FINALLY - I'm getting in.

Discussion about the CNC Shark Pro Plus HD

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Rando
Posts: 757
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Location: Boise, ID
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Re: FINALLY - I'm getting in.

Post by Rando »

I completely understand! Mine sat on the dining room table for 2 months as I got it running, and then disassembled, yes, down into the basement laundry room. It was a bit of a chore, but I got it down there, and even managed to remove it when I moved from there. At the time I was considering "traditional" bridgeport style mills, only to realize the crack in my garage floor would likely send both cars to their destruction if I put that machine in there too....and so the lightweight, half-plastic shark won. Hilariously enough, you'd think we smart guys would have made the connection between a less-than-rigid machine and an animal with a skeleton made only of cartilage. Oops....

Regard,

Rando
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ThomR.com Creative tools and photographic art
A proud member of the Pacific Northwest CNC Club (now on Facebook)

NLAlston
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu Nov 07, 2013 2:42 pm

Re: FINALLY - I'm getting in.

Post by NLAlston »

:). Man, you are funny as all get out.

And, methinks that I am going to be alright with that HD5. You know, it isn't as if i have a business to run, already. But I have always purchased the best tools that my pocket could handle. My father always spoke words of wisdom to me and, one of them was the adage "When you buy RIGHT, you buy ONCE". The purchase of a CNC machine is not to outfit me for where I presently AM - but where I am aiming to GO. Yes, I WILL make it happen :).

NLAlston
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu Nov 07, 2013 2:42 pm

Re: FINALLY - I'm getting in.

Post by NLAlston »

I need to clarify my previous post. I did have a little business going on, before a fire struck our home, this past October. Right now, I am doing my best to get back in stroke. Damage to our home included some done to my shop, and our home insurance was in a lapsed state, at that time. So, by that, it wouldn't be difficult to understand what kind of position that left me in. As far as CNC machines go, it is possible that I may have been over-thinking things. The Shark CNC may not have the heavy structural components which are integrated in the costlier machines, but maybe it is quite unfair to have had adjusted myself toward the thinking processes (about it) that I did. It COULD turn out to be that the Shark HD5 may prove to be everything that I'd hope for. I plan on going full-steam-ahead, and the Shark HD5 may be JUST the machine to propel me.

Rando
Posts: 757
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 3:24 pm
Location: Boise, ID
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Re: FINALLY - I'm getting in.

Post by Rando »

Ouch! That sounds like a major longrunning nightmare. Sorry you're having to go through that.

What I've found with my HD2+ is that it's important to learn where the machine's prime operating envelope is. That is, the set of materials and cut parameters that it DOES handle well. Knowing the shape of that boundary is crucial to keeping the machine functioning throughout the cut(s). The trick is to legitimately figure out how to move the requirements of the part INTO the envelope of the machine. Thus, although the feeds-and-speeds suggested for a 12-ton DMG Mori at $4.5M might be "valid" for cutting metal, that doesn't mean that there is somehow no solution to making that same part on a machine of our type. Happily, I'm finding over and over that while the machines really can't take very much hard load, properly-chosen and properly-programmed jobs run just fine, with part accuracy in the ±0.001" range. And for nearly all normal mechanical assemblies, ±0.005" is quite accurate enough. Indeed, many assemblies I see come through here are stated at ± 1/32". Yeah, the CNC can do that :D

So no matter the machine we as mere hyoomans buy (as non-fortune 500 corporations, say), it will never be the perfect one. Which means that EVERY job has to be somehow fit into the operating envelopes. And just like we never seem to have enough money, feedrate goes the same way: the more you have, the more you want to use. Actual machine shops measure their productivity in cubic inches of material removed per minute. The so-called Material Removal Rate, MRR. In a world where everyone has good machines, that is the only place to eke out profit margin, and programming wins the day. Fitting the work's needs into the machine's work envelope most efficiently, therefore, becomes a unique selling point for the machine shop. Otherwise, they're always being underbid and out-performed.

That's why, for us running these machines, it's a niche market that is required. We'll never have that MRR productivity advantage over anyone. But, we can have locality-to-customer, we can focus on hyper-niches, we can put up our own web presence, and on and one. There IS definite potential for ongoing product sales for niche players like us. It takes a broad range of skills to do it well, but it is possible.

Regards, and welcome! (assuming you drop that pile of cashola)

Rando

PS.: And for those intrigued, the ± symbol can be obtained (on Windows) by holding down the ALT key while typing 0177 on the numeric keypad, aka Alt-0177. It's the little things that make life a pleasure, right?
=====================================================
ThomR.com Creative tools and photographic art
A proud member of the Pacific Northwest CNC Club (now on Facebook)

sharkcutup
Posts: 408
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2016 5:23 pm

Re: FINALLY - I'm getting in.

Post by sharkcutup »

Welcome to this Forum NLAlston

Hello Rando :)

Again Welcome to the CNC Shark Forum!

I own (since March 2016) a Shark CNC Pro Plus HD3 machine with water-cooled spindle. It has been a learning experience all throughout. My CNC has not been modified in any way. Most errors produced are usually humanly created. I mostly carve wood on this CNC Machine. I have learned early on that this type of machine is not very rigid and have adjusted Feed and Speed rates accordingly (which is slow compared to some of the more rigid machines). Of course I am not in any hurry because this is just a hobby in my retirement years. Something to stay actively busy rather than becoming a so-called "couch potato"! The brand of machine and its rigidity is all a matter of what you intend to do with the machine.

