NOTE: This startup information was provided by the local CNC area coordinator: Doug Free

This page in intended to help users adapt to the new Shapeoko CNC Router and the differences seen from the previous machine. The spoiler board is new and brings some new changes.

This will describe how to powered up the new router and used it. There may have be other ways but this is intended to help new users get up to speed.

• The new spindle acts a bit slower when initializing and shutting down so be patient. It is not a huge change but a change.
• You must use the new collet. There is a 1/8th and ¼ inch version.
• The precision of the cuts are awesome. I had some parts made that fit together to make a sleigh. With the old router I had a lot of sanding to do but with the new router the cuts and tabs were so precise they just fit together with very little effort.

Controls:

• 1. Shop Vac control box
• 2. VDF Controller Start/Stop button
• 3. VDF spindle speed indicator
• 4. Obsolete Start/Stop button

• 1. Turn on computer with pin 2021
• 2. Empty the shop vac connected to the Shapeoko
• 3. Verify the table and all drive mechanisms are free of debris.
• 4. Turn on Shapeoko cutter via it's round start button
• 5. Push the round start button on the lower front of the VDF controller, if the lower light is off, push the button. When the lower light is lite the spindle is ready to power on when your program starts. The top led is flashing 0.0.

• 6. plug in thumb drive
• 7. Select the carbide motion software.
• 8. import your vcarve file into Carbide Motion and generate gcode
• 9. Initialize machine as you normally did.
• 10. Insert cutter bit. this requires the use of new precision collets and tighten using two wrenches, with cutter inserted.

The spindle

Collets

• 11. hit resume to measure bit
• 12. jog the cutter out of the way to setup your work.
• Note: Front edge of the new spoiler board is not square.
  • Don’t use it to square your work piece.
  • The spoiler board screw holes are definitely square so use them to align your work piece. We may need to square up new spoiler or square your workpiece to the screw holes.
  • Attach hold downs of choice.
  • I used the holes for alignment today on four projects and it worked fine.
• 13. Zero out x,y,z

• 14. Load gcode file
• 15. Execute job,
  • your program will control the rpms.
  • You won't be prompted to turn on the router. If the lower circular light is not on (see step 4 above), the router will not spin and you will crash the bit. (Trust me I know from experience.)
• 16. When your spindle fires up, the VDF controller will look like the following picture: This job happened to want 22,000 rpms per the program but showed 22,260 on the VDF.

Controller started

• 17. The rest is as normal

• 18. When the VDF powers down it takes a minute or two to discharge the capacitor, so it will appear to be on for a bit.

I have not included all steps in the process assuming you know some of them already. I tried to highlight what I saw as changes to what I normally do.

• 6. The shop vac should start once the spindle reaches a certain speed.

The VDF controller should look like the following,

Suggestions:

• We may want to secure the cables and the controller some. I was moving some stuff and got caught up in the new controller wires.
• We may want to square up the front edge of the new spoiler board.
• We may want to secure the Collets in a special storage case.