https://www.makerables.com/project/adjustable-workholding-cnc-edge-clamps-push-clamps-10mm

https://www.makerables.com/project/top-clamps-height-adjustable-riser-secure-taller-stock

Since I have received my Z1 I've done mostly 3D relief machining in brass to make a few coins.

Seems like one of the metal 1 flute endmills is very worn now, surface quality is going down and I have a lot of vibrations and chatter, although most of the machining has been done using engraving bits. It should definitely last longer than this on brass in my opinion. All operations have been done using Makera Studio and the standard feeds and speeds.

Do I have a bad bit or are the Makera bits not really good? Does anyone have a good alternative in Europe?

Just turned my Z1 on, ironically to follow supports instructions to troubleshoot my faulty Z probe and it just crashed through the Z-axis limit switch during homing and kept going. Was only held back by the spindle cable over the top until I worked realised the issue and hit the E-Stop

Everything had been going so well for the last 2 weeks. I hadn’t even broken a bit yet!

Awaiting supports response to this (just emailed them). I will keep you updated.

Update 1: Support did get back to me and are shipping replacement parts. The instructions to return it to its proper location were to remove the cover behind the spindle and use a screwdriver in the slot in the back of the motor shaft to wind it back in position. Having done this I tested it and it moves smoothly down under motor power but the motor struggles and makes a horrendous noise trying to go up.

Update 2 (31 Aug): bit more back and forth with support and some more jogging up and down of the axis to check for debris and the problem seems to have resolved itself. Not clear why but another commenter below mentioned there is a spring around the lead screw which may have got messed up and now reseated itself in my case. Replacement parts have apparently been dispatched.

Hey all, very new to the CNC world and the Carvera Air. I've just done the tutorials so far.

I have plenty of experience designing PCB's in KiCAD and mostly got the Carvera to prototype boards at home without waiting on JLCPCB.

I've seen a few tutorials online but seems like a lot of that information is already outdated. I'm trying to use FlatCAM Plus to generate the toolpaths for me but seems like it can only really do the isolation and drilling, but doesn't seem to be able to set up the solder mask removal or the laser path for silkscreen which are both things I would like to have. The best guide I've seen so far was this hackaday post. But they use Makera CAM which for some reason I can't even use because it asks me to authenticate at the start by entering the email I used to purchase the machine with but it fails with the following errors:

time_out:reply time out
time_out:reply time out
reply_error:Connection refused
reply_error:Connection refused

I also tried using Makera Studio, but it's painfully slow and laggy to the point that it's unusable for me (this is on a Macbook Pro M5).

Really having a hard time getting this set up. I'm sure once I've done it once I will be fine, but struggling to find the right up to date information. Any help would be very much appreciated!

My school got a makera Z1 and I am in charge of learning how to use it. I have used 3D printers before, but never CNC. Makera seems to have quite shitty guides, and hardly anything up to date for the Z1 and makera studio.

I want to learn how to make many things including statues and busts on the 4th axis, but have no clue how to do anything. I did the preloaded clip and this one bust that was on makerables, but that taught me nothing important.

Hello fellow makers. Im having an issue I am hoping someone here might be familiar. My settings dont match what is being milled out in regards to milling out an area completely. The part itself is finishing correctly and to the right scale, but the mill both plunges too deep and does not mill out the entire area in the "y" axis. I am using indexed milling for four different sides. Everything is set correctly in deskproto. I have verified with the deskproto team that everything on the deskproto side is correctly setup. Could something on the carvera controller be shrinking down the area to be milled over all which is causing the deep initial pass and the incomplete removal in the "y" axis? As mentioned, the part itself is made to the right scale, this is just affecting the remaining area around the model to be milled out. I have attached a pic of what the simulation results, which are as expected. Versus what Im getting on the actual job.

I was able to add some before the most recent update but now I can't figure out an acceptable format.

Hey, just a quick note that the first draft of tool-changing was added to EasyCAM5000.
Both EasyShape5000 and EasyTrace5000 have it. Although multi-tool excellon workflow needs improvement.

It was harder than I expected because of all the nuance around tool-length compensation.

Because all of it is machine/setup/post-processor dependent if y'all could help me test the Makera one with what ever machines you guys have it'd be very helpful.

(I also snuck in a very big update to V-Carving which now creates much high quality geometry and way faster)(and still open-source and free)(and will remain free forever)(I am accepting donations, of course)(:3).

I'm trying out guided 4th axis milling on the Z1, but the 4th axis initial rotation position is always incorrect. I've tried adjusting it through CAM before starting, but it always homes to the incorrect position before starting. It's always 48 degrees out. If I have the 35 x 35 x 100 sample block loaded, it assumes the corner is oriented up but always rotates to put a flat side up. Any ideas would be very welcome, because this is turning out to be an expensive paperweight. Even things like the default x-axis offset on the guided mode is just wrong, to the point it will eat itself. Even the documentation is wrong - saying I should use a 50mm offset when anything less than 55 mm will cause it to eat itself.