I have read all through this thread, Forum Member Rando has a lot of very valuable information he has posted in response to your posts. Take heed to his knowledge and advice!

Something I would like to mention about the Shark is that it is very prone to STATIC and can cause strange things to happen/occur. Be sure to ground the machine and your vacuum system. By the way Rando has made a special grounding package for the Shark CNC machine. Not sure if he still sells them because I have not been here or to his website in some time. But it doesn't hurt to ASK!
http://thomr.com/2016/05/solve-static-i ... -machines/

Let them chips fly,
Sharkcutup
V-Carve Pro Tips, Gadget Tips & Videos
YouTube Channel - Sharkcutup CNC
V-Carve Pro 11.554

Rando
Posts: 757
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 3:24 pm
Location: Boise, ID
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Re: FINALLY - I'm getting in.

Post by Rando »

Good to see you're still around, SharkCutup! Was hoping someone with your sense of humor would still be around here, even with the reduced traffic these days.

Coincidentally, I was just today re-stocking the crimp lugs for making the static kit, if anyone's interested.

Cheers, and welcome to the weekend! (well, in 7 minutes for me, anyway ;-) ).

Rando
=====================================================
ThomR.com Creative tools and photographic art
A proud member of the Pacific Northwest CNC Club (now on Facebook)

NLAlston
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu Nov 07, 2013 2:42 pm

Re: FINALLY - I'm getting in.

Post by NLAlston »

Well, within all the head-scratching I've done -= and the sleepless nights over this CNC thing, I have opted to take a different route. This, primarily, was formed after two conditions had been presented. First, my shop is on the smaller size and, as such, I would definitely need a mobile stand by which to move my unit around. The ONLY one I could find was by the Kreg company. But, just yesterday, a call to them revealed that they were out of stock on them, and that they didn't know when they would have more in. Secondly, I made a call to NWA and (as no pone answered) had to leave a message on their answering service. That isn't the first time I called them, and each call resulted in the same - an answering service message. I mean, if THAT was the roll of how pre-sales calls were handled, then what does that say for how after-sales support might be expected? That last call was made on the day before yesterday, and I STILL haven't heard anything back.

So, yesterday, I contacted AXIOM. That call was my fourth, to them, and EACH time someone was promptly on the phone, with me. They not only quickly fielded but, also, thoroughly provided relieving answers to all of my queries. Consequently, I will be getting an Axiom Precision Iconic 8 CNC machine. I actually wanted the Axiom Pro V5, but didn't think that I would be able to get it through my basement door (The Axiom Iconic is shipped with the gantry detached, whereas the Pro is not).

I DID like the Shark HD5, but there were just too many variables, and signs which led me to move away from that unit. I wish everyone, here, the very best.

Stay safe, and keep the carvings going.

Blessings,
Nathan

sharkcutup
Posts: 408
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2016 5:23 pm

Re: FINALLY - I'm getting in.

Post by sharkcutup »

Wishing you the best but I have a recommendation in that you will be needing to purchase Design/Toolpathing software separately.

Vectric's VCarve Desktop, VCarve Pro or Aspire are Super Design/Toolpathing programs and their support is Fantastic. There is also a forum with many experienced users not to mention that Vectric Support tends to monitor the forum from time to time and responds to some of the queries presented there. They also have many tutorials on their website with files so that you can follow along and learn various aspects of the software. There are also a number of Videos on YOUTUBE too!

Axiom has a forum also but of course I am not familiar as to how productive it is for I am not a member/user of Axiom products.

Good Luck,
Sharkcutup

Thank You Rando - Yup, I am still Vertical with the grass under my feet and not over my head, LOL! :lol:
V-Carve Pro Tips, Gadget Tips & Videos
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V-Carve Pro 11.554

NLAlston
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu Nov 07, 2013 2:42 pm

Re: FINALLY - I'm getting in.

Post by NLAlston »

Sharkcutup,

Thanks for your input.

Yes, IHAVE settled on a version of the Vectric software, and will be outfitted with Aspire. I have already downloaded the trial version, and have been consuming every video tut, on it, that I can find the time to. I am SO looking forward to having that setup here, and am working hard on becoming knowledgeable enough to have a good, running start on it as soon as I have it all put together. I do wish, though, that its pendant's screen had a better visual presentation. I am researching, now, to see what all would be entailed (if at all possible) in having the UCCNC integrated with my system. That, would be a BIG help - as my 'peepers' aren't quite as keen as they USED to be :).

sharkcutup
Posts: 408
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2016 5:23 pm

Re: FINALLY - I'm getting in.

Post by sharkcutup »

Yeah my peepers are not as good as they used to be either. Recently had to replace my Computer system and I made the icons and text a tad bigger on the display settings. Even the mouse cursor had to be adjusted!

I must say that it is a monument to reach old age but unfortunately there are some things that are not so desirable (failing eyes, aching joints, etc...)!

Sharkcutup
V-Carve Pro Tips, Gadget Tips & Videos
YouTube Channel - Sharkcutup CNC
V-Carve Pro 11.554

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