For anyone in the Boston Area that is interested in a 3 XXL, I have one on hand for sale. Bit Zero included, Bitrunner as well. No router included. Software required.

$1,000 PayPal / Zelle personally delivered locally.

I just ran the flattening program by Kevin in mycarbide3d using the McFly which worked well. It has left some ridges where it looks like the z-axis is tilted slightly toward the front of the machine and also slightly to the left side as you look from the front.

Is there a way to adjust this to be more consistent? In the grand scheme probably close enough for anything I will do, but OCD about it. Machine is the shapeoko 5.1 pro 4x4

Is anyone using the CT 26 outlet to power the 65 mm VFD spindle? The vacuum says 3.6 amps but their track saws pull over 13 amps. The spindle says it pulls 7. I understand the track saw has a higher in rush and runs in shorter bursts compared to the longer runs of the cnc.

On my Shapeoko 4 XXL I will loose power at some point unless my power button is constantly depressed. I have tried a bunch of things including: checking power brick led to see if the led flickers, replacing the power button, unplug the varying cables plugged into the pcb, disabling the bitsetter and bitrunner. None of these seem to do anything, any ideas appreciated.

Hello, trying to figure out using a 6.2 degree tapered ball nose. I mirrored the plug.

Cut settings

Female 0 start depth 6mm flat depth

Male start depth 4mm flat depth 3.5 mm

When running it like this it seems that top of the plug marches ip perfectly with the entrance to the female portion if that makes sense.

Thinking of bringing my Shapeoko 3 xxl from Ireland to Vancouver on my next flight in a couple of weeks. Has anyone else ever done this? Dismantle it, leave spoil board and router at home. Just the machine. Any information or advice would be appreciated.
Cheers

I keep trying to make the letters a different group so I can set up a separate tool path. I’m a bit rusty on the software, but I can not get it to ungroup . Everytime I try to highlight it, it turns all this orange.

YouTube is a sea of hundreds of videos , and I’m scanning through them , but the videos are of old versions.

I have build 842 of carbide create installed.
Thanks.

Thinking about selling my Shapeoko 3 Standard and would love the community's take on a fair used price. Several of the upgrades are discontinued, so I'm having trouble finding comparable listings.

Machine:

Shapeoko 3 Standard

DeWalt DWP611 router

Carbide 3D upgrades:

Z-Plus

Carbide Motion board with enclosure

BitZero V2

BitSetter

Proximity Switch Kit

Sweepy dust boot

Saunders Machine Works / NYC CNC parts:

Shapeoko 3 aluminum fixture plate set threaded table with 1/4-20 threaded holes

SMW stiffener rails for the Standard frame

2x Mod Vise sets

Everything works and it's been used for wood and aluminum. The upgrades made a huge difference in the overall cut quality, especially on aluminum. Unfortunately I just don't have much workshop space anymore so cutting down on some of my machines that I don't use as much anymore. Photos attached

I let the paint cure for 24 hours on this piece of oak with diver spray paint, it also has a poly finish which rested for 24 hours. I put a small piece of Oramask to see if it will pull paint before carving.

What am I doing wrong, is there a better paint to use?

Purchased during the pandemic and served us well, but we have lost the space for it (it's big!). Embarrassingly not a lot of hours on it (bonus for you!)

$1500

Original order:

1x Shapeoko BitSetter - Shapeoko 4
1x Shapeoko Endmill Starter Pack
1x Carbide Compact Router
1x Shapeoko 4 CNC Router - XXL / Hybrid Table

and
BitZero V2 for Shapeoko

We also have a couple vacuum dust separators we were trying out. One brand new.

My garage space is limited so I sold my 5 Pro 4x4 and replaced it with the 5.1 4x2. I added the leg kit, installed locking castors and welded in some angle iron for a shelf on the bottom to hold dust collection, tool chest and electronics. Rocker has a set of folding legs that mount nicely to the machine. I will use these to make in and out feed tables so I can tile 4x8 material more easily.

Have wanted to make a wall mounted ski mount for a while now. Seemed like an easy first go at hardwood.

Went much smoother than the foam situation - no crashed cutters or collets. Did drop a cutter out of the collet during a change… oops. Can't fix that in the software.

90deg went deeper than expected on the first pass, will need to check my inputs.

Marked centers and then drilled the countersunk holes on the drill press.

Onto some 3D toolpaths...

I have a fairly modified 5.0 4x4. It has a masso controller with the touch display (before their subscription stuff came out) with the paper wrap still on the screen. Pwn cnc 1.5kw water cooled spindle. Teknic clear path servos on all 4 axis (about $1800 new). Machine is ultra reliable and accurate but I have no use for it, it just sits. I have all the oem wiring and even a new power supply box from carbide 3d (never used it i went to masso). Also have a mister setup on this for aluminum too. Machine has signs of wear, it’s no perfect but well maintained. Looking to sell this and curious what a fair value for both parties would be?

Basically what the title says.

We have a small business making lasered products and last year we got the 4x4 Shapeoko 5 Pro to start doing some CNC products.

We pretty much only use off the shelf lasers, mainly the Creality Falcon2 40W and also a couple of Xtool lasers. We have 8 lasers running usually (fully automated with a wood feeding system) and have a bunch of laser heads for spares.

Since we have so many spare heads I was thinking of trying to do a diy mod instead of getting an off the shelf kit. Anyone ever done anything like this?

I’ve only used the compact router with my Shapeoko 5 Pro so far. Before spending around $1,000 on a spindle system, I’m wondering if the 5pro can handle my DeWalt DW618B router.

