New CNC Machine - Lots of Pics and now Videos

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

Ordered myself a CNC Machine for use in the shop. If all goes well I will be getting it by the end of the month. Going to use Vcarve Pro to control it. Machine is made right here in Indiana and is called the Digital Wood Carver. This company has been great to work with and was willing to customize the machine for my needs. Cant wait to get it.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I can't wait to see what it can do. Dang....what a tool. 

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

David

This is kinda a logical progression for us. We already own an commercial embroidery business and sign shop, both of which uses computerized machines that work on the X Y Z three axis principle. Being a woodworker for over 35 years, it was only a matter of time before one of these made it into our shop and the nice thing about it is that it can use a lot of the 100,000 patterns i already have for the sign shop machine ( .AI or .EPS ) format

Fred

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Fred, I love tools. But I'm begging   :D......please post some pics after you get your set up and show us what this THANG does.

Indy is NOT to far for me to ship a slab....

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

All set to pick up this machine on October 27th and cant wait. Already have a place set up for it at the house and bought an nice new laptop to control it. Will be doing some surface planing of a bunch of 3 foot long wood pieces I have at the building so I have lots of sign blanks to work with and practice with.

[ronwood]

What features of the unit help you to decide to purchase this particular unit?

Thanks
Ron

[thecfarm]

Sounds like quite the machine. I use to deal with XYZ planes at my old job with robots.

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

Ronwood

There were a number of reasons i selected this particular vendor and machine

1. Value for the dollar - I believe this machine represents one of the best cnc values you will find for a machine that has the ability to cut as large as this one does. Other vendors get two to three times as much for a machine with similar capabilities.

2. I actually Know the Company Owner who is also the machines designer. He is an avid woodworker and Mechanical Engineer who has designed other much larger commercial woodworking machinery which I already own and that works flawlessly. I personally would trust anything he deigns and sells based on my past experience with his designs.

3.Quality Designs and Construction - He has put a lot of time and effort into the machine design and uses quality components in its construction that are readily available from him. No worries about buying a machine that came from China that you cant get parts for if you ever need one. This machine is built and sold right here in Indiana

4. Pre and Post Sale customer service - I have contacted the company many times on the phone and through email as i had many questions i needed answered before making my purchase. Each and every time they took the time to completely and totally answer any and all of my concerns. When I asked if the machine could be run with Vcarve Pro, which is the software i want to use, they actually took the time to download the Vcarve Pro trail software and trial cut pattern and sent me photos of the Digital Wood Carver actually cutting the pattern to perfection. This was important to me as i had not yet bought the software at cost of $750 and wanted to make sure it worked with the machine before i did lay out the money to buy it since it is not returnable. Likewise, with respect to post sales support, there is a young lady in one of the videos on their website that speaks of their excellent post sales support. I have actually sent them an email at 9:00 at night, only to get a reply within a few minutes. You cant beat customer service like that in my book.

5. They just released their new, fully tested, USB version of the machine. Prior to this, the interface from computer to machine required your computer to have a parallel interface, which is an interface that is no longer found in a majority of computers that now almost soley offer only USB ports. I wanted a machine that used a USB interface so that you could buy a fairly inexpensive, high powered laptop for about $400 to run it using the USB port. I actually did get a very nice, high speed laptop with 6G of ram and 15.6 inch screen at walmart online with 3 years warranty for less than $400

6. The company is local to me. They are located less than two hours from my home and my wife and I are actually going to pick up the machine and take some training on it at the same time. Why pay $300 to have someone crate a machine and another $800 to ship it to you if you can go and pick it up with your own truck for less than $70 in gas.

7. With all the options I ordered, including the table, dust collection system, and extra bits, the Digital Wood Carver ran me $3100. To this I added Vcarve pro software for $750 and a laptop as just less than $400 for a total investment of $4250. Not a bad price at all for a fully functional CNC machine, and much less than what other vendors wanted for machines with similar capabilities.

[Tree Feller]

BB, I could have used a CNC when I was sculpting the seat on the rocker I'm building. It would have been a lot less dusty and more precise, too.   ;D

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

Tree Feller

I am very excited to get it. My wife is even more excited than i am. She already has a list of items she wants to make on it. Today alone she said she wanted to do some fancy wood boxes for her wood pens she turns on the lathe and some character profiles for the front flower beds. She already has the patterns set and ready to go.

