I need advice relating to Shopbot Desktop vs Shark Black Diamond CNC'S

[rlwagner]

After reading more of this thread, I thought you might wonder why I said I loved the Shark Control Panel.

I'm talking about the 2.0 that comes with the Black Diamond. It's awesome.

You get to see your piece laid out graphically on the screen and you can watch it cut to know exactly what's going on behind the dust covers.

It has a Virtual Z feature that you'd have to read about. It's awesome.

It is rich with keystroke commands, which lets me use a Bluetooth keyboard and stand right next to the Shark while I run it. No need to touch your laptop, which stays up on a shelf behind a dust-screen window I made. Cool!

With keystrokes, you can change the jog speed from Fast to Medium to Slow to Step, and you can set Step to whatever you want. Picture yourself with your eyeballs right on the tip of your tool bit, with the jog set to 0.10" and tapping the arrow keys for that final adjustment. Then you hit Alt-X and Alt-Y and Alt-Z when you're positioned. Then Ctrl-R to Run. Very nice.

I will miss the superior Shark Control Panel, but no matter how good the software is, the flexing of the plastic Shark will not permit accuracy that matches what the software says you'll get.

I hope ShopBot will try Shark 2.0 and upgrade. At least they can do that easily. No amount of programming will help a Shark---they need a new machine design.

[adrianm]

I suppose the Virtual Z is a useful thing if you have a need for it but I must admit during the 8 years I've been running a CNC based business I've never had the need for it.

SB3 is entirely keyboard driven so I don't understand that bit of the comparison. You can change the jog speed in the same way, zero the axes and run the file all from the keyboard.

SB3 has a file progress indicator that draws out the toolpath as it's being cut as well. You need to be in Full mode rather than Easy mode to see that.

[srwtlc]

No offense meant, but all the above can be done with SB3 too.

Virtual Z could be done too, but in reality wouldn't be that useful and with the bot, you shouldn't have the problem of distorting the table when clamping down your material.

Keystrokes galore, and I use a small wireless keyboard with a touchpad and can do it all. Just need a large screen on the wall behind the machine.

Is the console perfect, no, but are any.

[wespor]

I've had my Desktop for 3 months now, prior to that I spent 6 months stressing over which CNC to buy. CarveWright dropped off my list fairly early but the Shark vs ShopBot was a tough decision.

I posted on both forums quite frequently and in the end it was something here that Brady Watson pointed out that tipped the scale for me, he described the ShopBot as being "overbuilt" for it's size and it's the kind of happy mistake you'd expect from ShopBot's first attempt at miniaturization.

I worked with a full size ShopBot at a door manufacturing company several years ago and it was a workhorse that could handle anything and I've gotten the same impression out of the Desktop. I'm not running a business on this router now but I rest easily knowing that I could if/when the opportunity arises.

[rlwagner]

No offense meant, but all the above can be done with SB3 too.

Gentlemen, my apologies. I did not write clearly at all. Sorry.

I have barely used the SB control panel, just a few minutes on a friend's machine. So, I had no business writing about it.

My friend is a very experienced SB user and has been at it so long that he clearly has missed that there have been upgrades that added the graphical depiction and other things about which you all wrote. He no doubt is just using what he's familiar with. When he saw my Shark software he said he wished that his SB had those features. He will be glad to know it does now, but he needs to switch modes.

He did admit that he hasn't read the manual in a long time and he wondered if there had been updates.

Uh, duhhh, yeah! Apparently so. I will tell him to catch up! He'll laugh when this SB rookie shows the veteran a few new tricks.

I am very glad to hear about the extensive keystroke support. I also used a wireless keyboard to control to Shark so I could be close to the work. I no doubt will do the same with my SB when it arrives. I returned my Shark yesterday.

Thank you for your replies.

[jerry_stanek]

That feature has been there ever since I had my first Shopbot.

[chiloquinruss]

I haven't been following this thread, but what you should do is download the control software and run it in 'preview' mode, no BOT required and no charge for the software. There is no comparison better than running the actual software. I ran the software for a couple of weeks while I was waiting for my Bot to be built. When my machine arrived was I was making stuff within hours. Very cool! Russ

http://www.shopbottools.com/mSupport...olsoftware.htm

[rlwagner]

The preview feature is fabulous. Thank you.

FWIW---My SB friend told me that he hasn't updated the software in a long time. He loves the new features.

BTW---
I really appreciate that SB lets us preview the software. I think the President could launch a nuclear strike with shorter codes than it takes to active the Shark control software. Very long strings and everything has its own code, the controller, the software, even the touch plate has to be registered with this super-secret code. And even after you've paid up and it's registered, it won't run even on your own laptop unless it is connected the the Shark and the Shark is on.

Thanks for the kind tips.

[BillSolomon]

Take my word, don't get sharked, go Desktop. I owned a shark before, and had Unpleasant experience