2 years of CNC woodworking with my Carvewright - huge # of pics and vids

[AL Ursich]

Al,

Your insight has been greatly appreciated! Have you used your CW on acrylics? What were your results? If I don't purchase a CW now, I'll be attending a woodworkers expo here in Tampa this coming March. Carvewright has it on the schedule to attend. That way I can see a demo of the machine.

Robert

Robert,

I have not cut any Acrylic but like Connie from LHR posted, many have done Acylic. The Trick in my opinion is to understand that the machine has a feed rate set for wood. We don't have any way to slow it down so we must take that in consideration when setting up a project. When cutting my plastic tags as a Vector Cut using double sided tape to hold the loose tags to a carrier board, I lie to the machine. I setup up the path vector then assign the 1/4 inch bull nose bit. This locks the machine feed rate into what I call 1st gear. Normally if I assigned the 1/8th end mill cutting bit, the machine would use 1st gear on corners and speed up to 2nd gear after that. I use a 1/16th End Mill to do the actual cut. When I didn't lie to the machine it would use 1st and 2nd gear to cut the tags. In MY case, it would push faster than the 1/16th inch cutter could cut and sometimes pop the tag off the tape. But the work around of lying to the machine locking it in 1st gear works FANTASTIC.... I have cut Hundreds of tags. It is the machine for MY job....

So back to the Acrylic, some have done some light vector and text cuts to make back lit LED Acrylic Signs. Like Connie said it must be the CAST Acrylic. As the cheaper Extruded Acrylic will melt and sometimes stick to the bit and bad things happen.

I have had GREAT luck cutting and carving PVC Board.

The Hobby Machine does have limitations, but when your projects can work within the limits this is a Fantastic Machine.

Getting to the show and even posting the question or searching the question on the CarveWright Forum will give you a better idea what to expect with Acrylic. Many have done it and done it well.... A sharp bit is important as is the condition of the Y Gearbox Bearings over time. But the Gearbox lasts over 500 cut hours but I have found that replacing the 2 little bearings at 250 cut hours gives you the feel of a new machine.

In my above post I mentioned that a Y Gear replacement part was no longer being sold, that has been changed with the latest shippment of parts. So it IS avaliable Thank You.... Only needed if you wait too long to replace the Y Gearbox bearings.

I still stand by the machine as a GREAT Hobby Machine.

AL

[Mike Heidrick]

Does the machine not use Gcode? Did not understand the part where you cant slow it down/set feed rate.

[Lawrence Richards]

Robert,

I'm sorry I'm just now getting to this response- I recently retired from the Air Force and am 1/4 of the way through an around-the-US trip in an RV so my woodworking has taken a little hiatus.

Long story short - I'm no longer using my Carvewright - I have many good memories of my machine and its use and can explain my reasons for not using it via PM, but won't be discussing them publicly as it both violates the rules of this forum and is to me, water under the bridge... After my trip is over I will be pursuing a different CNC to work with. This being said, I made many (many) projects with my Carvewright and did enjoy using it very much both - not just for the wonderful projects I was able to make, but for the friendships I made on the Carvewright forum.

Al's knowledge and generosity with it is second to none and he summed up the machine pretty well and I urge you to ask any questions you have both here on the creek and also encourage that you head over to the Carvewright forum as there are many great folks there that will also be happy to describe their experiences with their machines.

I don't regret buying my machine but I also don't regret selling it- - sorry if this seems a little hazy, but it really sums up my experience.

Respectully,

Lawrence Richards

[Jerome Stanek]

Does the machine not use Gcode? Did not understand the part where you cant slow it down/set feed rate.

No it uses it's own version of code not all machines use G code. The one I had you could not adjust the speed.

[Mike Heidrick]

No it uses it's own version of code.

Guess that makes sense since they restrict you to their software.

I refrain from posting my opinions out of respect of Keith.

[Roy Nielsen]

Robert,

You should definitely investigate the limitations of the CW (and Sears version) before purchasing one and also other options available. There are various commercial machines as well as kits. If you are a woodworker and can do some simple wiring you could even build a machine yourself out of wood or even aluminum extrusion; I built an aluminum framed machine a couple summers ago. The nice thing about most other machines is that you can use the design software that best suits you and that will totally control every aspect of the job: speed, depth of cut, number of passes, etc.; for instance, Vectric VCarve Pro is a real nice product and fairly user friendly at a reasonable cost (reasonable being a bit relative to the cost to buy/build a machine).

You should thoroughly evaluate what it is that you believe you will be doing and what kind of space you have available. I built one with ~18x50" cut capability, but most of my projects would have fit in around 12x18 or maybe less and really wish I would have started with a smaller machine due to the amount of space this one takes up. See if you can find a local(ish) mentor to visit and talk to; I was at a crossroads of whether I wanted to build one or not, after visiting a fellow in Tulsa, I was sold and started acquiring obvious parts and doing the heavy duty self-evaluation, research, budgeting, and drawing plans.

Also, you might want to look around on CNCZone to learn about various commercial and DIY machines, lots of valuable resources there.

Roy

[AL Ursich]

As a user of the CW I wanted to mention that the other day a new machine was released called the CX. Same size but some re engineered components making it in my opinion, "Better". It will become the standard as supplies of the "C" go away.

AL