[grweldon]

After you discover contouring, a solid-carbide ball end mill will become your friend!   ;)

I don't have experience with V-Carve, but I used CAM software every day at work.  Amazing stuff!

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

GRWeldon

Thanks for reply. Bought the Vectric Vcarve Pro and PhotoVcarve add on earlier this week and have it all loaded on the laptop to take with me when I go and pick up the CNC machine on the 27th so we can try it out with the machine and get everything set up with the interface.

I have to say, I am very impressed with the software so far. It is extremely user friendly and chocked full of features to make you life very easy and your designs as effortless as possible. Whoever wrote this software definately understands the needs of the wooden sign maker because you just could not find a better piece of software in my opinion. They have over 40 hours of excellent videos on their website that explains the programs features and how to design your sign using each of the features. On top of that, they have free online lifetime support, user forum, and free projects you can download.

I did a lot of comparison shopping and read a ton of software reviews and tried out quite a few demo programs before I settled on the Vectric product line. They came out on top. The one company I would never buy anything from is Bobcad. I spent 15 minutes on the phone with a sales rep from Bobcad and I can tell you this, that is was the most miserable experience I have had with a salesman in 50 years of life. In that short 15 minute time span, I caught him in at least a dozen outright lies. I was honest with him and told him I had down selected my choice to between Bobcad and Vcarve Pro. He claimed to be very familiar with Vcarve Pro. I then asked him to spend a few minutes and convince me why I should buy Bobcad over Vcarve Pro. In response to that request, He continued to claim that Vcarve did not do at least a dozen things that Bobcad could do. Problem was, he was full of it. A quick visit to their website with him quickly proved the last 10 minutes worth of statements made by him to be nothing short of total lies. Vcarve Pro did everything he claimed it would not do and then some. I thanked him for his time and went to purchase Vcarve Pro immediately. He was a better salesman for Vectric Products than they could ever hope for.

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

New CNC Machine was picked up yesterday and we got some excellent hands on training at the manufacturers location when we picked it up. We stopped at the Hoosier Park Casino on the way back for lunch and to use some free money casino credits they sent us in the mail. Was well worth the stop, not only was lunch free with casino credits, but the wife wound up winning a little over $500

Got the machine home and my Son In Law, Houston was kind enough to come over this morning and help me carry the machine and base down the stairs to the basement, plus stayed and helped me align the bed, level the bench and verify machine operation. He is a great person and is very eager to work with me using the CNC.

Here are a few pics of the machine all set up and of two sample carves we did with it. Just got the software this week and the machine yesterday, so lots to learn but promise more pics as we do more projects. The CNC is being run using a new, but very inexpensive Gateway laptop running a tad over 2Ghz and with 6 Gig or RAM. Interface is via USB port and through the Green colored control box you see that allows for easy, speed variable, movement of the router along the X, Y, and Z axis. CNC movement is being driven by 4 port Gecko 540 interface assemble mounted in a very nice and tidy interface box under the cutting bed. They really did a nice job with the entire machine. The system has is own shop vac for router dust and chip collection and the software turns the vacuum and router on and off automatically before and after each job.

Also purchased the diamond tip stylus so i can engrave into aluminum plates and other materials using same system and software and got a nice show and tell of how the system can also be used to create one of a kind masterpieces in marble and granite which we may also try. Very versatile machine that opens up a lot of creative possibilities. The software can even do custom inlay work to make fancy boxes and tables



  

  

  

  

  

 

[sawguy21]

Wow, that is sweet.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Wow......a machine can write better than I can.  :D

That's way to cool Fred! Will it do country pictures? Deer? Fish?

[beenthere]

Is this a future option for a solution to Dodgy Loner's Boring Customs thread (need) ??

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,61005.msg895249.html#msg895249

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

Beenthere - this would definately be the solution to what he is trying to accomplish

David - it can cave just about anything, certainly fish, animals, mountains. In fact i have a huge selection of vector art ( well over 100,000 ) patterns that I bought for use with the vinyl cutter we us in our sign business and all of those images will work with this machine as well.

