Some With Three, Some With Two & Carbide 3D Accessories Useable?

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Hi All,

Sooo probably heard this before but was just about to pull the trigger on a Shapeoko SSL Pro and just happened to catch wind of the OneFinity in a last good faith search and now I am intrigued.

So you know where I am I’ve done the lower model and not diving in too deep thing before on other projects and I have wanted to go back and do it bigger and better out the gate, at least a little a few times.

With this, I am looking to go for the machine now that I hope to grow into and would prefer to only cry once so to speak. I do not want to tinker and play to get things to run too much either. I’d like it to work as designed and not spend more maintaining it so I want to build the ultimate, best machine I can out of the gate, with and while I have a budget for a CNC but am a little hesitant.

My budget is hard-earned , as I assume is the case for most of us, and this product is still pretty new. I am not averse to that but it is a concern and I cannot afford to misstep here but so far I think this is indeed a stronger product with more options than Shapeoko. I also have seen a lot of people sharing, more on FB than here, but also hear amazing customer service with OneFinity as does Carbide3D so encouraging.

So long and short is this machine looks to fit my needs and then some and at a better price point. For the same price as the base XXL Pro I can get a few accessories and VCarve Pro with the discount! Oh, and FYI I am probably going with the Meyer’s Workshop 800W spindle out the gate as well to keep noise and dust down and again, cry once.

One question is I notice and cannot reconcile is in some pics and vids I see the X-Rail has three linear shafts and some have two. I thought before I knew too much about it I read or heard in a vid something about a ‘stiffy upgrade’ or accessory which I suspect is this 3rd shaft but I do not see that in the shop.

So what is that 3rd linear shaft and how do I get it? With me wanting to do some aluminum and brass eventually is this more need than maybe luxury?

A second question that will help me pull the trigger is as I said I was deadset on the Shapeoko so about 5 months ago I purchased the Shapeoko BitZero, BitSetter, and BitRunner. Is any of this, mostly the BitZero (same as 3-Axis Touch Probe it looks) and the BitSetter (allows quick tool changes so you do not have to stop and re-zero) useable with the OneFinity? The BitRunner probably not since I think I am going the spindle route and that is just to use gcode power off a router.

Thanks in advance for any input and assistance! Also sorry to drag this all out in a long post. Two days ago I thought I was going to have a new XXL Pro on order by today and now I am questioning my previous thoughts/decisions, reading everything I can, and hope to allay a few concerns I have and assure me that I am indeed seeing a better-designed product here and pull a trigger on a purchase.

I appreciate it!
Dave

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I was going to buy the Shapeoko as well but found the Onefinity thanks to Ben Myers. I got in on launch day and have had my Onefinity since mid September and let me tell you, I couldn’t be happier. The machine is well built and so far has exceeded my expectations. Accuracy in my cuts are amazing and I’m spending all my time on projects and not on maintenance tweaking the machine (eg. Belts and v wheels).
As for the third rail (Stiffy), it was included with the initial launch but not sure if it still is or not - you’ll need to reach out to Onefinity.

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Thanks for the input Mitz! Exactly what I was looking for!

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Hi Dave - welcome to the forums. As Mitz mentioned, the 3rd rail was originally going to be an option; given the success of the launch, Onefinity “upgraded” all initial orders to include the Stiffy as well as an enhanced Z-Slider. The upgraded z-slider is similar to the new Shapeoko z-slider.

As for the Shapeoko parts, I believe BitSetter should work and maybe even BitZero - those look like simple touch switches; @charleyntexas might have some experience there and weigh in. BitRunner has been discontinued by Carbide, so it is unlikely that will be supported directly; you might be able to hack it though. The controller has plenty of documentation if you are adventurous.

As for your decision, I certainly feel the OF is superior to the X-Carve or any of the Shapeoko’s (I’m a current X-Carve owner; former Shapeoko owner, and soon to be OF owner). But, you are sort of asking the church members if the Pastor is legit :wink: The only real negative I’ve seen about the OF so far is the controller SW needs to mature some more, but OF has been very responsive to feature requests and defects, which is atypical these days. Typical growing pains IMHO.

Hope this helps.

-Tom

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Hey Tom,

Thanks much, it DOES help, especially since you own(d) most of the finalists in my CNC over analyst paralysis research sessions! I decided about 18 months ago to save and pull the trigger so there has been a lot of back and forth and back again.

I actually realized that I did stumble upon the Onefinity a while ago but they were still talking and not shipping yet so I dismissed them as I thought I was going to pull the trigger sooner than they would have started shipping.

I did take Mitz up on his idea to contact Onefinity directly and have to say SUPER impressed with the response time with the initial email and subsequent emails in a little back and forth.

If anyone else ever comes looking for the same info what they said is, “The 3rd rail is the ‘stiffy’. It has been and currently is free with all purchases. (it will become an add on accessory in the future).” That is as of 11/11/2020 and I am pretty psyched about that!

