More CNC Beginner Stuff

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I have been having serious fun with my Next Wave Shark HD500 CNC since I got it.  Prior to Thanksgiving I had essentially done no woodworking in my life and in just 6 weeks or so I’m really getting the hang of it and making some decent creations.

And I keep learning stuff.  And I like to keep notes when I learn stuff so I can save that information for posterity because I have a terrible memory.   Here’s the latest batch of stuff I have learned.

It’s all about the setup with CNC.  Vectric Vcarve software is outstanding in how it can simulate the Toolpaths you generate and show the cuts.

Vectric Simulation BMP

Provided you set up your project with the right size and thickness the simulation is darn near spot on.   Once you get your Toolpath generated then it is a matter of transferring it over to the machine.

This is where you channel your inner German old man machinist persona.  Think about where the the wood lies on the CNC bed.  What direction to set it in.  How to clamp it.  The simulation will show you on your properly sized workpiece where the bit will run to.  Set your clamps up accordingly.  Secure the piece, then test it to see if it moves.  Check it again, and then do it again.

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CNC Musings

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So, I have had a Sainsmart 3018 Prover for a few weeks now and I just got a NextWave Shark HD500 a week or so ago.  Prior to this I have had ZERO experience with CNC machines.

My learning curve actually wasn’t as steep as I thought though since I have had a vinyl sign cutter for well over 15 years and have been 3D printing for about 7 years or so.  I have a grasp on things moving round on an X, Y, and Z axis.

Ultimately, it ends up being about the software with these things.  Sure, you need some hardware knowledge but once the machine is built and is sound it ends up being about the design of the file, and the sending of that file to your CNC via Gcode.  Gcode is what tells the machine how and where to move from start to finish and everything in between.

The Sainsmart 3018 Prover doesn’t really come with software, except for Candle which is only a Gcode sending program.  So I guess I meant to say it doesn’t really come with DESIGN software.

The Next Wave Shark HD500 comes with Vectric Vcarve Desktop which may be among the best in design software.  But know this:

  1. First you draw a design
  2. Then you generate a Toolpath to carry out that design.
  3. Then you send that Toolpath via generated Gcode to your machine.

It is possible that those 3 simple steps each require their own software.  Some software can do all, some can do 2 of those things, some can only do 1.

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Next Wave CNC Shark HD500 – First Impressions

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I bought a super cheap Genmitsu Sainsmart 3018 Prover CNC machine.  It is amazing how capable that inexpensive machine is.   It lacks a few important features though.  Size, speed, and it comes with entry level software.  Almost the first thing I learned about this machine was that I was going to outgrow it fast.  Don’t get me wrong, it can do amazing things………..But it is the lower end of the CNC spectrum.  And so was the software.

So I took a step up and bought the Next Wave Shark HD500 CNC.

With consumer CNC machines it seems the next jump up from a lower tier one financially is a mighty one.  In fact it is AT LEAST a 10x’s or more jump.   But with that jump comes a lot of improvements.

Next Wave Shark HD500 CNC

With the Next Wave CNC you are going to get a much larger working surface, improved bed and securing system. Also the axises move via lead screws instead of belts and the gantry moves instead of the table.

Accuracy and precision are improved, as is speed.  Best of all it comes with Vectric Desktop software which is definitely not an entry level offering.

In short, this is a big boy machine replete with lots of bells and whistles.

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Selection Considerations for a CNC

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Disclaimer:  I’m by no means an expert.  Yet.  And your mileage may vary.  These are my considerations.

UPDATE:  I had to update this post as I had previously selected and ordered a Shapeoko 4.  Their lead time indicated shipping in 5-6 days.  After 10 days of hearing nothing I cancelled my order after hearing on a forum that others who ordered days before me were told (after they had trouble getting an answer out of anyone) that their units MIGHT ship in a week or two.   John don’t play that shit.  It’s one thing to have a shipping delay but it is an entirely different thing to have a delay and not inform someone who has dropped a couple of thousand dollars that there has been a delay.   I simply CANNOT recommend to anyone to buy the Shapeoko machines.  What if there is a problem?  If they can’t deliver on the front end, they might not be able to deliver on the back end. 

Well I bought a Sainsmart 3018 Prover CNC and while it is super cool about the first thing it revealed to me was that I was going to outgrow this thing FAST.  I want to make big signs and in some respect I can do that now with simple wood working tools and my CO2 laser.

Larger Sign

This is John 3:16 on about a 19″ piece of cedar.

Simple routed edge, then lasered, then wiped down with Butcher Block oil.

Looks magnificent.  No complaints at all.

 

But I can CARVE exquisite details with a CNC.  But how to choose which one?  Let me tell you my choice and how I arrived at it.

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First Observations With A CNC Machine

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Like the title says……..these are just my first observations.

I have been cutting vinyl signs for 15 or more years, 3D printing for 7 or so years, and using lasers for a couple of years, so I have some experience with computerized things moving along 2 or 3 axises.

