CNC Shark Forum

Frankly, the Shark does not perform at a level where that sort of tooling matters. Heat is the real enemy of all tooling, and the only way to keep the heat down is with very high feed rates and very low rpm. The shark simply cannot move fast enough to keep the friction low enough. I have used full s...

Rafele,

Be sure to go through the demo videos that are on this site. They will get you up and running on the basics pretty quickly.

Ralph

Go to the Shark video page and watch "Cutting Out Parts". In it I outline how to output the G-Code for the machine.

Ralph

Bill, If you want to engrave a name or signature along a single line along the barrel, then yes, it is possible. You'll need to figure out a holding fixture, but it is doable within limits. If you want to engrave the barrel as it is turned to engrave the entire diameter of the pen, then the simple a...

Remember that the directional buttons can be used to jog the machine in X and Y, and the page up, page down button jog the Z axis. I believe that you should get into the habit of using the buttons rather than the mouse pad on a laptop. Using the mouse buttons on the laptop, if you accidentally click...

Cutting plastics are always an issue. If the friction of the cutting exceeds the melting point of the plastic, you will get "weld back" where the plastic either globs up along the cut. Or even fills it back in. Counter-intuitively, you reduce friction (and heat) through a faster feed rate with lower...

I prefer having an MDF bed for cut throughs and so that I can mill it dead flat to the gantry.

I added a 24x24" bed board to my pro, and added t-slots every four inches for added clamping options. You can see the results in this thread:

http://www.cncsharktalk.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=359

Ralph

If you are setting the Z zero, there is a better way in my opinion: Load the bit, but only hand tight, and set it a little high in the collet. Bring the tip of the bit close to the surface, then manually slide it down until it touches, then tighten with the wrenches. This is very accurate, and also ...

Seems like your probe is the issue, I ran a 7+ hour probe cycle yesterday and had zero issues.

Ray,

Begin by checking all the electrical connections and insuring that they are tight.

Also, mine arrived with one of the connectors between the motor and the drive screw loose. There is a small set screw on each end of the connector, make sure they are not slipping.

Ralph