What they said on the Carbide parts I have and if they will work is, “We’re pretty sure the touch probe from Carbide will work. The bit setter will not. We don’t have an accessory for that. Someone MIGHT get it working with some gcode hacking, etc…but I haven’t seen that happen yet. The bit runner MIGHT. All that is, basically, is a really expensive relay. People already have a cheap 25$ one from amazon doing the same thing on our machine.”

For me, that is some good news I can save a few bucks. They also did point out that I was a little bummed about the BitSetter not working, “Shapeoko didn’t come out with the bitsetter until 5 years after the shapeoko 3 was released…we’ve only been out for 3 months or so :stuck_out_tongue: There’s a LOT we can do in 5 years :P” That is a VERY fair statement and I am hoping and thinking that someone can/will come up with something for that if the need is there. As a non CNC owner that would seem a really helpful thing and if that is correct it’ll get done.

Thanks again Tom and again I truly do appreciate the input, even if it is asking the congregation how the pastor is legit :wink: . You could have said the pastor was, “Meh.”

Going to reevaluate over the next few days, recalibrate my expectations on when I will own and actively be playing with a CNC, and more than likely pull the trigger on this in the next few days.

Thanks again,
Dave

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No problem Dave. Glad it helped. Like you, so far I’m super impressed with the company. I was eyeing a couple different screw drive upgrades for my X-Carve, which when totaled up, cost nearly as much as the machine itself. So for me, moving the OF seemed like a no-brainer. I have a stock machine that is completely capable, not some Frankenstein machine with no support from the company.

To your point about the lack of innovation by both Inventables and Carbide, I’ve been whining about that for years. But I guess we know why there have been no significant updates to either machine - they have been building much more capable machines in silence. Kudos to them, but they have also priced themselves out of the beginners market IMHO, with no upgrade path. While the OF is about 2x more than I spent for my fully loaded X-Carve, and I’m putting even more into it with accessories that bring it up to par with the Z-Carve, it’s still a much more capable machine. I’d really like to see OF provide many of the upgrades as standard options (like the drag chain in particular as well as dust collection). But, given the vibrant community that has emerged, I can’t complain too much :wink:

Best of luck and happy cutting :slight_smile:!

-Tom

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Dave,
Glad you posted your questions and concerns, because those are the identical ones i have. Did anyone provide any information on a Bitsetter like probe that would work on the Onefinity? would like to know which ones from Amazon work on the Onefinity. The Shapeoko xxl was at the top of the list until i somehow came across this company. glad i did not make that purchase. Let me know if you anyone steers you in the Bitsetter clone direction. Seems like a handy piece of kit to have.

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Hey I never heard from anyone about the bitsetter ‘officially’ but did get feedback that it is in the works. Me not ever owning a CNC before I thought it was a no brainer accessory but from what I hear it is really not that much faster than just doing a regular zero on a new bit.

There was also something on the Facebook group, may have been one other than the Onefinity group, saying that a bitsetter could be manipulated in gcode to work.

There was also something here (https://bit.ly/3qF9gv2) that seems interesting to me. It is relatively low tech and cheap and I will look into when I get back to bits, bitsetters, and whatnot the closer to my later February delivery date. For now I have been looking at stands and enclosures.

I was literally a few minutes away from ordering the XXL Pro and just did one last ‘due diligence’ search and found the Onefinity so I know exactly what you’re going through. It just simply seems like a much better, less maintenance option that has crazy rigidity for the money. I am pretty happy with my choice and getting the shop in order so I can hit the ground running and make the wait go faster.

Good luck and FYI the community is really great on Facebook as well so anything you want to ask I am sure someone will be able to help.

Good luck!

Dave

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Dave,
thanks for the reply. i had actually placed the order, then cancelled it because of a last minute “diligence” research. lol.
i doubt that i will attempt any sort of g code programming. will wait and see what Onefinity comes up with as far as a bit setter type probe.
Good luck to you and looks like i will be following the Onefinity on facebook. thanks again.

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I owned a VERY custom & upgraded x-carve, and once I saw the Onefinity, I knew it was a much better machine out of the box. As a machinist/tool designer by trade, I recognized the superior design of the Onefinity. Sure, it will have its quirks being a brand-new machine, but mechanically it is more solid by magnitudes than any of the belt/v-wheel machines. By design, it is also my opinion that it outdistances even most of the so-called “Pro” versions of other machines. It is simply superior by design.

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The 1F is so much easier to get going not worry about the parts of will go out of alinement. I had sold my Shapoko 3 XXL(with all the upgrades) 2 months before my was to arrive. I built a new table and started insulating my garage. When I tramming(Getting it aligned) was only off a little but that could have been me when putting on my z mount.

I have carved more in the past few weeks then I did all last year with my other cnc. The unit is very sturdy. The support is killer they are quick to get an issue resolved. I don’t think Mark and Jenn sleep. Lots of people are quick to help and offer a suggestion if you have a question on here or in the Facebook group.

I will also buy a spindle but want to see what I can do first with the Makita router. But I think I want to get an OpenBuilds enclosure first.

-Frank

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