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Dallas Makerspace DMS Source
Archived from the legacy DMS wiki — content may be outdated.

Shapeoko 2

Current Status

Section titled “Current Status”

Online - if you are having issues please start an issues and request thread on talk and update the tools status page.

The machine is currently kept in the old 3D printer room, currently filled with black and yellow storage boxes and the small laser cutter.

General and Random

Section titled “General and Random”
  • Training required
  • Cutting fluid/oil is not allowed. This precludes most metal machining.
  • No toxic materials, such as carbon fiber or pressure treated wood.
  • Working area is < 12” by 12” by 2.5”
  • The controller is running Grbl 1.1 and you need to connect at 115k baud.
  • The two outlets on the front are always hot
  • The switch on the front is master power for the spindle and servo motors.
  • The arduino is USB powered
  • Use the master power switch to safely disable both spindle and servos for a tool change
  • Dust collection - use the small vacuum to clean up debris from within and around the enclosure regularly! Remember, the moving parts don’t like small particles and keeping the machine clean will help keep job output quality high!
  • Supporting files are on the file server under the Woodshop Committee folder

Creating and Running jobs

Section titled “Creating and Running jobs”

Programs like Easel are perhaps the simplest getting started option. Beyond that the Universal G-Code Sender can send any properly formatted G-Code to the machine. To create toolpaths and/or models there are many options and you can find a myriad of reviews and tutorials online including some used at the space already like Fusion360 and V-Carve. There are nuances to this, if unsure ask for help!

Shapeoko Easel software is web driven however it does require driver(s) on the computer. You can bring your own Windows or Mac device or you can use DMS laptop #19 which is setup for this. It has the right drivers for Easel and Universal G-Code Sender.

Easel Machine Settings:

1. Your computer must be connected to the Shapeoko to do setup

2. Main settings:

Shapeoko settings.jpg

3. Additional settings:

  • Limit Switches - NO
  • Spindle - MANUAL
  • No Z-Probe

End Mills & Cutting Tools

Section titled “End Mills & Cutting Tools”

A good source of end mill information slanted toward Shapeoko

Another good write up from Make Magazine

Some of the end mills we have on-hand as of 2016-August
Section titled “Some of the end mills we have on-hand as of 2016-August”
TypeCutting DiameterCutting LengthOverall Length
1F Spiral Upcut1/8”0.866”1.772”
2F Straight1/8”0.866”1.772”
2F Fish Tail Upcut1/8”0.394”1.5”
2F Fish Tail Upcut1/16”0.315”1.5”
30 Degree Solid Carbide Engraving BitsVery Small :-)N/AN/A
1/16” Cutting Diameter Fish Tail1/16”
1/32” Cutting Diameter Fish Tail1/32”
Diamond Drag BitN/AN/AN/A

GRBL Settings

Section titled “GRBL Settings”

If you think a setting may be off, e.g. someone has changed the steps per mm/in on an axis, here’s the standard settings: (To display, the GRBL command is ’$$’)

  • $0=10 (step pulse, usec)
  • $1=255 (step idle delay, msec)
  • $2=28 (step port invert mask:00011100)
  • $3=2 (dir port invert mask:00000010)
  • $4=0 (step enable invert, bool)
  • $5=0 (limit pins invert, bool)
  • $6=0 (probe pin invert, bool)
  • $10=3 (status report mask:00000011)
  • $11=0.020 (junction deviation, mm)
  • $12=0.002 (arc tolerance, mm)
  • $13=0 (report inches, bool)
  • $20=0 (soft limits, bool)
  • $21=0 (hard limits, bool)
  • $22=0 (homing cycle, bool)
  • $23=1 (homing dir invert mask:00000001)
  • $24=25.000 (homing feed, mm/min)
  • $25=635.000 (homing seek, mm/min)
  • $26=100 (homing debounce, msec)
  • $27=1.000 (homing pull-off, mm)
  • $100=40.200 (x, step/mm)
  • $101=40.200 (y, step/mm)
  • $102=320.000 (z, step/mm)
  • $110=1500.000 (x max rate, mm/min)
  • $111=1500.000 (y max rate, mm/min)
  • $112=500.000 (z max rate, mm/min)
  • $120=25.000 (x accel, mm/sec^2)
  • $121=25.000 (y accel, mm/sec^2)
  • $122=25.000 (z accel, mm/sec^2)
  • $130=290.000 (x max travel, mm)
  • $131=290.000 (y max travel, mm)
  • $132=54.000 (z max travel, mm)

Improvements being Considered

Section titled “Improvements being Considered”
  • Add limit switches
  • Add an E-Stop
  • Upgrade to XCarve 2015
  • New stand and case
Section titled “External Links”

Migrated from the legacy DMS wiki: original page