The ShapeOko mechanical kit (#236) arrived a little over two weeks ago, right on time after I had finished putting the electronics together (I've been away since then, so this is a little belated) . The kit itself came very well packed and organized. With all the parts neatly organized in individual bags, it was easy to put the mill together in less than a day. I found the only somewhat tricky element to be the instructions, but spending a little time looking through the ShapeOko wiki was enough to figure out what was going on. For stepper motor control I used the GrblShield, which was simple to connect to and run. My software stack consists of Autodesk Inventor Student (dxf or 3d file)->CamBam(free 40 use trial)->GCodeSender. Unfortunately, I was too excited about getting it working to think about taking picures of the assembly.
Obviously, the combination of a not-very-stiff pen mount and incorrectly-set-z-axis-height created some problems on the above "Hello World!" picture. Since then I've spent some time playing with feed rates and other variables to make things run faster and more smoothly. For my cutting tests I have been using a Dremel rotary tool on high speed with a 1/8" standard wood drill bit. So far I have tried cutting foam, soft wood, hard wood, and acrylic with varying levels of success. What has become most clear is that finding the correct feed rate for each material is critical for a good cut and finish. I have also recognized that a standard drill bit will not function very well as an end mill. I've put in an order for a couple of proper end mills so that I can soon begin to cut things for real. My ultimate goal is to cut 1/4" aluminum plates with this mill. I think that this will be entirely possible with some more practice and better bits.
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| Test cutting a riser for Metal Scooter out of some wood |
Overall, I am very impressed with the ShapeOko CNC mill. Its design seems really well thought out and rigid, and the hobbyist community oriented aspect of the project is also very cool. It is amazing that a highly funtional and legitimate miniature CNC machine can cost less than $350. I am excited to begin putting it to use for real parts and projects. I am also considering the possibility of expanding the X-Y work area to accomodate larger workpieces (due to the ShapeOko's convinient use of MakerSlide rails). I apologize for the lack of many pictures in this post; I'll be updating with those when I get back from a trip. More details about my progress with using ShapeOko in general will be posted under its page when I have the time to work with it more.
(Quick) Mëtal Scooter update
Most of the parts for Mëtal Scooter have been ordered at this point. For both cost and simplicity reasons, I sold out and will be using a modified Razor Scooter A2 front end instead of designing my own. In the end, I think that a $100 cost saving there will allow me to make the rest of the scooter (carbon fiber top-deck) that much more cooler. I also downgraded the motor slightly so that I wouldn't have to deal with the expense of 10s Lipo batteries, chargers, and ESCs. I will be using an 8s setup instead. This should still be dangerously fast, but at a more economical price. It will likely be about a week before enough parts arrive for work to begin.
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