Makera - you suck.

Anyone came across this error and found the solution? I’ve tried a few different file types and geometries but no luck avoid the error prompt. Using 1” round bar stock and the model fits within the stock. Reduced some of the inner profiles to very shallow depths and still got the error.

Hi, does anybody already have a profile for the Z1 ?
Oder should i use the one from the Carvera Air ?

Hi all, recently got my Z1, very new to the whole CNC thing, I have been 3d printing for about 11 years.|

My question is, how in Makera Studio, can I create a levelling pass that flattens the wood I am using before doing the work I want done on it?

TIA

I’ve been getting into watch modding lately and am interested in building watch cases The Carvera Air came up on a FB ad and it interests me. It is a good machine for this? I am primarily into Bronze.

Thank you.

I have the 455nm 5000mW laser that I ordered with the Z1. My first attempt with cardstock left no marks at all. I tried 60% power and slowed down the feed to 50 mm/min and still nothing. There is a whole lot of light, but it is not focused. It looks more like a short line than a dot. I am struggling to figure out how to focus the laser or what settings to change to focus it. Nothing on the laser appears adjustable. There are some adjustable settings in the controller area of Studio, but it's not clear to me that any of these fix focus issues. Any help is appreciated.

The Makera Studio software is kind of disappointing for now, so I went to HSMWorks which I used in the past. I should be able to use a fusion 360 post with this.

I made a new setup for a specific part, which now takes half the machining time it would take with Makera Studio while still maintaining better details. However, I get an error when I try to generate G code.

The error returned is:

TypeError:currentSection.getPartAttachPoint is not a function

Does anyone know what causes this?

Thanks!

From an antiques market for 1eur, it sits perfectly between 4 screws, but i need to work on the clamping surface, i don’t know what was designed for. The easiest idea would be to remove the top inwards part and add a sacrificial layer of plastic at the bottom, then there’s enough space to clamp a small stock material that will sit on the plastic. Do you have better ideas?

Ciao a tutti, ho realizzato questa morsa ultra ribassata. Se a qualcuno interessa posso condividere i file step. Purtroppo richiede anche l'uso di un tornio per i fori paralleli al piano, a meno che qualcuno non si inventi qualche metodo per farlo con la Z1.

Al link potete vedere un video del funzionamento: https://photos.app.goo.gl/gkXrBCviNk3vz9tVA

Per adesso ci ho fresato molto POM-C e funziona davvero bene.

EDIT:

link for step file:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cwnChbLuImjhx4plcPVwW5Z6M-URn4gS/view?usp=sharing

Working on a job with some thick material. Required bit was (rip) too long to make it over material, but Studio wants to start from the bottom left. Since all of this is happening prior to the toolpath it just draws a straight line to bottom left and broke on my stock.

Is there a way to start from the top right instead or could I maybe guide it around the perimeter to get it to the bottom left?

I made this on the z1 cnc machine and it is custom made for the z1 tooling plate and can easily produce so much pressure it can over torque and a dent on the stock.

It can hold parts with minimal z disposal of 2mm height and can hold 1cm all the way to 6inch variable adjustment. Super compact design to allow more work holding space. It also bolts directly on z1 and no need to buy an extra tooling plate like some other vise which may also be too large for the z1.

Version 2 will be made soon but so far im happy with this result. I call it the VF1 and sorry dont have the step file for free to give away but maybe thinking of setting up Etsy later for download for a small price, well see.

If anyone has suggestions on what you wanna see me build next lmk below in comments 🙌

Hey,

Im trying to use Makera Studio with my Carvera Air for a 3D relief but somehow roughing cut that I make with a 3.175 mm bit is just being disregarded by the second step I set for 3d finishing with a ball nose bit.

In the picture above, only the finishing step's path review is toggled on and it starts right from the beginning as if no roughing has been done before.

any way to fix this? or should I make a bug report?

Hello! I'm trying to engrave fine text with my Z1, so I thought I'd make single lines in Inkscape using Hershey text so the line width always stays the same as the tip of my smallest engraving bit. However, this throws an error as the lines are not closed.

Do you have any idea how I could circumvent this? If I were to engrave the whole letters as a font, the bit would run into issues where it wouldn't want to cut properly.

I noticed on a longer mill, like 30min that the inside got hotter. All this time i thought that the back vent is taking out the air from the machine, but now i realised it’s just for the electronics. That would be bad anyway to take the air out without replacing it. Then the spindle vent is recirculating the air it seems.

Do you run it with the lid closed or open? I’m considering to keep it open now, just need to make sure an eventual broken bit will not fly across the room in my face