![]() It’s capable of stalling the trim router so we think it’s a very well balanced machine. It’s a much more capable machine than the Shapeoko 3 and it’s much more convenient machine because of the workholding from the Hybrid Table. ![]() PerformanceĪccording to Edward and Winston, and this is wholly and completely subjective, the Shapeoko 4 gets you to 80% of the Shapeoko Pro. If we were able to ship in a single box, we’d hate to see what the box would look like when you got a Shapeoko 4 delivered. Shapeoko 4 and Pro are big and heavy and UPS and Fedex won’t take them in a single box. We have heard from Pro users that they don’t like the machine shipped in two boxes but that’s going to be unavoidable. The Shapeoko 4 should go together almost like the Pro and the assembly process should be a big upgrade from the 3. A few Pros shipped before the assembly video got posted and users were able to put it together with no instructions at all. The feedback we’ve gotten on the Pro tells us that we made great progress. Faster assemblyĪ major focus of the Pro was to make assembly and the out-of-box experience better. Shapeoko 3 used 9mm so you can expect these new belts to be roughly 65% stiffer. We’re using 15mm belts on the Shapeoko 4, the same ones on the Shapeoko Pro. And on a side note, when we sold the DeWalt router, we had more failures with that model so it’s not one we recommend any more. It’s thicker for a more rigid grip on the router and it just looks cooler.Īn important thing to note is that it’s only a 65mm mount so it’ll fit our Carbide Compact Router, the Makita trim router or a 65mm VFD spindle but NOT a DeWalt trim router.ĭeWalt seems to be dropping in popularity and they’re the only 69mm router so it makes sense for us to make a really good 65mm mount instead of a combo model. The Shapeoko 4 includes the new 65mm mount that we designed for the Shapeoko Pro. It’s got better ESD/EMI protection, new connectors and a new wiring harness, making my least-favorite part of assembly much faster. The new Carbide Motion V3.0 PCB from the Pro will also be used for Shapeoko 4. (Anticipating a question: They’re a little larger in diameter so they won’t work on the Shapeoko 3) Carbide Motion 3.0 electronics and new wiring In addition to the better performance, they’re a little larger in diameter so they should also be much more durable. Our testing has shown them to be roughly twice as rigid on the X axis as the previous design. We took a look at the existing v-wheels to see what we could improve and came up with a number of changes to add strength and rigidity. It was time for a change based on all we’ve learned over the past years. ![]() The Shapeoko v-wheels have been unchanged for a long time even though the Shapeoko 3 bears no resemblance to the original Shapeoko 1 or 2. Our custom extrusions already over-designed and would be fine even on a much bigger machine but the added support takes away any potential for flex and, more importantly, ties the entire structure together. The other big function of the Hybrid Table is to fully support the Y extrusions front-to-back. We all have our favorite part of the Shapeoko 4 but the Hybrid Table is my favorite part by far. Need replacement MDF slats? They’re easy to cut by the dozen on a table-saw in a few minutes. Want to add threaded inserts or other features to the MDF? No problem, drill the MDF in-place or take it out and add them. Want to surface your MDF to get a totally flat surface? The MDF sits proud of the aluminum structure so you’ve got clearance to take a skim cut. Add our Tiger Claw or Gator Tooth clamps and you can hold just about anything. Need flexible workholding? The Hybrid Table has t-slots built-in and a dozen Teez-nutz are included. The Hybrid table is the best foundation we can make without going totally overboard on cost and shipping. You can’t build the kind of machine that we want to make on a bad foundation. It’s a stable and rigid foundation made up of a grid of custom extrusions that are precision-machined in-house on our growing fleet of machining centers. The Hybrid Table is really the heart of the machine. V3.0 Electronics + more convenient wiring.Or, maybe more accurately, the Shapeoko 4 removes the rails and BitSetter from the Shapeoko Pro to make a more affordable machine.Įither way you look at it, here’s what we changed going from Shapeoko 3 to Shapeoko 4: So we did the only logical thing we could do, we made the Shapeoko 4.īig picture, the Shapeoko 4 takes most of the upgrades on the Shapeoko Pro and combines them with the Shapeoko 3. We saw the completed Shapeoko Pro and we fell in love. Like most of our product development, this is not something we planned to do, it just kind of happened… again.
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