- #Craftsman compucarve carvewright cnc router pro#
- #Craftsman compucarve carvewright cnc router software#
I called Carve Wright on January 3rd after seeing the CompuCarve ad during a Bowl Game and doing some research here on the net and seeing that it was out of stock on. the skill of being able to do it one’s self. Something is missing….hmmm, oh, iknow! it ’s the human factor. it would be like riding in a computerized car or on a motorcycle that you didn’t have to drive. I know what Frank is saying about it not being woodworking…the art and skill is gone out of it. I think i’ll stick with my shop tools….but it might be fun to play with. if you send it out to be serviced you are out of operation….there goes all your tools. i wonder how strong it is…how long it lasts before servicing. and i can’t imagine using a router to plane a board to thickness or rip a board or many basic woodworking operations. I can’t imagine using it for production….like a big dot matrix printer…time consuming. too much tearing, though it’s micro tearing…it shows as a fuzzy texture, and hard to do fine detail. I know there have been duplicator machines for carving out there before…and routers don’t do a very clean job. would like to talk with someone who has one of these machines. Now, maybe that was in the drawings, that the templates chosen don’t have much detail in them or the machine isn’t capable of doing fine detail. but several things are not clear to me: the detailing of the carvings were not as in depth, precise as i would like.
#Craftsman compucarve carvewright cnc router pro#
While the table size on the Shark was more than adequate for my current needs, I bought the Shark Pro because I learned a long time ago to buy more machine than you need because you will always grow into it.Well, i saw the video at Carve Wright and what i’m most impressed with is the translation of computer drawings to material. Al Wolford of Rockler (Shark distributor), Tim Owens of Next Wave Automation (Shark manufacturer), and Mark Moran of Vectric (VCarve software) all promptly answered my multiple inquires and gave me confidence they will be there when I get stuck in the future. Support after the sale was a big concern. You'll still need a dedicated graphics package like CorelDraw or Adobe Illustrator to create advanced artwork. It can create basic graphics, import, trace, and manipulate existing graphics.
#Craftsman compucarve carvewright cnc router software#
The VCarve software has surprisingly versatile tooling control without having an unwieldy user interface, and has other modules available as my needs grow. I played with the VCarve software demo and after watching the numerous VCarve training tutorials I had reasonable confidence it would meet my needs. Both of these turned out to be non-issues. At first I was apprehensive the polymer structure would flex too much or the rod & linear bearing construction with a central drive screw would bind. When the Shark was initially released, I traveled 70 miles to the nearest Rockler store to scrutinize it. I've purchased online from Rockler many times without problems. I wanted someone else to have already debugged the compatibility between the mechanics, electronics, and software. Simply stated, I wanted a warranted, turnkey solution from an established national woodworking Distributor with in-house technical support. Ultimately I purchased with the Shark Pro for several reasons. The used CNC Router market was mostly production-grade 4'x8' machines like Techno, Shop Sabre, MultiCam, Thermwood, Haas, Komo, etc, which don't fit in either my shop or budget. While several plans-only models looked fun to fabricate, with 3 toddlers I simply don't have the time. PilotPro was interesting because they had a couple levels of partial-build available if you had the time to spare (and I didn't) and the cost was somewhere between a ShopBot and the Shark. TorchMate excels at 2D plasma cutting their 3D Router kit seems to be a software afterthought. Sears' CompuCarve (CarveWright) was simply too light-duty for my needs, my technical questions got blank looks, it didn't have local computer control, and the key replacement components were not off-the-shelf. The K2 model KG2525 was solidly made and had a user-friendly website for customizing options, but was nearly the cost of a ShopBot. I liked the DigiRout model 223 because the rail guides instead of rods and held a standard-size router, but they have yet to return my 2 phone calls or 2 emails for some technical questions. Those serious abilities come at a serious price, and it was tough moving on to the budget-grade manufacturers. The light production-grade ShopBot is king in terms of capacity, versatility, quality, support, and User Forums. As with most purchasing decisions, you get what you pay for.