CNC router fabrication

CNC router safety training

MakerSpace

Visit the MakerSpace website here.

General shop safety forms

If you missed an opportunity for general safety training, go here to catch up.

Equipment-specific safety forms

Equipment-specific forms are here:

• Equipment Specific Safety Training |  Please have this ready for your specific training below. We may already have it on file in the MakerSpace if you work with us.

Hello CNC router

The Shapeoko 4 CNC router is the bench-top version of the Shapeoko Pro. It can machine wood, many plastics, and soft metals like aluminum, brass, and some copper alloys.

Safety training step-by-step

• 1 — CNC Router SOP |  Read this standard operating procedure before the live demo.
• 2 — Live Safety Demo | This occurs during studio time. If you miss this demo, you must still receive this step of training outside of studio time. For outside-of-studio training, read here and then reserve a time below.

After training: safety resources

Follow up your training with refresher materials, or expand on your training by diving into the tool documentation.

• CNC Router at Abington∞MakerSpace  |  Visit this page at the MakerSpace website for troubleshooting, material guide, software guide, and safety videos that parallel our live training.
• Shapeoko CNC A to Z  |  Long form reference. There is a copy of this manual in the red binder found adjacent to the machine.

Production

Reserve the tool

First, reserve tool time. Even if you are cutting during class time, reserve the tool. Reservation sign-up sheets are on the main page of the website:

If this is your first time reserving, read the How to Reserve section of this page for policies and general guidelines on figuring out how much time to reserve.

Run the job

This is a general overview. Many of these steps are detailed in the live safety demo and can be reviewed in the safety videos.

• Bring your fabrication-ready file to the computer by downloading it from the cloud or transferring it to a flash drive. NOTE: Copy the file from the flash drive onto the hard drive. Never work a file directly off of a flash drive. Immediately after the transfer, safe-eject the flash drive and remove it. Every time you try to reboot a computer with a flash drive still mounted, Elon Musk beats a baby seal with a baseball bat! Please don’t let that happen!
• Run your file through the MeshCam software to obtain a GCode file.
• Open the GCode file through the Carbide Motion CNC driver software.
• Load the cutting bed with stock and clamp down.
• There is not simply one ON button, and it’s easy to forget to turn on various elements of the system:
  • The computer always stays ON. Seek assistance with restarting if needed.
  • Turn the router chassis ON from the blue button at the front right of the machine.
  • Turn on the router motor before engaging in the cutting process.
  • Turn on the dust collection system AND the air purifier. Make sure blast gates are set throughout the shop to allow maximum suction for the router.
• Set tool location parameters as per the training or the video: home the machine, set origin relative to stock, zero origin, etc.
• Run the job through Carbide Motion. Don’t leave the room. The machine may be left unattended, but check in on it every 5 minutes or so.
• The average cutting job for our soft foam material rarely exceeds 30 minutes.
• When finished, shut down all machinery, unclamp stock, and clean with the shop vac.

Post-production

The machine is not too slow, and post-production for this project is minimal! Training for post-production work has already been covered by the live demo and the safety training video mentioned above. Typically, you are only using tweezers or a small emery board to remove burrs and minor flashing of foam that the machine may have left behind, and that’s it.

Document the results

Show off your finished print on your process journal or blog by taking simple but careful photographs.

• Clean the lens! | When you pull your phone out of your linty pocket with your smudgy fingers, the lens gets dirty. Lens cloth and cleaner are best, and MakerSpace has some. But even wiping with your T-shirt is OK!
• Framing | Use the Grid to help compose your image. (In iOS: Settings>Camera>Grid. In Android: Settings>Apps>Camera>Grid Lines). Choose a frame proportion (like Photo or Square in iOS) and orientation.
• Composition | Your work is the focal point. Provide only enough background for us to understand this is an image of your fabrication in real space, and make sure everything in the field of view is there because you want it there.
• Avoid digital zoom | Instead, move closer to your subject.
• NO flash | Always a terrible outcome! Use natural light or position indoor lights deliberately. MakerSpace has a lightbox and phone tripod. Just sign up for an Open Workspace, and use these tools for easy, simple, professional results!
• Steady yourself or use a pocket tripod | Lean against a wall or furniture to help steady your hand. Otherwise, a small tripod is a good choice. MakerSpace has a phone tripod you may use.
• Play with editing and exposure | You can make the color more saturated, crop an image, brighten a dark image, or vice versa. But: avoid filters, please! They are a passé, gimmicky unforced error.