Hi everyone. Thank you for participating in the contest for this week. We saw a lot of outstanding contest submissions for this week’s theme and are happy to see many makers participating. Choosing the winners for this theme was tough as all decorative projects were fantastic. We are glad to see all the projects shared within our community.
Last Week’s Winners
We are excited to announce that Merlin Dundas, Lydia Fitzpatrick, Jasper Tizon, Don Rideout, Kevin Medlin, and Devon Coles are the winners of the “A Project That Is Decorative” contest! A prize is on its way to you!
This Week’s Theme: A Project Made for the Kitchen
A short message from our Content Creator, Scott Saari
This week’s theme is “a project made for the kitchen”! Post your noodle boards, trays, cutting boards, charcuterie boards, and other kitchen-related projects that were made using the LongMill. We will select our favourite ones and send makers some awesome things.
The LongMill MK2 is an exceptionally rigid machine. By optimizing the design, we’re able to build and design a capable machine at an affordable price.
It seems rare for CNC companies to share this sort of data and testing, so it’s difficult for consumers to be able to compare apples to apples on different hobby CNC machines. Hopefully, this is a good start for our industry to work towards bringing better, more rigid machines to the market.
Based on our results, a LongMill experiencing regular cutting forces of 10N, which we’ve determined to be representative of a normal cutting load on a hobby CNC machine, we see that the total deflection is under 0.1mm on both the X and Y axis. Given that 0.1mm is roughly the thickness of a sheet of paper, users should expect a very high level of accuracy for their machines.
We created these tests to show users that even though the LongMill is substantially less expensive than other hobby CNC options, it still offers a highly competitive level of rigidity and that customers are not missing out on something just because we’re so affordable.
Results:
(Tested at 10N)
X Axis Deflection
Y Axis Deflection
48×30 Longmill MK2
2.8 thou / 0.072mm
3.2 thou / 0.080mm
30×30 Longmill MK2
2.3 thou / 0.057mm
3.0 thou / 0.076mm
12×30 Longmill MK2
1.9 thou / 0.049mm
3.0 thou / 0.076mm
We also did an additional run at 25N, the results are as follows.
(Tested at 25N)
X Axis Deflection
Y Axis Deflection
48×30 Longmill MK2
14.2 thou / 0.361mm
20.7 thou / 0.525mm
30×30 Longmill MK2
12.3 thou / 0.313mm
18.5 thou / 0.470mm
12×30 Longmill MK2
13.0 thou / 0.330mm
18.2 thou / 0.461mm
For the full report, including my commentary, please read the report below.
Good afternoon everyone. We want to thank those who participated in the contest this week. We know this theme was a little trickier than others, but all of you killed this contest! It was difficult for us to select the winners for this week as all non-wooden projects were crafted very well. We love seeing all the projects shared within our community.
Last Week’s Winners
We are happy to announce that Jack Maree, Kaleb Mannion, Stephen Zumbach, Kootenay Woodcraft, Nicolas Jacques, and Ron Klein are the winners of the “A Project That Isn’t Made From Wood” contest! Look out for a prize coming your way!
This Week’s Theme: A Project That Is Decorative
A short message from our Content Creator, Scott Saari
The theme of the week is “projects that are decorative”! Share with us something that you have created on the LongMill that was used to decorate your space. These projects include any wall art like signs, picture frames, wall carvings, figurines/statues, and other cool decorative items. We will choose our favourite decorative projects and send prizes to the creators!
Please note that we will be closed on Monday Sept 5, 2022 for Labour Day. We’ll be back in the office on Tuesday Sept 6, 2022.
Michael our QA engineer going through our latest batch of gantries
LongMill MK2 and Extension Kit Orders
Production continues to move fairly smoothly for all LongMill and Extension Kit orders. We have now cleared the pending queue for 48×30 and Extension kits and now lead times for all machine sizes will be more or less the same. We are expecting lead times to be around 1-2 weeks for most orders for this month.
