Once the carving is laid out, saving it automatically creates the program for the machine. The library also contains different types of lettering. These library carvings can be sized, stretched, combined and blended together to create a wide range of custom designs. Next, drag and drop preprogrammed carvings from the built-in library onto the board. You specify the size board you plan to carve on and the software shows you a 3D rendering of the board. Over the years I’ve used nearly a dozen different systems for programming CNC machines, and I can tell you this software is a winner for what it is designed to do. You can download a working demo to try out for 30 days at. Your first experience is with Project Designer, the software that directs the machine. Using this machine involves three aspects: the software used to tell the machine what to carve, the machine itself and LHR’s support services. Let’s look at how it all works, then I’ll outline the issues I’ve had with it. So far, I have spent more time fixing this machine than running programs on it. As of this writing, we’ve had the machine two months, and it is only now becoming reliable enough to schedule work around. Don’t get me wrong: it can do what we want it to do now, and we are happy to have it in our shop, but this is a very new approach and all the bugs are not yet worked out. The carvings produced by the machine are quite good, and the software is frankly amazing. Unfortunately, this leap tends toward making the machine prone to problems. LHR has taken a really big leap forward, combining a compact machine with powerful software at a low price. This is a pretty sophisticated machine doing a very complex task. For woodworkers, new tools are no different, and CompuCarve is as new a tool as you can get. Others never buy the new model that first year, preferring to wait until all the bugs have been worked out. Many people like to be first to have the new-model car as soon as it comes out. So you might be wondering, is it as cool as it looks? You bet! But it is not without issues. We decided to take a chance and try this new technology out. Coincidentally, just as Sears began carrying the CarveWright CompuCarve, my employer was in need of a large number of carved appliqués for a major kitchen build. At around $2,000, it seemed too good to be true.

So earlier this year, I was very interested to learn of LHR Technologies’ CarveWright CNC Carving Machine. I’ve programmed, run, sold and serviced them.

I’ve been working with Computerized woodworking machines (known generically as CNCs) since the mid-1980s. This little machine still has its new-kid-on-the-block quirks, but its cost-to-capability ratio is quite impressive.

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