u/Ivymantled

I went through a long and involved process deciding which Shapeoko to buy.
In the end, including the 5.1 Pro and assorted bits and accessories, the total came to $6,913.00 USD.

When I went through the checkout process, delivery to a capital city in Australia was $8,570.25.

After I picked my jaw up off the floor I got back to Carbide3D, who had been helping me with advice and information via their email customer service. The agent was great - talked to Fedex, and came back with a price several thousand dollars cheaper if I booked within the next few days. But the shipping was still basically the same as buying a whole other setup, just to get it here. I don't think many, or any, consumer buyers could consider that kind of outlay.

The last suggestion the agent had was to try a company in New Zealand who is going to become a Carbide3D importer at some point - and see if shipping from there was better whenever the partnership became official and they had stock.

For the life of me I can't understand how a much smaller market like NZ gets a distributor before Australia. We've obviously dropped the ball somehow.

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A shout out to the Carbide 3D agents who I dealt with online over weeks. They are all patient, knowledgeable, and helpful. Postage costs and global events are not their fault.

Hi,

Apologies - this is probably the millionth help request along similar lines, but I want to be specific as possible in my request because I'm a complete n00b. Thanks for any replies.

I checked out the Make or Break Youtube channel but couldn't find an answer amongst the awesome videos there.

LEARNING CURVE
I have no CNC, programming, or 3D modelling experience. I am experienced with Adobe Illustrator. So I'm hoping to find a machine or setup that has well thought-out and established software and processes, initial assembly, and ecosystem.

FUNCTION
The main function will be cutting lettering out of thin brass sheet, and engraving a matching inlay into furniture timber.
• I would like the capacity to do serif lettering down to 6-8mm height, so quite fine and small.
• Some of the timber would be furniture legs that require pass-through or a long-enough bed.

AVAILABILITY
Can sell or ship to Australia and use Australian power output and sockets.

PRICE
Hopefully no more than $5000 USD

OTHER
There are probably other considerations or decisions I'm not aware of. Would appreciate any experienced input.

Wondering if anybody can help me with some historical Brisbane info.

the late 1980s when I was at Uni, I took some photos in West End of a derelict, industrial structure on the river waterfront. From memory it was dark, and made almost entirely of timber. I think it was a couple of storeys high, and looked very wonky and on its last legs. It could have been a timber mill or factory. At some point in the early 1990s it was demolished as part of the beautification of the area.

Any help with this is appreciated.