This past month we did pause production shortly due to us running out of rail extrusions to make 48in X-axis rails, however, we have received another batch of rails that should cover for another 400-500 machines. Because we were working with our extrusion manufacturer to work out some kinks in the consistency of the rails, which placed the order on hold rather than going to press. Thankfully they were able to move the extrusions to the weekend schedule and have them made with only a few days of added delay.
X and Z gantries we also ran out as well have also been restocked. The next thing we’re expecting to run out of are the front and back steel feet for LongMill MK2 machines which we currently have 70 units worth left, however, those should be restocked back around the end of next week.
LaserBeam Orders
We are now stocked on enough LaserBeam units to last till the end of the year. Most are shipping out within a few days.
Batch 7 Production
We are now at the final third of Batch 6 Production. This means that we’re at our last 500ish machines, and we’ll be getting to the end of the batch sometime likely in December. Depending on the status of our shipments, our lead times may change around this time.
Batch 7 production has been underway for the last few months and we’ve been getting parts in to prepare. There won’t be any major changes but we’ve made some small tweaks to production overall including:
Small tweaks to the design of the 5mm to 8mm coupler to help customers identify which side goes on which side
Fully custom-produced v-wheels to improve quality control and consistency of the wheels
Some additional changes to our production reflected in Batch 6 and 7 include:
New tools to check the consistency of all of our rails
Additional checks to ensure the flatness of all gantry plates and other steel parts
Individual motor tuning on all control boards
When we started Batch 6 in 2021 and early 2022, we were at the height of the pandemic and supply chain constraints. Recently, we’ve seen lower lead times, shortages, and transport times than before, so we are hopeful that this new batch of machines will have a smoother production process than before.
Price increases from UPS
UPS has recently informed us that they will be charging an “Additional Handling Fee” on shipments weighing over 50lbs. Previously this limit was set to 70lbs. This means that some shipments on new orders may see roughly a $10 increase on LongMill shipping prices on new orders placed Sept 6. We are working with UPS to negotiate and reduce the impact of this charge.
Hey everyone. We really appreciate those who participated in the contest this week. It was hard for us to choose the best useful household item projects since they were all so unique. We always look forward to seeing all the projects shared within our community.
Last Week’s Winners
We are excited to announce that John Fischer, Scott Nolen, The Wooden Board, Little Owl Craft Co, Michael Mascaro, and Academx Woodcraft are the winners of the “A Useful Household Item” contest! A prize is on its way to you!
P.S. We will be closed Monday, September 5th for Labour Day and back in the office on Tuesday, September 6th.
This Week’s Theme: A Project That Isn’t Made From Wood
A short message from our Content Creator, Scott Saari
Wood is obviously the most common material LongMill users use for making projects. Well, this week’s theme is “projects that aren’t made from wood”! Show us your projects that don’t use wood as their main material, like acrylic signs, brass brands, aluminum parts, and more, and we’ll choose our favourite ones and send the creators some free swag and bits!
Hello everyone. We want to give our thanks to those who participated in the contest this week. We were so impressed with the projects you have sold that it was super difficult for us to choose the winners for this week. We are happy to see all the projects shared within our community.
Last Week’s Winners
We are excited to announce that Frank Stephenson, Knotty Hound, Kari Chapman, Dale Haché, John Hughes, and Kevin Ernst are the winners of the “A Project You Sold” contest! A reward is coming your way!
Here is an important business tip that Kari Chapman shared and could help you all succeed in your business. “Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Putting yourself and your business out there is never easy – you won’t survive if you stay within your protected bubble. You have to pop that and seek out ideas and opportunities to grow as a business owner and to grow your business. Michael Dell once said, “if you’re the smartest person in the room, find another room.” This applies to your comfort zone as well. (*Mandy Edwards *35 Marketing Tips to Get [or Keep] Your Business Going, 2016).”
This Week’s Theme: A Useful Household Item
A short message from our Content Creator, Scott Saari
This week’s theme is “a useful household item”! Show us something you made with your LongMill that you can use around the house, such as catch-all trays, noodle boards, a piece of furniture, or anything else, and we’ll choose our favorites and the creators some awesomely cool stuff. Swipe to the last photo for more information on this week’s contest theme.
