Dug North writes –
You have probably seen the CarveWright CNC wood carving machine. Here is a video of the system in action. In this video you get to see how the machine is set up and used, how bits are changed, and the software it comes with.
CarveWright wood carver in action – [via] Link.
Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Related Articles from Make:
This is also sold by Sears; here’s a link to their site, which has a good number (87) of reviews, with QUITE a variance in opinion:
tinyurl.com/22whm8
Exactly what I was going to say yachris. Dollar for dollar, it’s cheaper (and probably better) to build your own.
Hell, you can build one in a weekend that’ll out perform this thing. My Solsylva cost me around $500 and I can always reuse the steppers and driver (board) to build another table.
And doesn’t the Carvewright system only use proprietary software? You have to buy modules to do different cuts (maybe I’m wrong).
For me that’s a “no thanks” right there. I prefer VCarve or ArtCam etc.
I’ve built two of John Kleinbauer’s (www.kleinbauer.com) low-cost CNC routers and am part-way through a Sieg X1 mill conversion, so I am certainly an advocate of the DIY route(r) for those who choose that path.
That said, for someone like my father who is almost entirely a woodworker, an off-the-shelf machine that’s very well-integrated in terms of software and controls, would be the only way to go. Very few computer programmers could solder together a motherboard from scratch if called upon to do so, but they are still able to use computers to do wonderful things.
From my perspective, it’s all good for the DIY scene as will ultimately lead to more options at the same/lower cost for everyone. 10 years ago, “consumer CNC” was an oxymoron. The fact that Sears is selling one now is a Good Thing, even if the device itself is imperfect. The mechanical problems mentioned in the Sears reviews are certainly not trivial, but they are also the sort of things that can be worked out in a V2.
I have a carvewright and the worst thing about it is the proprietary software. The software seems very stupid at first but then it seems kind of revolutionary. It definitely takes some reverse engineering to get 3d models to carve accurately on this thing, but it can be done. Look at http://www.liquidguitars.com You were unable to import vector graphics (DXF, DWG etc) but just recently one of the creative carvewright users made an application that can convert .AI files to carvewright files. That has allowed my creatiity with the machine to boom. The only software add on that you can buy for it now is a module that allows you to do V-carving (chiseled lettering)
my school has one and it’s all right, not great, but not bad, I’ve only tried it on soft woods though.
DO NOT BUY A CARVEWRIGHT MACHINE – The axis was loose in the machine when we bought it. Drove from San Antonio to Houston to obtain service during the 200 hour warranty period. They had so many machines in for repair they could not work on it at that time. Returned one week later to pick up – we were assured it was totally repaired and in like new condition. It malfunctioned on the first project after returning home. They seem to be trying to find every excuse to make it my fault even though the unit still has only 70 hours of use. They will not respond to e-mail and telephone calls will not be accepted by anyone who has authority to resolve this issue. We have been informed by CarveWright that it is their written policy that customers are not allowed to speak with anyone over the repair supervisor status. 01/19/09. Resolution – unsolved at this time.
I just stumbled upon this and thought i’d toss in my 2 cents. I bought a carvewright at a woodworking trade show this past winter and they also had some free training classes. It sounds like the biggest problem most people had was maintenance and to say it’s maintenance free would be an outright lie. I’ve put around 67 hours on my machine for a total of 12 or so detail jobs and a handful of major projects. I like using poppler on the lower detail settings and then using my years of experience and sanding tools to smooth it out. Then I usually stain it or paint it. Definitely one of the coolest things in my shop and I would have never imagined as a kid this would be possible. I have had one issue though, I had the belts roll up on me but they were cheap to replace though I opted for a better more expensive rubber traction belt from CarveWright that’s supposed to never roll up.