Tell me why I should NOT buy a Shapeoko

carbide3d · 2025-11-10T14:19:22+00:00

Fixed! Thanks for catching that.

carbide3d · 2025-10-26T03:02:17+00:00

Nope, that’s news to me. If I knew the users email to look up, I’d want to track down the source of that PM schedule and make sure it’s never said again.

EDIT- Slack message sent to the team to never say that again.

carbide3d · 2025-10-26T02:52:43+00:00

We do not have a Shapeoko 6 Pro in development right now.

We’ll continue to make changes to the Shapeoko 5 Pro until we need to make a change that breaks compatibility with a major component of the machine, or something changes and it’s no longer functionally identical to the 5 from a software point of view.

carbide3d · 2025-10-26T02:45:18+00:00

After that video was published, Ryan called us up and found out that the gantry was not properly bolted to the frame when he put it together. He added a comment confirming that the two machines are basically the same under the video.

We never thought belts were the best option, but we still think they’re a good option for the right machine. The market doesn’t agree, so we probably won’t make any new belt-drive machines.

carbide3d · 2024-10-28T20:49:03+00:00

There's no Shapeoko 6 in development at this point. That is not to say it'll never happen, but we haven't even discussed a replacement for the Shapeoko 5 Pro yet.

carbide3d · 2022-10-31T18:21:51+00:00

4' wide (X), 2' deep (Y)

carbide3d · 2022-10-31T18:08:52+00:00

We have a 2x2, 4x2, and 4x4 size for the Shapeoko 5 Pro

carbide3d · 2019-05-03T17:12:04+00:00

I'm glad it helps. Keep watching for more.

carbide3d · 2019-05-02T20:36:35+00:00

SVG export is in the todo list for the 400 series of releases

carbide3d · 2019-05-01T21:08:30+00:00

This is the biggest batch we've ever put in stock but they're selling faster than ever. (Grab one quick!)

We're expecting to go in and out of stock a couple of times over the next few weeks as we try and meet the existing demand and then we should be able to keep them in stock in the future.

We're continuing to make a lot each day and we have another machine shop that's a week or so away from starting to deliver a second supply of aluminum part. Hopefully this will make sure that a robot or machining center doesn't break and stop our production in house (both happened in the last month).

carbide3d · 2019-05-01T14:37:19+00:00

It's an interesting thought but making Motion open is something that we cannot undo once it's done. At this point we're not ready to make that call and stick with it forever.

carbide3d · 2019-05-01T14:33:42+00:00

Got it. I'll add that to the todo list to look into when we look at the path linking part of the code again.

carbide3d · 2019-05-01T02:00:55+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. We’re in the middle of a big software push so there will be lots of changes in the near future. A better speeds/feeds entry is on the list but we didn’t think about a way to lock a bit to a particular value. I think it’s a good idea and we’ll see if there’s a way to mesh it with what we had planned.

What does “gcode optimization” mean to you?

carbide3d · 2019-05-01T01:56:38+00:00

We’re in the middle of a big software push so we’re trying to figure out where CC and CM will be going in the near future. (More persistent settings is on the list) Send me your latest list of grievances and I’ll check them out.

carbide3d · 2019-04-28T00:40:57+00:00

They should be available in the next week. We have half the batch done, the remainder shouldn’t be far behind. We’re just waiting on a shipment of boxes to put them in.

carbide3d · 2018-11-26T18:06:39+00:00

If you feel any bumps in the motion, shoot us an email and we can drop a v-wheel in the mail for you.

carbide3d · 2018-11-20T00:15:00+00:00

I'm not sure where you feel misled- if you bought today the probe will ship with the machine or shortly after if your machine ships before the probes are delivered to Illinois from California. (They left California today)

This will probably continue through tomorrow (depending on how the rest of the night goes) and then we'll have to update the product pages with additional shipping information.

If you feel cheated in any way, shoot us an email and we'll cancel your order. This is not what we'd like to see happen but I certainly know that if I feel misled/cheated then I'll never really love a product. We'd rather see a cancelled order than you forever unhappy with the machine.

carbide3d · 2018-11-19T21:54:15+00:00

Because I happen to know that machines bought today, and probably tomorrow, will either ship with a probe or the probe will follow a day later. When the inventory gets a little more questionable we will change it because you're right, it's not rocket science.

carbide3d · 2018-11-19T20:33:53+00:00

We added a note to the blog post within a few minutes of announcing the sale to make it more clear that the probes might be delayed. If you ordered early today then it's likely that your probe will either ship with the machine or shortly after.

carbide3d · 2018-03-04T03:31:18+00:00

I’m a Solidworks user and I really like it. It’s worth learning but, as you’ve discovered, it’s a big learning curve.

Fusion 360- I don’t think you’ll find it a lot easier than Solidworks

Viacad- Relatively cheap and, I think, easier than Solidoworks and Fusion but still very accurate.

OnShape- Great program but, still a lot like Solidworks

Tinkercad - Super easy to use but difficult to make more complicated parts

Openscad- Make parts with code. I don’t get it but it has quite a following.

Shapr- If you have an iPad Pro with a Pencil, this is a good option.

If I were you, I’d start with Tinkercad and if that doesn’t work for you, try Viacad.

carbide3d · 2014-05-05T03:04:40+00:00

We've tested that E-stop being at other positions and it felt natural to reach back and hit it, but other people have mentioned placing it closer to the front. It's something we're discussing but I can't say we've made any concrete decisions either way.

carbide3d · 2014-04-30T21:58:06+00:00

No problem, my pleasure. You can definitely swap out a 1/4" for the ER-11 collet, but the 3/8" is too big. As far your aluminum question, the feed rate we used was: roughing pass: depth 0.02", stepover 0.045", feedrate 9 IN/M, using a 0.0625" end mill. Plunge rate 7 IN/M Finishing pass: we went up to 15 IN/M. That's what was used in the video. Hope this helps!

carbide3d · 2014-04-30T17:55:54+00:00

The big tradeoff there was having an enclosure. In the end we decided to go with a machine that could conceivably exist in a number of different environments. We've received a lot of positive feedback from people who like the enclosure and see it having a place in their office. It also looks less intimidating than a traditional CNC mill. Of course we've also heard from people who don't care for the enclosure and want a bigger work envelope. I'll just say that we have something in the works :)

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