This is the Makera Carvera and it’s the
first CNC mill I ever had my hands on before. As a 3D printing guy, I honestly had quite
some doubts and anxieties about getting into CNC machining. But, oh boy…ball screws driven by servo
motors, automated levelling, automated tool changing… and there is way more to discover
on that modern cnc machine. Sounds too good to be true for beginners and
even advanced users, right?! Join me, a total CNC noob, doing my first
steps in CNC milling and getting my first project milled out of aluminium! Today at 247printing… Printing? This video is sponsored This video is sponsored
by PCBWay. Check out the link below if you need someone
to do CNC jobs and more for you! Now, I do have a university degree in mechanical
engineering, I know how to operate and tweak 3D printers. I know how CNC machines work in theory…
as in theory 3D printers are also CNC machines and in theory it’s the same… but different. But let’s go step by step. I always wanted to get into CNC machining
and even planned to build one by myself. Then I saw the Carvera review on the YouTube
channel “Stranger Parts” After that I wanted the Carvera, because it seemed perfect
for a noob like me… and now… I have the Carvera. Big Thanks to Josh, the Co-Founder of Makera,
the company behind the Carvera, for providing the Machine and accessory free of charge to
total noob for this video. Let’s check out what I’ve got! The online shop at Makera.com offers the Carvera
itself for around 5000 bucks – depending on actual discounts – and there is a variety
accessory you can order. Like the rotary module, aka the “4th axis”,
a PCB fabrication pack, various bits, materials and other accessory. I got the Carvera itself in a wooden crate
and the accessory in an extra package. Unpacking and setting up the Carvera from
the wooden box is a no-brainer. Be aware: The Carvera is 70kg and you’d
need someone to support you to get the machine to its final destination. In my case: A super cheap IKEA table down
in my basement garage which I use as a workshop. You’ll have a lot of nice opportunities
for the act of removing foils. The y-axis and x-axis are well secured for
transport. So, there are some screws you have to remove
before first start-up and homing the Carvera – which reminds a lot on bed slinger 3D printers,
right?! The accessory I got from Makera is plenty:
A materials package, the optional PCB fabrication pack selling for 299 dollars, the tool kit,
an accessory box and also the optional fourth axis, which is sold for 399 bucks. With the tool-box you get actually all the
tools you need for operation. The accessory box contains, the power cable…
and in my case an optional kit, which contains bit collets and spindle collets for 4mm, 6mm,
quarter and one eiths inch tools. This shows the variety of tool shafts usable
with the automated tool changer – really nice! There is also a stand/mount for a tablet or
smartphone – we’ll see later… There are extra bit collars for the default
bits… backup screws and allen keys… the essential wireless probes including varying
shafts for all possible spindle collets… a usb cable for smartphone or tablet.. the
handy manual probe which we’ll need to use later… a spare wireless probe…protective goggles
for both machining and laser operation. Yes, the Carvera also comes with a 445nm,
2.5 Watts, Class 4 laser – but don’t expect much from this. We also find a set of drill bits and a kill
switch. In addition, there is a spare HEPA filter
for the integrated vacuum. YES. The Carvera also has an integrated vacuum
to suck up the chips while machining! As you can see: There is a lot of stuff around
a CNC machine like the Carvera! Optionally there is even more: The PCB fabrication
kit comes with a set of single sided PCBs, a set of double side PCBs, a UV solder mask
roller, a set of PCB rivets, special bits for PCB fabrication, machining dowels for
positioning the double-sided PCBs, a set of corn-bits, solder mask removal tools, tiny
drill bits and a UV lamp for curing the solder mask. Yes, the Carvera is also meant for fabricating
PCBs and we’ll do that. But there is more…With the included material
package, you get a pre-made example PCB and the components to make an example by yourself,
a big sand block, a double-sided tape, aluminium plates, epoxy tooling boards, single and double
sided pcbs, ABS panel, acrylic panel, another tiny sand block, a tiny saw and some waste
boards. To be honest: It’s super cool and it was
perfectly useful to get all this stuff, but as a total CNC machining noob I felt a bit
overwhelmed when unpacking some time ago, because of all that accessory. How do I use all this? Will I be really able to learn the needed
CAM software to make my own project? Will I crash and destroy that super nice high-end
desktop CNC machine, with ball screws, sturdy linear rails and top-notch servo motors? Oh boy, I am not shy to admit it, I had and
I still have a lot of respect towards this machine and CNC machining in general. Thankfully the Carvera and Makera take your
hand and introduce you nicely and gently into this world of CNC machining and more: There
is a Wiki and on their YouTube channel there are good videos showing you the way of different
topics. You also get nicely printed versions of the
manual for the Carvera and also of the guide for the project examples you can make right
out of the box! And that’s what I did first in order to
get used to machine, software and procedures. Though first, it is recommended to read and
understand the well-made instruction manual. It goes through the preparation steps, explains
