Introduce myself!

[coryatjohn]

I just finished assembling my new ShopBot and wanted to say hello. So far, everything has gone pretty smoothly and I expect to cut my first project soon.

Here are the details:

ShopBot PRS Alpha
96x60x12
12" indexer

No experience with CNC or any aspect of the process for that matter. I expect there is a learning curve. I should be able to get a handle on the complexity in a short time, say ten or twelve years.

[gene]

Welcome aboard this crazy train. Just kidding , take it slow and ask questions , there is so much help here on this forum .

[kubotaman]

John I notice you have a 12 " indexer and alpha. I have the same. You will enjoy it a lot. If you need the steps for indexer let me know. ShopBot did not have them for me so I had to figure them out.

[coryatjohn]

Daryl,

I am very interested in knowing what you know about the indexer. It's sort of a DIY accessory, or so it seems. How did you mount it? What software do you use? Anything else you can tell me, I'm all ears!

Thanks.

[myxpykalix]

John
After you get your indexer mounted we'll teach you how to do stuff like this....:eek:

[kubotaman]

John send me a PM and we can discuss what and how I mounted and set the steps for it. Be glad to help with what I can.

[coryatjohn]

The ShopBot assembly instructions were a bit shy on cable management. I'd be very interested to see how others have managed their echain, the spindle cable and the rest of them. I'm a bit concerned about how they dangle off the back of the X car.

[kubotaman]

John I have sent you an e-mail in regards to your 12" indexer.

[WoodMarvels.com]

Welcome to the club John - I was in the same boat as you when I got the ShopBot Desktop... never touched a CNC machine previously in my life but the software and people are so easy to work with once you get the hang of it.

Jon
ps: I'm a senior member now! Does that give me a discount at the cinema?

[coryatjohn]

Thanks for the encouragement! I selected ShopBot as my tool largely due to the support options and friendliness of the company. The machine itself seems well made and the components are high quality.

I am a software engineer so I expect the computer part to be the least challenging. On the other hand, I have zero experience with CAD software and 3D modeling.

[WoodMarvels.com]

CAD is pretty easy actually once you wrap your head around it - and you got PartWorks/SB software that makes working a breze. I'm sure you'll be up to speed in no time.

My biggest hurdle was just getting comfortable with the machine and its capabilities regarding how they affect the final design - caused me to break lots of bits!

Jon

[Hoytbasses]

Welcome!


I'm a brand new owner as well. in the bit breaking phase myself, BUT....I'm finding the partsworks software quite easy to use ... and I'm a guy with NO CAD experience.

first big learning curve: making sure to adjust the feed rates for the 1/4" down cut spiral bits when cutting something like ash. 3"ipm and .25 pass depth is too fast/too deep for ash......cha ching.... another bit bites the dust:-)

also I've found this forum pleasantly helpful! The folks are very nice, very helpful and a bit funny too!

Karl

[WoodMarvels.com]

What I've found is that bits tend to break in pairs or triplets... first time you think it's wear and tear (or defective), second time at the EXACT same spot on a new sheet you think it's a fluke... third time you realize you are cutting things too tight!

I don't visit this forum half as much as I should but when I do, I always learn something that I wished I had known a few bits back. Lots of very good folks here...

Jon

[coryatjohn]

I'm a software engineer by trade, so the computer aspects of this aren't going to be the bottle neck. So far, everything has worked pretty well. I'm currently in a waiting phase as I made the decision at the last minute to upgrade my spindle from 2.2hp to 4hp so I have no spindle or VFD at this moment. Once I get past this I can start breaking bits.

That brings up a good question... what should I have for bits? The starter set that came with the machine is nice but it's one off's of everything. Any suggestions on what I should get before I start cutting?

[WoodMarvels.com]

I only cut one material, 6mm plywood so for me I buy the following bit from Amazon.com in bulk. I just bought 20 of them and got my mom to reship it to Perth, Australia. Locally this bit is 3x the price so it's well worth it for me.

Freud bit on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000225VO/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative =9325&creativeASIN=B0000225VO&linkCode=as2&tag=leg endarylife-20)

You may also find some insight in the following blog post - I'll do an update once I get the dust extraction unit from Shopbot (it was missing a few pieces when it was crated).

http://blog.cncking.com/shopbot-tools-shopbot-desktop-review-6-months-milestone/

Jon
ps: All the projects I've made for the Shopbot have a video which shows the cutting and assembly, (http://cncking.com/shopbot-table-router-projects.html) just scroll down and you'll see it. The set-up is always the same but it may give you some ideas for yours... I've figured-out what works most efficient for me. I'm just waiting the part so I can get a bunch more projects going again... have a far better set-up here than in Canada where I filmed all those videos.