[Dodgy Loner]

Beenthere - this would definately be the solution to what he is trying to accomplish

David - it can cave just about anything, certainly fish, animals, mountains. In fact i have a huge selection of vector art ( well over 100,000 ) patterns that I bought for use with the vinyl cutter we us in our sign business and all of those images will work with this machine as well.

That is an expen$ive solution to what I am trying to accomplish :D

Maybe after my idea is on the cover of Forbes magazine I can afford something as nice as that ;)

[beenthere]

Gotta keep looking down the road to when you are enjoying your fame.  8)

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

Dodgy Loner

May not be as expensive as what you think. With all the bells and whistles I have into the machine, the very impressive software package, and new lap top, I have about $4200 into the whole set up. If I wanted to, I could have used a used $100 pc, shareware milling software and eliminated a few machine options and cut my total investment to about just less than $3000, but i have big plans for this machine and plan to have it running almost daily once I get everything in place and master the software.

By the way mine is the 96th machine that they have sold, so there are quite a few of these in use in the field

[opticsguy]

I have been thinking about this in my future as wel, difficult to justify the expenses just for a hobby and fun.  Yet i bought a band saw milll, just for fun and what a blast.

I see your machine is set up using a particle board table top instead of the cast aluminum tops on other machines, any concernes here?

What router are you using?   A standard wood workers router was not designed for the numbers of hours demanded by a CNC  machine.

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

Hello Opticsguy, nice to meet you.

The top you see is actually slat board like the use on the walls in stores. It is reinforced on both sides and down the middle with pieces of wood for added strength and to avoid deflection. There is a metal frame under the wood slat top as well. The slots make it very easy to clamp down anything you with to route using the two clamps they provide with the system that simple inset into whichever groove you select.

Normally you would use a piece of sacrificial board on top of this surface so as not to damage or route into it, especially if you were cutting parts that required you to cut fully through the piece of wood you were routing. No concerns about the top. Having wood instead of aluminum could be a blessing if you accidentally did something that drove your router bit into it. Wood would be much more forgiving.

So far as the router goes, it is a craftsman variable speed, 2hp, 12 amp model. It works very well. When you route signs, which is primarily what i will use it for, most signs do not take very long to route. The one with our names routed into it took less than 2 minutes to route. If I was in a production facility and cutting parts non stop day in and day out, I would probably opts for a commercial water cooled router, which could easily cost as much as my entire set up and then some. Shopbot makes some commercial grade machines and the one called "buddy" that they offer for over $8000  ( closer to $9500 when you pay their crating and shipping charges ) still uses an air cooler 3.25hp Porter cable router and i don't hear any complaints about that usage either.

Like i said earlier, this is number 96 they have sold and i do not see any complaints about router our table on their forum. What i do see is a bunch of nice images of items their customers made using this unit. One of their customers on the video they have on their website makes their entire living by chainsaw carving and sign routing and she states they use the machine a lot and she likes it so much she wants to buy a second one.

[grweldon]

Is this a future option for a solution to Dodgy Loner's Boring Customs thread (need) ??

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,61005.msg895249.html#msg895249

Certainly not the most efficient way to do what Dodgy is wanting.  You would have to mill the angled sides by contouring with a Ball end Mill, stepping over a very small distance on each pass and doing a circle, and repeating hundreds of times.  It would take at least several minutes to get any kind of surface finish.  The form-cutting bit that he's going with is the best way for limited production.

The CNC machine CAN do it very well.  I would use it if I wanted to do what Dodgy Loner is doing if I wanted them in aluminum!

[Dodgy Loner]

BBL- you're right- that's about 1/3 of what I would have expected that you paid for that setup. CNC machines sure have come down in price over the last several years! I still agree with grweldon that the custom bit will be my best bet for now.

[opticsguy]

Hey Busy Beaver,

Thanks for your reply.  Still kind of waiting for prices to drop closer to a barrel of oil and kind of waiting for these machines to get easier to use.  I would prefer not to have to spend much time programing and debugging programs to make a project.  One other part i was hoping for was a machine that could span 36"  at an affordable price. 

Then it comes down to paying the dentist or purchasing a CNC.   :-)

Any recommended websites dedicated for you CNC users?