the dedicated control software and how to use as well as install all the tools and accessory. I like the printed magazine style of the manual
a lot and took some relaxed moments last summer to read it. It really creates the want to get started
with projects on the Carvera. You can download these manuals beforehand
on Makera’s webpage – I recommend taking a look! Though… it takes an abrupt end at the CAM topic, my
personal pain point. In the end that’s ok, because learning cam
is a rabbit hole which would need double the content to explain it properly. We’ll talk about that later on my first
aluminium cnc project I designed, planned and made on the Carvera. Though... If you just want to have things done conveniently
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first example project actually is a super interesting start: You’ll make your own
PCB, you mill a base out of ABS, you carve the display board out of acrylic and you cut
out your own capacitive touch switch out of aluminium. All the example files - let me express it
in 3D printing language - are “pre-sliced gcodes”, but the manual states the used
software and you’ll find the corresponding profiles for the Carvera on its wiki. The Carvera is almost fully automated including
the changes of the six possible tools on the bay to the right. The example projects use a defined set of
bits and tools, which have to be inserted into the corresponding slots. First step is to clamp down a defined stock
together with a waste board below it. That’s the first time I realized: Boy, that’s
way more effort than preparing an FDM print… The Carvera does not come with a screen or
any controls directly on the machine. There is only the reset button with an RGB
LED displaying different states. You can connect to the Carvera to devices
and control it using the Makera’s “Carvera controller” software, available for Windows,
Mac, and Android. The iOS Version is still stating “Coming
Soon”… since months. I only have an old iPhone and a super old
first-generation iPad Air from 2012 – so I am out of this at the moment. In addition, the hex profile of one the screws
for the phone or pad stand was stripped unfortunately from factory. I couldn’t get it out. So, I chose to use an old laptop over USB,
as I had some connectivity issues with WiFi in the garage where the Carvera is located. The Carvera Software gives you sufficient
control over the machine and let’s you load and upload gcode files to the Carvera. In the task configuration menu, you set work
offsets, you can set z-probing and setup auto levelling. Yeah, high-end CNC mills also make use of
auto-leveling using the wireless probe. The example guide directs you through all
settings, number by number, click by click. In the end you simply hit run and the automated
program begins. What a moment this was and I was a bit worried
about tools braking or something really bad happening – it was very exciting to start
a program. Though there is no reason for that: The Carvera
is super confident in everything it does out of the box. A laser pointer on the wireless probe is used
to quote – unquote “scan the margin” of the tool path. In the end it’s a visual safety check for
the user if the area is safe for the intended toolpath of the program. Makes a lot of sense and that’s actually
helpful for nooby nooby cowards like me. Like planned, it also does a 5x5 mesh for
the auto-leveling… and we change automatically to the first milling tool – a thirty degree
0.2mm V-bit in order to carve the conductor tracks. After cleaning with isopropanol and quote
unquote “polishing” the surface with the sanding block, I applied the soldering mask
and I guess I failed there concerning thickness, because the included UV lamp was not powerful
enough to cure it. aIt was mid-summer back then, it was hot and
super muggy, we had to open the garage door and the only solution we could think of, was
to use the curing lamp normally used for resin prints… The guests and spectators we had that night
were an unpleasant result of all the boundary conditions back then, but we succeeded – that
probably too thick layer of solder mask got eventually cured by this setup. After using the expensive solder mask removal
tool and automatically changing to a 0.8mmm corn bit for the through holes and cut-outs,
the PCB was done and I couldn’t believe the next morning that this PCB was just made
in my garage – absolutely thrilling! But all this gets even better later on – so
hang on! For this LED light project, we also mill a
base part out of a big chunk of ABS. This was the first time I doubted CNC milling
as the optimal process for this. Sure, I got it, this is for demonstration
purposes, I totally get that and it’s exciting to do and watch – check it out… But still… If that was a real project and having a 3D
printer at hand, I would have chosen 3D printing to make this base part. It might have even been faster all in all. Of course, that’s not an option for this
sample project. So all good, it serves the purpose. Watching the Carvera doing its automated thing
spreads confidence and trust. Same impression counts, when watching the
carving and cutting out the chosen R2D2 display board out of acrylic… Machining the first aluminium part on the
Carvera – which represents the touch switch for the LED light - was exactly what -I- was
looking forward to mostly at the beginning: Aluminium milling! That’s exactly what -I- want to do mostly
with the Carvera - aluminium prototypes - and it seems to work well! So, I had high hopes for my own projects,
but… I still have no clue how to translate a 3D
