Hey guys, I had really hoped to have them ready for sale by now! I thought I could figure out a way to unify the Kickstarter tools with the newer ones, so that one set of jigs would work for both. Then going forward anyone would only have to design one set of jigs that everyone could use. Simple is better! What seemed like the obvious solution was to supply the Kickstarter backers with a nby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Hi Chris, In general your Handibotting life will be happier if you optimize a couple of power and update settings: * No matter what kind of computer or tablet you're using, you're better off if you can keep it plugged in while you're cutting. *) Go into the Power Settings in the Control Panel and set everything that you can to NEVER...never go to sleep, never power down thby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Hi Chris, *) I have what I believe is the most recent version of Partworks3d and it's the same as you have...version 1.002. My guess is that it's a misprint on the ShopBot website, but I'll check on it just to make sure. *) The Partworks 3d tool database is definitely not as developed as the VCarve one, and I'd bet it's because it's much more limited in what itby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Hi Mark, Unfortunately I don't know of any guidelines like that, but I wrote an article for the ShopBot blog a while back on "Making Stuff" that might help a little: As you know there are lots of cool examples online, so I think your best bet is to download ones that look interesting to you and see how they are done. I know that's not the answer you're looking.by Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Hi Shawn, Not sure if this is what you have in mind, but the Neopixel LED indicator lights are controlled by an Arduino ProMini that reads the state of the output switches from the Control Card. The Sketch that runs on the Arduino is on Github...by Bill Young - Handibot Forum
hey Chris, Glad it got you going and thanks for letting us know about 3.8.8...we'll make sure that gets fixed! Billby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Hi Chris, My first guess is that you got an older version of the Control Software somehow. If you can get the Control Software to start, look at the "About" item in the Help menu and you'll see the version you have...you need at least version 3.8.10 to get all the features a Handibot needs. You can download the most recent Control Software, version 3.8.12, from the ShopBot wby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Hey Mark, The interesting thing about all this is that there will be lots of folks coming up with tons of creative ways to do all kinds of jobs. The secret is to keep sharing, no matter how half-baked the ideas!!! Here's a video that shows cutting dovetails out of flat sheets. The process is pretty clunky at the moment but the Vectric guys (the creators of VCarvePro) are working on autby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
The model is up in the shiny new Sketchup 3dwarehouse! [3dwarehouse.sketchup.com]by Bill Young - Handibot Forum
A couple of people have done those sort of Dovetails on a Gantry-style ShopBot...here's an article from the ShopBot blog that might help: When we first started thinking about Handibots I did a preliminary model of one possibility for an end-cutting jig, to attach to the end of a table and do this kind of stuff. I'll upload a model to the Sketchup 3dWarehouse in a little bitby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Thanks Mark...we do our best! If you only need a few I've found the bolts and spacers in the parts bins at big hardware stores like Ace, but they're pretty expensive that way. I love those decorative bolts and use them all the time, so buy them by in lots of 1000 from Stafast. They call them decorative bolts and they come in lots of lengths and finishes. You can get as few as 10 of aby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Hey Mark, That looks great! I've uploaded a few pictures of some of the clamping options I've tried out on my Dewalt miter saw stand. Handibot on Dewalt Mitersaw stand For hold-down I've had good luck with vertical toggel clamps, bolted into threaded inserts in the fence. I've tried a handful of methods to hold the material against the fence, and have found thatby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Just wanted to give y'all a quick update on the Kickstarter jig sets. With lots of help from Eric and the other beta testers, we've got a set of jigs for both Indexing large sheets and working with lumber that we think will be very useful but also customizable. Here are a few picture albums to get you thinking! The jig parts: The jigs in use There's still some small detailby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Hey Eric, Any speed settings within a part file takes priority over the speeds set in the control software. So if you have your XY move speed set at 1"/second in the control software, but the file sets that speed at 10"/sec, it will try to go 10"/sec for the duration of that file! Once that file has finished running though the speeds revert to the values set in the control softwby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
It is indeed HDPE and as Mark says it isn't cheap! If a good multi-ply material like Baltic Birch will work, it's 1/4 or less the price of HDPE. Unfortunately although you can occasionally find Baltic Birch plywood in 4 x 8 sheets, generally it comes in an odd-sized 5'x5' sheet It's what we used to make the prototype indexing jig that Eric has been using to cut his larby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
