awesome thanks!
At this point, I am kind of leaning towards the Carbide over the X. However, the community here seems to be much more active and has been loads more helpful thus far, and being new to the CNC world, I find that pretty valuable.
Tough call.
I’m in the same situation. I have been sold on a xcarve for sometime now and the only reason I haven’t pulled the trigger is because I’m waiting on tax return funds to purchase. In the meantime I have been asking questions on the Xcarve FB site and several people mentioned to bypasss the Xcarve and go for the Openbuilds LEAD 1010. I believe its only been out a few months. Now my thoughts are cloudy again with indecision on what to do. I’m brand new to all this with no CNC knowledge other than what I read in here / on FB / watch on You tube and that’s one of the reasons I think I still like the Xcarve. Its seems like its very beginner friendly and you get everything you need to start.
On the other hand I have checked it out on the Openbuilds website and it looks to be about the same size (cutting area) but much more ridged and it screw driven. It too seems like the kit would include pretty much everything needed for a beginner…
Anyone have thoughts or experience with the LEADS 1010 machine or any Openbuilds machines? How are they for someone with zero hands on experience?
yeah i was set on the x carve as well. Now ive pretty much ruled it out for the most part and leaning hard to the shapeoko if I can find it for free shipping. Also waiting on tax return lol.
I do think the community here is much more active than others I have seen. A lot more stuff going on over here to read through.
I will have to look into the Openbuilds
Shapeoko 3 XXL owner here - just going to give my 2 cents…
There is no question that Easel(x-carve) is more mature than Carbide Create/motion (shapeoko). Having said that Carbide3d are constantly updating their software and are really stepping it up to very capable and beginner friendly. I personally use Fusion360 and Vectric aspire to design, these two packages leave both Easel and Carbide Create dead in the water in my opinion.
Mechanically for me the Shapeoko is obviously a beefier machine, having a machine that won’t be outgrown was a big factor for me going with the Shapeoko, I had never seen a CNC machine when I got the Shapeoko and learned it easily enough, I’m still using it today to do small production runs and cutting big aluminium jobs. To me the X-carve is something I’d find the limits of pretty quickly, it just doesn’t have the rigidity I’m after.
Fair point about the forums, the carbide3d forums are still very new and the Shapeoko 3 has been selling for much less time than the X-carve so there are just less people on there, but it is always growing. I have found the people on there very helpful, and have never had to go further than there to get answers to an issue. There is a shapeoko facebook group that is very informative and helpful too. Between those two and this forum I think you’ve got all the help you could need!
I think you can’t really go wrong in your decision between the two, CNC is awesome and people are making amazing things on both machines. It’s just the little differences that will influence your choice, depending on what’s important to you.
Re: the Openbuilds option, the pricing is fairly high considering it is completely DIY, and in my mind the belts aren’t the weak point in the Shapeoko, its the V wheels - I would have put linear bearings on before going to lead screw drives. That’s just me though, it could be a decent machine.
Hey Stuart,
How do the Shapeoko XL/XXL Kits compare to xcarve or openbuilds? How much assembly is needed for the Shapeoko?
Also with the wheels, aren’t the V wheels pretty much standard on every hobbyist machine?
For what it is worth, I was set on the X Carve when I first started looking into a CNC router. The community here is great. But then I did some more research and thought the Shapeoko was the way to go. Then I did a little more research, and finally pulled the trigger on the Openbuilds Lead this past weekend. Seems like screw driven is the way to go (both have there advantages), the workspace is slightly bigger and they have lots of support from openbuilds and a strong community there as well. I have always received very quick responses when asking their customer support questions before I purchased. The lead has a lot of flexibility to make changes as needed down the road. Very similar in price, actually a tad cheaper than the shapeoko but a little more than the x carve. Any of the 3 options, you are building your own.
Openbuilds team seems to be extremely active in constantly improving their products, whether it is improving on something they already have or coming out with entirely new kits. That was a big factor as well.