design into machine commands for a CNC mill like the Carvera. CAM or computer aided manufacturing for subtractive
fabrication like CNC milling is completely new to me and I all I knew is that it’s
by far not as easy and intuitive as slicing FDM printing. So, I procrastinated these learning efforts
successfully and went the easy way of finishing all the given example projects first. I did my very first frickin’ laser engraving
of the beautiful Audrey Hepburn on… waste board… sorry Audrey!!! And I did… let me express it in 3D printing
language… “non-planar non-3D printing” on a slap
of epoxy tooling board. The result is actually really cool! My friend Josh, the Co-Founder of Makera,
was super generous I also had the chance to try out the 4th axis. All of it super cool to do and all this gave
me a creative overflow of ideas for my own future projects. And that’s what I wanted and had to do finally:
My first own project. …also, because I now ran out of pre-scliced
gcodes aka example projects… The requirements and boundary conditions I
set my self for my first CNC milling project are: It had to be functional, it should make
use of the advantages of aluminium, it should be a part improving one of my fast 3D printers,
it should be challenging with a steep learning curve and should enable me to learn the principles
of CAM for CNC milling. My RatRig V-Core-3 already is quite fast:
I already changed to a light weight aluminium toolhead and to an aluminium x-beam all provided
by Vez3D. I went from MGN12 to MGN9 for the linear rail
of the x-axis and I use CPAP turbo cooling. I have Nitram’s Volcomosq hotend on board
for high flow and belt tensioning is not done on the toolhead, but with those two devices
on the frame. Already quite a beast, but there is room for
improvement. The joiner plates which connect the X and
Y axis are made of steel and weigh around 80g each. Due to the fact that my X-axis is around 37
percent lighter than default one, due the fact that these parts are also used on the
larger V-Core-3 machines it’s worth a try for an aluminium design there along with changing
the MGN12C linear rails for the Y axis to MGN9H. Designing the part was no problem,but there
still was the “CAM” problem for me. So, I asked my friend Josh, the Co-Founder
of Makera, what he proposes for learning CAM. Btw.: Thanks a lot, Josh, for answering quite
some noob questions I had, I really appreciate your efforts. Josh linked me to a CAM example video, which
was made by Jason Erdreich. It can be found on the Makera wiki and is
uploaded to the YouTube channel of Makera. Both are a good resource for tutorials on
the Carvera, troubleshooting, maintenance and more. That rather short and quick tutorial project
Jason showcased was actually all I needed to get started with the principles in CAM
for Fusion360. Even though it’s not needed, I wanted to
try out milling from both sides, as I wanted to chamfer all the edges for a nice look. First of all, a note: There are more efficient,
more clever or just other ways to make this part, but some of the setup I did was to check
out features and to set quote unquote “educational challenges” for myself. So, I defined a first setup, which includes
the machine profile from the wiki and operation type as well as setting up origins for the
work coordinate system– in my case I wanted the origin to be the anchor point (1) of the
Carvera. I set up the stock size exactly to the size
of my 5mm thick precision milled aluminium scrape plate I wanted to use for this two-sided
operation. The actual part I designed is 4mm in thickness
and is centred in Y as well as Z direction. I used a 10mm offset from the left side of
the stock. So, I wouldn’t need to set any offsets blindly
in the machines task setup and I could just leave it at 0,0. First operation was to drill the 3mm through
holes. The available tools and parameters are also
imported from profiles located at the Carvera Wiki. I just adapted the available 2mm drill profile
to the cheapo 3mm one I bought some time ago. I used the same feed and speed as for the
2mm one coming with the Carvera. It’s also important to set numbers in the
tool-management for the tool-changer slots which are used physically on the Carvera. Geometry definition, heights as well as retracts
are rather self-explaining. Cycle is rather important to set like shown
to go at safe pecking depth for the drilling. Next, I wanted to do a face operation to bring
the part to the desired thickness. This was also rather self-explaining to setup
– also with a bit of trial and error using the simulation. For these 5mm and 5.3mm holes I applied a
circular operation with the 12mm end mill included with the Carvera. Then it got a bit trickier: I want to chamfer
all the edges of this side. Because I like chamfers. So, I cut free the outer edge by a depth of
1mm to have clearance for the chamfering tool. I learned two ways to make chamfers watching
a video by mechanical advantage, which I link below, using the included 90° or 45° chamfering
tool coming with the Carvera. The only difference to the video is the tool,
which has in my case a 0.1mm tip. I applied a 0.05mm offset here – which half
the tool tip and went with a contour operation like the tutorial proposed for my case. With the chamfering, the milling for the first
side is completed. The cutting out of the part is done from the
other side which I fast forward, as setup is mostly like shown from side 1. In the end the simulation looked good for
“the other side” – the main clue here was to set a new work origin with a flipped
z axis. 2D pockets for light-weight, another face