As promised I've uploaded screenshots of my Handibot Tool Database. They're available at: It has 3 straight bits (1/4", 1/8", and 1/16" ), 2 V-bits (90 and 60 degrees), and an 1/8" tapered ballnose bit for carving. These are values that work for me but they are not etched in stone...consider them a starting point and modify them as you gain experience. I sby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Hey Dennis, Github certainly isn't the most intuitive thing to use. I'm working on an instruction doc on getting files out of it and hope to have it posted soon. In the meanwhile I'll take screenshots of my bit settings tomorrow and upload them...I'll let everyone know when they're available. Billby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Great work Eric! Eric has been one of the beta testers for a set of jigs that we'll be selling soon. There will be parts like the ones Eric used to manually index and tile files, letting you cut up to full sheets of ply. Also fences for cutting lumber parts accurately. We'll let everyone know as soon as the jigs are available for sale, and also post files to make your own if you hby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Hi Robert, Check your email for a message from ShopBot with links to download the software and activation codes. Some people have found it in their Spam folder...if you don't find it let us know and we'll get you fixed up. To get you moving the tool around this weekend though you can always download the latest ShopBot control software from http://www.shopbottools.com/mSupport/contby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Hi Mark, I'm on version 5 or so of that setup and feel like I'm just about close enough to share. The stand is a Dewalt DWX726 Rolling Miter Saw stand that's right around $200 from Amazon. I've added a plywood platform on it, with a fence along the Y=0 edge and holes with t-nuts scattered around to mount the Handibot and also for toggle clamps and other holddown options. Myby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
I've just uploaded a couple of VCarve files to Github that might be useful to get you started cutting your own jigs and fixtures. They are in the "Accessories" folder under "Handibot Cut". The first is a 3-part fence that's puzzle jointed together and bolts to a Handibot through the two front holes in the base. It gives you an accurate y=0 reference, and the centeby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Hey Marc, I did indeed cut that on a larger ShopBot...a Desktop. I wanted to make sure that there wasn't a problem with the pocket in the VCarve file before going any further. I don't currently have any insights I'm afraid on indexing to get your first fixture... it's a bit of the "chicken and egg" thing...but we're working on lots of options. We'll bby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Hi Marc, Very cool...keep on making sawdust! The pocket should fit the base pretty snugly...the accuracy of your parts will rely on the Handibot not wiggling in the pocket. I cut a test pocket today from that VCarve file out of a scrap piece of Baltic Birch and the base fit the way I expected...a snug press fit. I'm wondering if your Handibot slipped a little as you were moving betweenby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
A link probably would have helped!!! Github VCarve files folder And the files you're looking for are Fence Options.md and Fence Options.txtby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
I've put the first stab at documentation on GitHub...this one is for the "fence options" file. It is currently available in the Markdown format that Github uses to let you view the file while in Github, and also in a txt format. Two questions: *) Are these formats at all useful? What others would be helpful...pdf? *) Is this enough information? What's missing and whatby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Hey Marc, The inserts should fit fine in all the fences. The back fences have been "dogboned"...because of the radius of the bit, sharp inside corners need recesses cut into their corners to let sharp-cornered pieces fit into them. It's an old cnc trick! When I originally cut the fences for my Handibot I used sharp-cornered inserts, but tried the rounded corner ones and prefeby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Hi Richard, You can download the ShopBot control software from . Part way down that page you'll see a grey box that says "Current Software" and below that a little there's a link that says " ". Download and install, then connect your Handibot and you should be good to move it around. Unfortunately that doesn't get you the VCarve for ShopBot design softwarby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
The files for two versions of a secondary back fence are now in Github, and a model is in the 3dWarehouse that shows a couple of the possibilities. Billby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Hey Marc, Be aware of the type of bit you use too. An upspiral bit can act like a screw and lift the material, causing cuts that are too deep. Especially if the material isn't firmly clamped in place, as happens when you're cutting at the end of a board or in thin material. I tend to generally use straight flute bits when cutting with a handibot. Billby Bill Young - Handibot Forum
Hey Marc, Those fences are designed for situations where you just want to slide up against the edge of your work and have a fixed Y=0 location...the edge of the fence lines up with the Y zero point. The inserts are just sacrificial pieces that can be replaced if (when!) the bit cuts into the edge, and they extend 1/4" on either side of the 6" x-axis motion range. The idea is thaby Bill Young - Handibot Forum