The XCarve is a little more difficult to go from design to finished product than the GF. Certainly far noisier and creates a lot more dust. But it’s a good pairing of tools. If you understand what the XCarve does better and what the GF does better then it adds a lot.
Xcarve is not my first choice but a lot of people love them. Should complement the very well.
Have you reviewed the shapoko - it’s a simpler design and it’s rigidity is i a little better, the best is they have a number of attchments for vices etc.
Also depending on your uses shaper is awesome as well as you don’t have the footprint.
Ryan
Already have an 1000mm XCarve with rigidity upgrades. Bought it after ordering the GF and used it for well over a year before getting a Pre-Release GF to work with.
That’s great. I was ready to buy an XCarve when the Glowforge debuted and switched. I think if I hadn’t gotten that early pre-release, I would have bought one during the wait.
Still would like to make one. I have the steppers, drivers and electronics but just not sure which way to go. I’ve been doing a lot of looking at the MPCNC, but I have a few other projects to finish first.
The hardest part is fixturing. Oh god, the fixturing. And then it crashes into one of your clamps anyway.
Love the simplicity of job setup on the Glowforge.
I have a 750mm and love it. The GF and X-carve compliment each other well.
I would probably argue that Inventable’s Carvey is more like the GF than the XCarve. Just unpack and go. Of course, it does have a much more limited bed size than the XCarve and can’t be expanded/modified. (again, sorta like the GF!)
One thing I will definitely say is that whatever you order from Inventables, you’ll be impressed with their customer support. It is probably the best I’ve ever experienced. There is also a pretty good user forum dedicated to all of their products.
Fair point - I love my carvey it’s really simple and being honest I use it most out of my machines. My only regret is it does not do well on softmetals.
Ps start shopping for end mill - you can never have enough.
I debated off and on for a long time about getting an X-Carve, or some other CNC… but seeing as I don;t have a proper workshop, I’d have to put it in my home office and neither do I have the room for it, nor do I have a way to clean it all up… But I really want one…
The enclosed machines are wonderful small footprint -dust is all contained in the housing. And a $30 HD wet dry vac solves all the clean up issues. Problems solved and no you have no more issues -smile.
If you want soft metals them get the shapoko it you are wood and plastic carvey is fantastic - you cant go wrong with either machine.
Be sure to check out Designs by Phil for a wealth of good information on the x-carve. Phil (@DesignsByPhil) is a member here and he is a true authority on the X-Carve.
Here are some of my stuff made on the x-carve or designed in vcarve desktop (best software for cnc is vectric software)
http://www.designsbyphil.com/phils-random-vcarve-projects.html