Also, I have seen numerous people state on here as well as the shapeoko forums that they would have gone the open builds route had it been out when they made their purchase. I also took those claims into account when making the decision.
Shapeoko and xcarve were originally on par with their kits being completely assembled from parts, but for the last year or so the shapeoko has shipped with the x/z plate and both y plates fully assembled, only requiring the extrusions and base to be assembled and v wheels tightened as required. The xcarve may have changed since the last kit saw though.
I don’t have a link but I saw a YouTube vid that showed the shapeoko was 3hrs assembly VS 10hrs for xcarve.
Assembly time wasn’t a deciding factor for me, but for many it is.
You’re right that V wheels are commonplace on hobby grade machines, and as far as value goes they are right up there. My shapeoko can take 6mm cuts in aluminium and it runs on the stock v wheels on all axis. My meaning was that in my opinion, you would get more performance increase per dollar putting linear rails on a machine than replacing the belts with lead screws. I also prefer ballscrews over lead screw, but that’s another topic!
I’d be interested to see the lead1010 in action!
Honestly if you are looking at the lead 1010 I’d be going for something like this (I may well upgrade my shapeoko to this in the future)
https://www.beavercnc.co.uk/product-page/beaver-cnc-hdz-frame-kit
Ballscrews and linear rails on all axis… Rapids that make the shapeoko, xcarve and openbuilds look like toys!
That Beaver looks nice for use. A big issue I see is that it is shipping from the UK. They are also out of stock right now, so not sure how the price to work area ratio compares to the other 3.
Just wanted to bump this and see what your thoughts were on the openbuilds setup. I’ve had my xcarve for 2 years and while it’s been great I quickly outgrew it and have been trying to figure out my next route. I’d love 2 machines this level but torn between upgrading xcarve with say cnc4newbie/tbd or building out a brand new one. Cnc4newbie has a New Carve kit that’s similar to the openbuilds ones.
@JasonThomas1 I’ve been looking at the cnc4newbie. It seems to solve all the problems that the xcarve has had.
Allright Phil.
I’ll be the dumbass here.
Why does your post start out with “@JasonThomas” ??
I don’t understand the post at all.
@JanVanderlinden
That’s who Phil was directing is comment to. He, Jason, posted just before Phil. By adding, the @ it makes it clear and also notifies that person.
I don’t get it.
Isn’t that understood??
How do you make it do that?
Phil is not looking for a new Z axis,he already has one. (he’s already posted a video on it)
Very confusing…
Maybe he is looking at the “ultimate upgrade” which are lead screws…
Which is what I’m starting to investigate.
Ball screws.
Not always. These threads aren’t always linear.
Type the @ and names will start popping up. You can also use it to alert someone else about a topic.
I haven’t looked into it, but my understanding from those comments is that cnc4newbies has their own entire machine kit now.
Much better than the acme screws everyone else uses, but they cost quite a bit more.
Hi Jason, still loving the open builds, now that it’s dialed in, I have had zero issues with it. Still would recommend it anyone in the market. As far as upgrading from xcarve to cnc4newbie or openbuilds, not sure if it would be worth it. Depends on what you are looking for I guess. If you are looking for something screw driven and more rigid, probably a good upgrade. I don’t know enough about the xcarve, but upgrading to a water cooled spindle would be a big upgrade, not sure the the xcarve can handle a spindle without modifications to increase rigidity. Openbuilds and I’m sure cnc4newbie can run it. Outside of these entry to mid level machines in the $1-2k price bracket, your next step up will probably be $5k+ . Not much in between. Not sure if this helps at all, feel like I kind of just babbled lol
Ok, I’ll try and clarify. CNC4NEWBIE has a New-Carve kit that is considered an upgrade for the XCarve. No belts and no v wheels. You can use your own xcontroller and all the wiring from you XCarve or you can purchase separately all the components. I’m looking at that upgrade for me. Jason mentioned that kit in his comments.
