ShopBot

The ShopBot Alpha is a CNC router that can be used for cutting wood or plastic according to CAD designs. The usual workflow is to create a design in CAD or drawing software (such as Inkscape, CorelDraw, or Adobe Illustrator), load it into VCarve, which plans the cuts and outputs parts files, which are then loaded into the ShopBot software to execute on the machine.

Basics

The essentials of operating the ShopBot are below. They are here as a reference, and not a substitute for taking the ShopBot class.

Safety

The typical and obvious woodshop safety precautions should also be used with the ShopBot: always wear safety glasses; keep your hands away; do not wear baggy sleeves, jewelry, etc. that might get caught. More specific to the ShopBot:

• Do not leave the ShopBot running unattended. Hitting the space bar will pause a cut and allow it to be resumed.
• Beware of the tracks that the x-axis carriage travels on. Do not rest your hands on them. The carriage can move quickly and crush fingers.
• Be sure your work is securely mounted on the table in all three dimensions (see yet-to-be-written section, below).
• Use adequate tabs for any profile cuts. Although there's no one tab size that works for any project, bigger tabs are always safer.