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Shapeoko2 to X-Carve Upgrade

Shawn Ferris

Project by

Shawn Ferris
COMMERCE CITY, CO

General Information

Upgraded my Shapeoko2 to an X-Carve (2015), Quiet Cut Spindle and Creltek hall-effect limit sensors. I also replaced the Uno (grbl) + gShield controller with a Arduino Due (g2core) + gShield controller, in a custom box, w/ an embedded Raspberry Pi Zero W for use on Chilipeppr

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Material Description Price
Drag Chain

Drag Chain (×2)

Type: Drag Chain - 2013 - 2019, Qty: 1m, Link Type: Semi Open

Enclosed Power Supply

Enclosed Power Supply

ER11-A Collets and Nuts

ER11-A Collets and Nuts

ER11-A Collet 1/4in

$7.17

Extrusion Slot Cover

Extrusion Slot Cover (×3)

Length: 1m, Material: Resin, Quantity: 1

Isolated Relay Circuit

Isolated Relay Circuit

Number of Relays: 1

Post-Assembly T-Slot Nuts

Post-Assembly T-Slot Nuts

Thread Size: M3 (3mm) × 0.5, Qty: 10 pack

Quiet Cut Spindle

Quiet Cut Spindle

Power: 300W, Voltage: 48VDC

Shapeoko 2 Upgrade Kit

Shapeoko 2 Upgrade Kit

Spindle Speed Controller

Spindle Speed Controller

DC Spindle Speed Controller

$35.00

Waste Board with Threaded Inserts

Waste Board with Threaded Inserts

Threaded Inserts - 30517-03 (x36), Waste Board 500mm - 30535-01

This project's Bill of Materials is not complete.

$42.17
from Inventables

1

X-Carve Upgrade

I first upgraded the Shapeoko components using the X-Carve upgrade kit:

Shapeoko2 Upgrade kit

I thought it would be mostly just replacing pieces, but in the end, you basically have to disassemble the Shapeoko and re-build it from the ground up. Not at all difficult, but definitely time consuming. Just follow the directions for building an X-Carve. (after disassembling the Shapeoko)

2

Quiet Cut Spindle Upgrade

This was done using the awesome instructions from here:

Quiet cut spindle upgrade for gShield

I tried to link my project to David’s, but I’d already created this project and it doesn’t appear to you link existing projects, only new..

3

Controller Box Upgrade

I built my controller box using makebeam extrusions (10mm) and sheets of LEXAN polycarbonate plastic for the sides. My goal was to be able to use Chilipeppr to submit the gcode, and to be able to do it without a direct connection to my laptop, or desktop.

To meet that latter requirement, I’m using a Raspberry Pi Zero W + a Zero4u USB hub for additional devices, and to provide power to the rPi.

On the rPi zero, I run Arch Linux and the required Serial Port JSON server so that Chilipeppr can communicate to it. All the necessary mounting holes in the controller sides were cut using this set up, and it worked extremely well. (no hiccups)

Even though Chilipeppr supports a grbl workspace, I decided I also wanted to upgrade my Arduino Uno running grbl, to an Arduino Due flashed with g2core.