X axis. Itâs very noisy, and is built like a planer - you feed your workpiece in one end and it automatically pulls it in and then moves it back and forth as necessary. The dust collection is pretty bad, and you canât see your work piece as itâs being cut, so that makes things more difficult. Itâs good for some things, though I would probably prefer a Shapeoko 3 or an X-Carve.
Impressive machine!! Your CTR plaque looks pretty good too 
I picked up an x-carve, and will hopefully be running it for the first time this week or next week. I am also in the process of building a fairly large vacuformer! How is your vacuforming coming along? What else have you made with it?
I have the X-Carve as well and love it. Use it for small projects to get the kids involved in making things and its perfect since I donât have a large shop with a bunch of cool machines for wood working. I just ordered the new X-Controller for it and canât wait to get it rolling again since my current controller board fried in December.
Here are a few of the projects I have done with it over the last year.
https://www.inventables.com/users/garin-gardiner
BTW - the Inventables team is great, cant speak highly enough about them.
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