With respect to motor load--I think that if you adjust the feed rate and pass depth--you can use a bit up to the recommended size for the dewalt router. However--when the tool is all the way forward in the Y axis--it is only 0.5" away from the front, inside edge of the base. I like to keep at least a 0.25" buffer between my cutter and the tool frame to avoid the risk of cutting intoby Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
Seems like the main thing that would need to be adjusted is the Z-Zero plate thickness--that's an option in the "preferences" menu of the fireup app. We set it at the factory--but you can tweak it (for example if you want to zero your bit off of the top of your tailstock--just run an alligator clip from the z zero plate to the tailstock body and change the height to whatever distanby Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
So sorry to hear that! Have really enjoyed your participation on the forum...by Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
To get an idea of what the 3D carving process is like, you can take a look at this video:by Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
Mike, Agreed on everything that Mark wrote-- A little more info on CAD/CAM...Design work can be done in any software that you're comfortable with. For my designs I use a software called GeoMagic, which is a much less expensive version of SolidWorks. When I'm done with my design, I export either 2D drawings or 3D stl files. However--at some point you will need to create toolpaths toby Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
Yes--the tool should impact the hard stops during the homing routine and then drive back to a spot in line with those two points on the inside rim of the base.by Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
Daniel, I made a drawing of the key dimensions of the handibot base here: If you look in Macro #3 (The xyz homing routine) you'll see two variables at the top "x_backoff" and "y_backoff"--these determine the home position of your tool by giving it a consistent distance to back off from the hard stop during the homing routine. If your 0,0 position is not alignedby Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
So--it wouldn't be entirely impossible to use the extended Y axis with a V1 handibot...the new design makes it a bit easier to pass the motor lead screw all the way through the tool--but I'm sure you'll be able to spot the area that would need to have a hole drilled in it to make room for the longer lead screw. You might lose a little bit of movement--an inch or so--but it would stby Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
Ok--so the list of parts that are re-useable from version 1 to version 2 are as follows: vCarve software DeWalt Router Power Supply X Rails and Bearings Y Rails and Bearings Z Rails and Bearings X Motor Y Motor Z Motor Z Axis Gusset Block (little metal block under Z motor plate) Anti-backlash nut brackets (T shaped metal parts) on X and Z axis Metal brackets that hold the handles Sby Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
Josh, I haven't tried dovetails yet--I did some box joints that I then clamped vertically: But it seems like it would be pretty easy to make a jig to hold your pieces of wood together on the edge of a table. In fact...the tool ships with an mdf board bolted to the bottom--which converts into a jig for cutting on long boards. I could also publish a toolpath to cut a hole inby Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
So there's a small fleet of handibots at Autodesk that have spread themselves far and wide across the country--we decided to round everyone up for a training and Q&A session last week. It's a long video and mostly tailored to working with FabMo (Autodesk guys aren't too interested in learning vCarve!) but I thought people here might enjoy seeing what an online training might beby Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
Hmm--that all looks pretty standard to me...What kind of error are you getting when you try to run the file?by Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
Brian, Take a look at this file: It's a version of the file I use to make the laser sight accessory--sized for cutting on the handibot. It's got a good mix of pocketing and profiling at multiple different depths. I'll try to upload more later! Brianby Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
Tom, The Desktop and Max both have about 5" of clearance under the spindle. I cut packaging for handibots out of 2" thick polystyrene on the max--the sheets are 4' long so I usually slide them through to get a few extra parts out of the remaining 1' after the first cut. It works really well. I think the idea of an MDF jig, and some dowel pins embedded in the bedby Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
Aww c'mon Boris--don't we get a little bit of credit for finally getting the FabMo upgrade out!? So--Full tool upgrades. The way that it's going to work is we will sell a refurbished Handibot 2 at a decent discount in exchange for Handibot 1.1 and earlier models in the field. From these early model handibots we can re-use the motors, rails and some of the electronics (and a fewby Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
Also, if you wouldn't mind--could you email me the file that you're running on the tool? both the .sbp (cut file) and the .crv (vCarve design file). I might be able to notice something that could be causing the issue. brian.owen@shopbottools.com Also--Iby Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
I'll be checking in all night--if you have time to try it today. The router bracket is removable and can be switched higher or lower depending on the type of cut you're doing. There are two screws that hold it in place directly behind the router. If you pop the router out, you can get at those screws with the red 4mm T-handle that came with the tool. Give them a crank and your routerby Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
Jim, Let's try a few things to see if we can diagnose what's gone wrong. Like I'd said above, the process you're using is the same that we use at the factory--so I'm concerned about whether something was damaged in shipping. Try manually stepping the Z axis down to the material--like you did before your cut. Press the orange "0" button to set the zeby Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
Could you copy and past the header for your file here? Everything up until you get to the movement commands (M3,1,2,5 etc, etc). Sometimes those post processors add stuff that seems to trip up FabMo. I can hopefully tell you what to remove and then maybe dig into the post processor to fix it.by Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
Hi Tom! As you might have seen in the other thread--the long Y axis handibot is probably 2 months away from being available. I got some more work done on it while we were snowed in here in Durham, but need to build at least two more prototypes to prove everything out. Your project is an interesting one, A router will do a great job cutting foam and I'm thinking that a wooden jig to suby Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
I guess if the nut is all you need then you'll be fine--but just in case you're going to replace the adapter as well...by Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
You and me both! Now that I've finally got my bits in there--maybe I'll finally start making stuff in there.by Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
I'll check in with the web folks to see if they can't fix that for you.by Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
Pretty neat. Maybe a little dense--they give you a quick 7 line overview and then boot you right into the nitty gritty! But will definitely be worth reading through to use as a reference for training! Thanks for posting this!by Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
Had a customer that wanted an official Fusion 360 version of the 3 piece bit kit that comes with the handibot. I've created that, along with bits for the other kits available from the webstore. You can download them here: As a side note, I had to figure out a little bug in Fusion to get the ability to create and edit bits--my tool library was initially blank with no options to add anythiby Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
One thing I forgot to mention--The taper adapter comes with a key pressed into it. We have to pull those out to slide the adapters into the tailstock. The way I do it is by grabbing the key in a vise and prying the taper adapter upwards--You have to pull REALLY hard.by Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
When setting up tools at the factory, we do the following: 1. Run the z-zeroing routine using the little plate on the side of the cut area. 2. Check to be sure that this results in an accurate z-zero--and if not, we adjust the recorded thickness that the tool uses to calculate the distance between the metal z zero plat and the material that the tool is sitting on. 3. Re-run the zeroing routinby Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
That ring is sold attached to the taper adapter. Looks like we get it from Remco Supply and the part number is 70722. It looks like it'd be pretty annoying to order from them--but cheaper. If you don't want to deal with that, I'm sure that ShopBot would sell you another one. Our part number is 003234. If you call them up and say you'd like to order one, they can get it on theby Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
Definitely! great to know its available at a regular hardware store!by Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum
According to Bill, it's a nicer version of HDPE and machines just as well--but at that price point is only a little bit more expensive than what we make the handibot out of--nice find! How thick is it?by Brian Owen, ShopBot - Handibot Forum