operation to get to 4mm thickness for the part and… Simulations look good, program is exported,
uploaded to the machine, setup is a no-brainer as offsets are set in CAM… here, we go! Let me tell you: Starting my very first own
CNC program was super thrilling and this emergency button is my best friend… What a feeling! The drilling, with my manually set up cheapo
3mm drill…the face operation… the circular operations for the bigger holes…. The first cutting on the outer silhouette
as preparation for the chamfering, as I like chamfers… And even the chamfers with the included chamfer
tool worked exactly like intended – awesome! Now, the first side of the part was a huge
success… What about the second side? Doing the pockets looked good… the face
operation also a big success… defining the silhouette of the part: easy peasy… Chamfers? Problems! Look at that: The chamfers for the pockets
came out ugly and those for the through-holes drilled from the other were displaced. Other than that: My first program was a huge
success. The part would actually be usable for the
intended use, but I would never give or even sell this to anyone. Here is a short-cut for the rest of this story,
because I did three more tries until I was mostly happy with the result. My learnings… Number 1… The face operation takes way too long and
even though it feels flat and smooth the resulting surface looks ugly with the used end mill. I need another tool for that. So, I left out this step and accepted the
part being 25% more heavy than at 4mm thickness – for now. Learning number 2 and this took two more fails
on that: The ugly chamfers on pockets. It doesn’t really make sense to me, but
as set to default for pocket operations in Fusion360, the box for “Stock to leave”
is ticked with a 0.5mm value. That means the chamfering tool had to do way
too heavy cutting on the pockets. Easy fix, but you have to know about that
questionable default option… which… still doesn’t make sense to me. Learning number 3: For two sided operations,
stock size and coordinate systems have to be perfect. My reference for X0 and Y0 virtually and in
Carvera reality is anker point one on the bottom left corner. This point is defined in the settings of the
Carvera and by mounting the L-bracket at setup and of course there is a high possibility
of some .X mm error vs. the preset for the anker point 1 of the Carvera. Using the manual probe to accurately set 0,0
according to physical reality, revealed that Y Zero was off for tenths of a millimetre
– which makes a lot of sense looking at the result: This error geometrically doubles
when turning around the stock. Some hours later and with the fourth and final
try for this part, I was actually satisfied with the result even though it still was not
perfect for my perfectionist claims: The chamfers were better, but they’re still not 100%
concentric to the pre-drilled holes. Why is that? Though: When repeating the manual XY probe
I realized that there was a new little offset in Y, which actually might correspond to the
tiny offset that’s left between chamfer and the pre-drilled holes from the other side. There might have been a tiny chip of alu between
probe and the surface to be measured at first try of manual probing. Anyways, I am super happy with the result
and my learnings in CAM… Though I am an idiot! Here is editing Albert who actually checked
out Rat Rigs webpage. The joiner plates for the V-Core-3 are actually
made of 6061 aluminium at 4mm thickness. That means weight savings with my CNC parts
are only around 3 grams per side. Not worth the change on the printer, but it
was worth the learning challenge! That one wasn’t a classic comprehensive
review. It was my journey as noob with an unrivalled,
modern and automated CNC machine. Even though I enjoyed this exciting journey
a lot, there are negatives I want to point out: There is no remote access from the browser
possible like we know it from Octoprint, Fluidd or Mainsail in 3D printing. Also, there is no camera included to observe
the process remotely – also quite common in the 3D printing universe. There is permanent mount provided for the
kill switch. Metal chips could affect electronics on toolhead
and probably cause issues in the future. There are no direct controls like a touchscreen
on the machine and there is still zero support for my iOS devices. Is the price of around 5000 bucks a negative
point for the Carvera? First of all, you get a lot for the money
– a lot of automation, a lot of sturdiness, a lot of confidence as well as reliability,
you get a ton of accessory, well-guided example projects and tutorials to get started as well
as educated out of the box. For a beginner like me the Carvera was a convenient,
but exciting journey into CNC machining and to learning CAM for CNC milling. What I learned especially is, because I honestly
had some anxieties there: Learning new topics like CAM – the slicing for CNC machining
- is often way less difficult than anticipated, you just need to take a start to get into
it. So, is 5000 bucks much money? Yes, it absolutely is and it needs to be spent
wisely. Is 5000 bucks too much for the Carvera, accessory
and that guided experience? Absolutely not. This machine is unrivalled, absolutely worth
a recommendation and the best package for the money out there. There is zero hesitation or any doubts for
me to put an affiliate link down below – use it to support 247printing. Thank for watching and sharing your thoughts
in the comments – that’s my personal reward! Also thanks for liking this video and spreading
the word! Make sure to be subscribed – more CNC content
incoming! Obsession started…