Hi everyone. We want to give a big thank you to those who participated in the contest for this week. We have seen so many awesome 2.5D and 3D projects that it was hard for us to choose the best ones. We love seeing all the projects shared within our community.
Last Week’s Winners
We are excited to announce that Kari Chapman, Paul Arnold, Merlin Dundas, Nelson Joseph, Kibbles N – Bitz, and Kaleb Mannion are the winners of the “Your Favourite 2.5D or 3D Carving/Relief Project” contest! Look out for a reward coming your way!
This Week’s Theme: A Project You Sold
A short message from our Content Creator, Scott Saari
This week’s theme is “a project you sold”! Post any project someone gave you money for, whether it be a custom sign, gift, or any other item made with the LongMill, and we’ll choose our favorites to send our makers cool stuff. Bonus points if you give us a business tip to share with our community. (When posting/sharing your project with us, please specify in your caption that it was sold).
Hey folks. gSender 1.1.3 has been released with firmware tool improvements, input improvements, and bug fixes/feature improvements!
The firmware tool has a new look – settings different than the default for your selected machine profile are highlighted, you can easily look up settings by term rather than number, and machine profile is now located inside the tool instead of in preferences. We’ve also added some new machine profiles for Longmills with extension kits and some other machines.
Machine profile selection has been removed from preferences entirely. The purpose of machine profiles has been gradually lessened over each release, and the only part of the program it was still informing was the firmware tool. Due to this, we’ve removed it from preferences as a selection since it’s purpose was confusing a number of users, especially when it came to machine dimensions (which were actually pulled from EEPROM). Machine profile is now selected in the firmware tool, and only handles which image to flash/settings to use as default values.
We also have a number of feature improvements, including: UI inputs also no longer default to minimum value if the user takes longer than expected to type, Test File mode now restores WCS upon completion, and continuous jogging working more consistently when $13 (report in inches) is enabled.
Patch Notes
Added profiles for Longmill extension kits
Machine profile removed from preferences and placed in firmware tool
Fixed incorrect default values in some machine profiles
Test mode now restores WCS after the soft reset performed while exiting check mode.
Fixed issue with test mode that would occasionally have it start running the file after test was complete
Fixed issue with continuous jog when soft limits were enabled and report in inches EEPROM value was enabled
Hey everyone, thank you for participating in this week’s contest! It was tough for us to choose the winners since all the projects were amazing. We look forward to seeing all the projects shared with us and the community.
Last Week’s Winners
We are happy to announce that Kootenay Woodcraft, Guitares Perro, Erik Nielsen, Jannik Hahn, and Tom Woodhouse are the winners of the “A Project You Made to Have Fun” contest! Watch out for a prize coming your way!
This Week’s Theme: Your Favourite 2.5D or 3D Carving/Relief Project
This week’s theme is “your favourite 2.5D or 3D carving or relief”! Post your favourite nature relief, multi-sided carving, guitars, flags, or any project that incorporates a 2.5D or 3D technique using the LongMill for a chance to win some free stuff!
Not too much new to report, so this will be a shorter post than usual.
LongMill 48×30 and Extension Kit Orders
We did have a stop in production last month for a short period of time as we got shorted some Y gantry plates for the 48×30 and EX plates but that has now been resolved. We’ve shipped out another batch of around 50-60 machines since.
Because of a higher than expected number of orders for the 48x30s, we are currently out of stock on X rails and are waiting for another delivery of material on August 12th. While we expected 48×30 machines to make up around 30-50% of our machine sales, we’ve now found that the larger variant has recently become nearly 60% of our sales in the last month. The new batch of rails that are on the way has been adjusted to reflect the new ratio.
Once the rails arrive, we will ship machines out again and should take about 2 weeks to complete the remaining queue.
LongMill 12×30 and 30×30 Orders
Orders for LongMill 12×30 and 30×30 have been mostly shipping out within one business day. We currently have parts in stock and ready to go.
LaserBeam Orders
We have received new drivers and are currently packing and shipping the rest of the queue. Most customers should have gotten theirs shipped already, and most new orders are going out within a week. If you have a machine on order waiting to be shipped, the Order Status page may not show as completed since both items haven’t shipped yet.
