Woodworker's Journal 2009-33-4, страница 41

Today's Shop

"You can buy a turn-key package, bolt the parts together in an hour or so, load a program into your home computer and, by the end of the day, start doing some real CNC woodworking."

load the project files onto a memory card using a peripheral that plugs into the computer's USB port. (The card is proprietary, so you can get additional cards only from CW.) Take just the card into the shop and plug it into the special slot for it in the machine.

CNC Shark

The Shark looks like a CNC router. The spindle is mounted on a moving gantry; the work must be secured to the machine's stationary bed. The workable X-Y area is 13" by 24", and the range of the Z axis is 4V>". (The Z axis range of the CW is a mere 1".)

Though you might expect the structure to be steel or aluminum, it's primarily slick, white HOPE [high density polyethylene]. The individual pieces are assembled with machine screws and lock nuts.

With either of these home shop systems, CAD software is provided. The CarveWright's version is particularly good for carving functions.

The gantry uprights are edged with aluminum angle, both to protect them from wear and tear and to stiffen the assembly.

The frame of a CNC router must be rigid, and the Shark's construction ensures that it is.

The moving assemblies — the gantry and the router mount— are mounted on pairs of polished steel rods and are driven by Acme-thread

Looking very much like a plumped-up benchtop planer, the CarveWright is a versatile home shop routing machine. The proprietary software that comes with this machine has what the author calls a "clip-art" orientation. This allows users to be up and running very quickly.

The program for the CarveWright is loaded onto a memory storage device and then brought to the shop. No dust in your computer!

lead screws. A stepper connected to one end of each lead screw turns it in a precisely controlled way.

The machine bed is a piece of 3/4" MDF. Slots for clamps are cut through it. It's inevitable that, over time, it will be nicked, notched, grooved and gouged. You can replace it easily: consider it a consumable and don't be reluctant to screw workpieces to it.

The spindle mount accommodates a Bosch Colt motor. This is a lhp, variable speed unit that takes 1/4"-shank bits. It has a spindle lock, so only one wrench is needed for bit changes.

The Shark uses a popular CAD-CAM program called VCarve Pro, published by Vectric. It's a CAD program because you can design and draw in it. It's a CAM program because it calculates the path a cutter must follow to make the design. VCarve has tools for originating drawings, but more valuable is its ability to import files in many standard graphics and CAD formats — .dxf, .pdf, .ai. So if you prefer, you can draw in a CAD program. VCarve's singular value lies in its CAM capabilities.

The program has a boilerplate database of 12 router bits in nine configurations. The list includes

Today's Shop continues on page 58...

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August 2009 Woodworker's Journal