CNC stands for Computer Numerical Control which just means a machine is automated by a computer.  I started this because I was making cool stuff in my laser but was limited by my woodworking skills.  I was given a real life wood router which really picked my game up and keeps me from spending extra money on pre-routed wood blanks at the hobby stores.  Anyway, I caught the woodworking bug and invested in an entry level CNC machine.

Enter the Sainsmart 3018 Prover.  I must have caught it just right on a Black Friday Sale or something because I paid around $250 and the price immediately went up about $50 – $100 depending on where you buy it from.  Before I talk about the machine I’ll throw down some general impressions of CNC.

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Ripping Those Old DVD’s

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Well I finally COMPLETED my new server build project.  I built a big old bad machine based on an Intel Xeon E-2136 Chip, 32Gb of RAM and about 20TB of hard drive storage.  I’m using Unraid as an OS.

One of my goals was to rip a bunch of my old DVD’s to put on the media server.  If the internet goes out………we will still have some entertainment.

The last piece of my server build was adding an internal DVD / Blu-Ray burner (Panasonic UJ-265).  Even though they advertise 6x read speeds I hope everyone knows you don’t always get that, if ever.  Anyway I hooked my drive up and did the old rip-a-rooni and it took a natural lifetime.  My read speed was 1.0x’s.  It was crawling and certainly not what I paid for to accomplish.

My ripper app is called MakeMKV.  It rips the DVD then I make it media sized with another program called Handbrake.

So why is my drive stuck at 1x’s read speed and taking so long?  I dunno but it is possible to set the speed to maximum in MakeMKV but it is a command line hack.

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Why Don’t We Encrypt Our Communications?

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I’ve been on a security kick and asking myself, why don’t more people protect their personal communications?  Here’s the short list.

  • It’s hard.
  • Or it costs money.
  • If it costs money, it’s still hard.

If you use a web-based service like ProtonMail it is actually pretty easy.  It’s all built in.  But God forbid you use Mac Mail, Outlook, or Thunderbird to bring in encryption certificates.

I’m pretty tech savvy, and I’ve played with email encryption before and it just is beyond the scope of most average computer users.  People in corporate or government roles are most likely to use it, and then they have dedicated IT Departments to set it up.  When I worked in the government it was as simple as pushing a padlock button in your email.

At home, not so much.   First of all, I use Mac.  And while it is possible to add certificates to your store for free it is all command line stuff and again, it is beyond the scope of most users.  The solution is a program called GPGSuite but not only does it cost money, it seems to keep costing money as their upgrades cost money.   Mac goes from Big Sur to Monterey……..you’re buying a new encryption Suite.

What’s a boy to do?
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ProtonMail – Not Just Webmail

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I had a fit when I found out that the Justice Department was “threat tagging” American citizens who dared to speak out at school board meetings.  It was at that point I knew I needed to go dark on my personal communications.

Now, don’t think I went into full Prepper or Patriot mode.  I still have a few regular email accounts and I’ll still use them for various things.  I use gmail for a spam trap.  And getting emails from Amazon and all the other marketing crap can still come in through good ol’ dot Mac.

But if you are a human carrying out conversation with me, especially any kind of business or family business or especially communications with lawyers………….our email is going to be encrypted.   I even changed the email address on my “Contact Me” tab of this page.

So lets talk about the service I’m using………….ProtonMail.  I’ve had a ProtonMail account for years, but I almost never used it.  I got it because I was going to hire a lawyer for something once and the first thing he did was direct me to get a ProtonMail account so our communications would be private.
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Protonmail Bridge on Unraid

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Now more than ever in this Social Media day and age I think it is important to encrypt your private communications.  Most people think they are boring but as the current news feeds amplify, if you dare speak out on a subject you may be a target.  I won’t get into details beyond that but …….why not encrypt your on-line conversations?   No one needs to know what you like and don’t like, and what you stand for or don’t stand for.  Or what your vaccination status is.

If you think Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo are not spying on you there is no hope for you.  You need to move on from here.  Email encryption is nothing new and in fact I remember the first consumer grade stuff ………Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) in the mid 90’s.   It was super cool but people just would not take the extra steps to do this.   I suspect they still won’t.  But they should.

There are several secure email services and in this blog I will focus on ProtonMail   They use end to end encryption and if you have a ProtonMail account and you email someone that doesn’t…….you can still create an encrypted environment.

ProtonMail is web based, and for most of you that isn’t an issue.  You are used to logging into your Gmail or Yahoo account on a web browser, so don’t let this scare you.  You’re simply using another service except this one is more secure.

Let’s move on with this discussion.

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Synching Folders Easy and Cheap

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This is something that is OLD, and something I once knew and did and forgot about.

My digital life is HUGE …….. huge in the amount gigabytes of data I have archived over the years.   If I buy something……..I download and save the manual for it.  Stuff like that.

I built a SuperServer™ and have just copied all the data over to that device.  Trouble is when I put some new data on my laptop I want it to upload to the server, at least on a weekly basis.

There is NO SHORTAGE of programs to accomplish this and most of them COST MONEY.  Or they have a free one that doesn’t quite do what you want but the Pro Version that COSTS MONEY does.

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