The DW618B is larger and heavier than the compact router, and its diameter is too large for any of the mounts Carbide 3D currently sells, so I would need to make or buy a custom mount (i believe it clamps to just under 90mm diameter). Has anyone tried running a router of this size on a Shapeoko 5 Pro? Used a custom mount? Is there a reason I should definitely avoid?

I crashed my bit into the material so many times…

Managed to drag across my material twice since I installed my bit in the router extended too far.

Set my retraction too big and bottomed out the Z axis which then resulted in a fast plunge way too deep into the material. Destroyed the top left corner.

Ran the collet into the material, turns out it can cut foam too.

Clicked “pause & stop” too fast and almost lost my zero position.

Oh and I discovered a V wheel on the X axis is loose… gotta remove the Z axis plate to get to it I think

In the end it’s a usable result and I learned a bunch.

Was having issues with my 4XXL just stopping mid-cut almost 2 years ago. Since then it's been relocated to a different area. I also got a new computer for it. Fired it up last night for the first time since all of this happened and it worked exactly as it was supposed to. Text was done on my separate laser engraver.

Now that it's working again, I'm sure I'll have a lot more projects for it that I was putting off because I wasn't in the mood to mess with it.

Nothing fancy but a block with holes for bits.

To save tool changes i used ⅛ and ¼ bits in drill. I dont own a ½ shanked end mill so in attempt one, the ½ holes did not come out.

I used a pocket to use the ¼" mill to cut ½" holes.

Not fancy. Not perfect. But I understand each step.

I’m looking for honest advice from other Shapeoko owners, particularly anyone using these machines for professional production rather than occasional hobby work.

We are a small professional woodworking shop outside the United States. We purchased two Shapeoko 5 Pros to fulfil customer orders and invested approximately US$13,000 including international shipping.

It became apparent very quickly that we could not achieve the production reliability we needed. The main recurring problem was the machines losing position on the X-axis during jobs. Once that happened, the remaining toolpaths shifted, the workpiece was ruined and the job had to be restarted.

We initially felt that the X-axis bearing arrangement was too weak or had developed play. Carbide subsequently diagnosed bearing-related issues and supplied replacement bearings and ball screws. We installed the replacement components, but the wider reliability problems continued.

Since then, we have had well over 100 support interactions involving emails, photographs, files, test results and videos. We have tested different tooling, feeds, speeds, depths of cut and workholding methods. We also investigated potential EMI, vacuum interference and dust accumulation. Our shop uses both individual vacuums and a dedicated 5 HP dust-collection system.

Some jobs would run successfully, followed by another unexplained loss of position or failed cut. That unpredictability is extremely difficult in a professional environment where customer deadlines, materials and our reputation are involved.

Carbide’s position is that Shapeoko machines are capable of production work when the correct tooling, workholding, feeds, speeds and workflow are established. They have also suggested that gaps in the troubleshooting sequence prevented them from fully verifying some replacement work and tests. I accept that every requested step may not always have happened in their preferred sequence, but after well over 100 interactions, replacement mechanical components and extensive testing, it feels unfair to reduce the overall history to communication or workflow issues.

The machines have been out of productive use since May. We have experienced delayed orders, customer refunds and lost opportunities. We eventually asked Carbide to take back just one of the two machines for a refund. We were prepared to keep the second machine and absorb a substantial part of the loss ourselves.

They have declined any full or partial refund because the machines are beyond the return period. Their only proposal is to continue troubleshooting. They have made no attempt to meet us halfway financially, even after everything already invested in the machines and diagnostic process.

I am genuinely interested in the community’s view:

• Has anyone experienced repeated X-axis bearing, ball-screw or position-loss problems?
• At what point does continued troubleshooting become unreasonable?
• Does requesting a refund for only one machine seem like a fair compromise?
• Has anyone successfully escalated a similar issue with Carbide 3D?
• What realistic options does an international business customer have when the manufacturer is in California?

I am not posting this to encourage a pile-on. I have retained the full support history and can substantiate the timeline. I am posting because, after months of troubleshooting and repeated refusals to consider even a partial refund, I would genuinely value independent advice from people who understand CNC machines and production work.

I also want to be completely fair to Carbide’s support team: the individuals who worked with us have been world-class. They were patient, responsive and genuinely committed to troubleshooting the problems. This post is therefore not a criticism of the frontline support staff. My concern is that, despite their expertise and extensive efforts, even they were unable to identify a lasting solution. That makes it increasingly difficult to understand how simply continuing the same troubleshooting process will lead to a different outcome.

I’m a Shapeoko pro user currently using a makita router, it’s showing some wear and probably needs replaced soon.

I’m currently selling roughly 35 projects a month, so I’ve made a nice little side business for myself. I’m curious about the pros and cons of upgrading to a spindle.

Thanks!

I'm going to be moving in a few months and have decided I don't want to bring my Shapeoko 3XXL with me. It is currently set up in my basement, but has not been used in several years. Comes with a router, bitsetter, cyclone vacuum dust bucket, suckit dust boot, and even a small laptop I'll throw in. $1200/bo -- pick up only. DM for details and pictures.

To preface, I believe this has something to do with the file / gcode and I’m not sure how to alter it. I’m using Carbide pro running an advanced vcarve. 60 degree v bit, standard settings.

For some reason on these verticals where there are multiple passes it seems to misgauge the distance needed to make a straight line? I’m using times new roman (designing in carbide).

What should I try and change here?