Hello All - Newly signed up member with around 42 months experience of CNC

Hello All - just signed up to MYCNCUK. I have around 42 months experience as a hobbyist (post retirement interest) with CNC hardware and software. I started out with a 3018 Pro purchased from Amazon and after careful assembly over a three day period, it died at switch on. Sent back for a refund and purchased a Snapmaker 1. It was easy to put together but very limiting in size. The platten was about 5 inches square but only for laser and 3D printing. The CNC machining reduced the work envelope to around 3 inches square and 2 inches in height while the clamping system was barely adequate. The software was poorly thought out and technical support was almost non-existent.

I did learn from my mistakes and felt ready to move onto a Shapeoko 3 with a 400 x 400 x 95mm work envelope. I used Carbide Create software along with the 8 bit GRBL controller and I experimented with a lot of software approaches including Meshcam, Fusion 360, FreeCAD, TurboCAD and Blender. (Using a Mac laptop so a bit limited in my software choices) My machine currentIy uses a Makita trim router and I have been lucky that its runout is very small. I also attached a J-Tech 4.2Watt laser and have used that successfully with LightBurn. In a few short months I had created a spoil board from 18mm MDF with M6 inserts at 20mm centres and it also protected the baseboard. My primary issues with the Shapeoko S3 were the low level of the Carbide software, which was replicated in the professional level Meshcam, and the belt adjustment system. I also found the work holding solutions to be inaccurate.

I have successfully modified the machine and carved or laser engraved many materials including aluminium, slate, hard and softwoods, ceramics and glass. I can now reliable cut aluminium plate to a tolerance of ±0.001" because of my modifications. I changed the belt holding system to be a completely straight path and a single bolt adjustment that I tune (using a standard guitar tuner to a pitch of C (135Hz). It is quick and accurate and I can tune all 3 belts in about one minute. 135Hz appears to be a sweet spot for the 9mm GT2 belts and They have stayed correctly tensioned for over one year now.

I added a Saunders Machine Works Aluminium Baseboard which was a 1/2 inch T6 plate made to fit the S3 with a sea of holes (840 M6 threaded holes at 20mm centres). It is supported by three aluminium stiffener rods and I use it with a pair of SMW modular vices. These can be set to any length our width and the rigidity of the machine has improved by an order of magnitude. I have other clamping options and also use 3M painter's tape and industrial CA glue for clamping situations that cannot permit clamps.

I currently use my Mac laptop attached to my machine by a standard USB A connection to the 8bit GRBL controller and my laser controller is piggy backed onto it and connected directly to the PWM output. This allows me to produce jobs which require laser and CNC machining. I have a desktop Mac which runs RDP software and controls the laptop in the shed via BootCamp and Windows 10 Pro. The CAD/CAM software I use is Carveco Maker (great for 3D carving) and the .nc files are put through the Shapeoko post processor. On the desktop, I use gSender as my front end to drive the CNC machine.

With lots of pitfalls on the way, I now consider I am a reasonable improver and I am willing to assist people new to the CNC machine hobby. I am hoping to change my machine for one with more capabilities (I want to use a 4th axis) and a larger bed size. I expect that to happen within the next 6 ~ 8 months and then my current machine will be up for sale.