Shop stools on handibot CNC

I am literally the handibot’s biggest fan. If you go googling it you will start seeing me and mine right after company stuff.

The handibots design philosophy is a bit different than most cnc in that you take it to the work instead of having a fixed base. The biggest complaint has always been it extremely small cut area of 6X8".

Brian who is in charge of the handibot project sent me a prototype extended Y-axis to try out/beta test.

My thoughts so far are “wow, now more than ever the handibot is just the cnc router for the person with limited space and/or budget.”

I needed a project that would challenge the capabilities of this mod as well as something I needed.

I grabbed some 3/4" plywood that needed to be used up and whipped out these. They still need to be sanded, glued, and finished but I am quite impressed.

I had beta tested an earlier attempt at this and I basically killed that project because even with decent attention to detail we’d get what I call “jogles” when indexing, small but significant misalignments that would ruin a piece. In this try, Brian has beat that and I have trouble finding where I indexed!

It will be interesting to see just How far the Glowforge Pro will be able to be pushed in this direction? Perhaps laminating two pieces to get enough strength?

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Wow! And yeah, there are lows of possibilities with laminations, especially if you can go to more than two layers (with cutouts) to get stiffness without too much weight.

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Okay, that’s cool enough for a non-Glowforge related project. :wink:

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Seriously, with this, a Glowforge, and my 3d printer, all I need is a lair under a dormant volcano with some minon. :grin:

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very awesome!

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so I’m curious, always loved the idea of the handibot, but the tiny work space was always a little off putting. Are you allowed to share what the y axis has been stretched to in this beta version?

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I am under no NDA but I am voluntarily not spreading the word too wide until Brian is closer to shipping and I won’t say anything negative until he has had a chance to fix it.

Now, to answer your question. 24 inches. This really is enough for most anything now as it is 24X unlimited in 6" steps.
I cut these out of three 24X36 sheets but if you had a project that called for it you could keep on indexing to the full width of a piece of plywood. 96".

I think 24 is the perfect compromise as much bigger and it would become unwieldy. If you need to drop a cut n the middle of a 4X8 foot sheet of plywood there is a laser alignment tool to cover that.

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Very nice. That makes a lot more sense to me than the 6x8. Like I said I’ve always loved the concept. I don’t even have a garage right now, much less a shop, so most of the time to do something I have to pull my tools out of the shed and work on the back porch. Pulling one tool like this out instead of 3 or 4 would be awesome.

Lol, if Brian needs a NOOB beta tester let me know, it’s my one true qualification :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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LOL, if that comes up I’ll certainly put in a good word. Seriously, though, this is a small outfit and I’m afraid I am the solitary beta tester.

The good new is you will be able to buy one within weeks. Brian will start pumping out upgrades as soon as he can evaluate my feedback and implement any changes he agrees with. Then he has to work up documentation for the upgrade. I am guessing making upgrades will be full time for several weeks so just ballparking I’d guess you can buy one with the 24" Y in 6-8 weeks.

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Yea, I noticed on their site that they were already talking about the “impending” update. From what you say looks like an exceptional good one.

OMG!
I just got my Handibot about 2 weeks ago and am figuring it all out. Finally got to the point of “WOW, I made a clamp in Fusion 360 and actually cut it out”…
Now this!!! Definitely my next purchase/accessory for the Handibot.

Great to find a fellow Handibotter who also has a Glowforge… Except, of course, you already HAVE your Glowforge, and I’m just waiting. At least with the Handibot I’ve got a lot of CNC’ing to do.

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Yeah, great to see a second handiboter! If you haven’t already discovered it, I run a handibot owners group over on G+. Post your clamp over there, we’d love to see it.

I hope the documentation makes the upgrade a bit less daunting. I got the box with nothing but the parts! I had every extension and universal I own (I exaggerate only slightly) out before I was done. Well worth it though to be the first to have this wonderful thing.

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Then I learned that I can get a table-top WATER JET CUTTER!! OMH! Now I’ll have to draft a minion application form. (Perhaps contact the minion local)
Oh BTW that is OMH (OH my Howard) (I learned in he military that God’s name is Howard…you know…"our father who art in heaven…HOWARD be thy name! HA!)

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Found out last night I may have a CNC commission project during the summer, and was going to rent the ShopBot at the local makerspace, but now I’m going to have to look at the Handibot – that stool is awesome, thanks @markevans36301!

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If I get one of my upcoming grants, a Wazer is on the list…

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