Makera Carvera Air

No course, no booking — any member may use it. Read this page before your first job.

Enclosed desktop CNC mill for wood, plastics and soft metals. Good for learning CNC before moving to the bigger machines.

Carvera Air with aluminium bed, MDF spoilboard, L-bracket and dust shoe; emergency stop box on the right

Carvera Air with aluminium bed, MDF spoilboard, L-bracket and dust shoe; emergency stop box on the right




Location

Machining room in the Metal workshop, on its own bench

Access

Any member. No course, no booking.

Work area

300 × 200 × 130 mm

Spindle

200 W, 0–13,000 rpm

Collets

1/8" (3.175 mm) standard; 4, 6 and 6.35 mm available

Software

Makera Carvera Controller on your own laptop (WiFi or USB)

Emergency stop

Red button in the silver box right of the machine (the main front button also stops it)

Help / faults

Slack #cnc

Materials

Only materials on this list. Anything else: ask in #cnc first.

Material


Notes

Wood, plywood

✅

Use dust collection

Plastics

✅

Some melt instead of cutting

Aluminium, brass, copper

✅

Slow feeds; use air assist

Machinable wax, modelboard, foam

✅

Good for practice

PCB blanks FR1 / FR2

✅

Use instead of FR4

Micarta and non-fibre epoxy laminates

✅

Dust collection and mask

Carbon fibre, glass fibre (incl. FR4, G10)

❌ never

Harmful dust

Steel, titanium

❌ never


Setup

  • Storage: workholding, tools, rotary module and spare vacuum bags in the drawers under the machine. Shared bits in the top drawer — free to use.

  • Bed: aluminium fixture table with ~300 M6 holes (two 20 mm grids offset by 10 mm), covered by an MDF spoilboard. Makera's M5 holes and 4 mm dowel holes are kept for the L-bracket and rotary module.

  • Clamps: eight Genmitsu mini vise / toe clamps (M6). Makera's own M5 clamps aren't used.

  • Spoilboard: cut into it as little as possible; never cut the aluminium. Worn out? Cut a new one from MDF on the Redsail laser (files below).

  • Probes: standard wired probe (right of the spindle) and a 3-axis wired probe. A probe crash damages it badly — watch its path.

  • Tools: bring your own or buy from the webshop (collect in the shop section of the storage room). Each bit needs a collar for the quick-change lever; use the collar installer.

  • Dust collection: Bosch EasyVac 3 on the shelf above, via the magnetic dust shoe. Switch it on and off by hand. Check and empty it — bags in the drawers.

  • Air assist: shop air via the wall regulator to the left. Blue knob on the module sets flow. Don't touch the regulator.

  • Dust shoe or air assist — never both. Remove the dust shoe for air assist, thick/irregular work and rotary jobs.

  • Rotary (4th axis): harmonic-drive module, mounts at the engraved position. Fit it yourself. You may remove the spoilboard for extra height — put it back afterwards.

  • No laser module — not used here.

  • Network: don't change the machine's network settings.

  • CAM: any CAM. Makera CAM is on the two workstations in the big room; most use Fusion.

Safety

  • Safety goggles whenever it runs, always when the cover is open. Hearing protection for hard materials.

  • Hands away from the spindle; cover closed while running.

  • Never leave it running unattended.

  • Bits are sharp. Wrong settings cause heat and fire.

  • Keep it dry; keep bystanders and children away.

  • Workpiece moves, bit breaks, odd sound or light: emergency stop.

How to use

  1. Check the machine is free, clean and the vacuum works and isn't full.

  2. Goggles on.

  3. Clamp the workpiece — pull to check.

  4. Fit the bit with its collar.

  5. Make the toolpath for this material, bit and machine. Start from the feeds and speeds table, checked against your tool's data.

  6. Connect the controller (WiFi/USB), probe the surface and origin.

  7. Dust shoe or air assist. Close the cover, switch on the vacuum, start. Watch the first cut.

  8. Stay until it's finished.

  9. Clean up: wait for stop, vacuum off, remove the part, vacuum chips into the large bin, return tools and clamps, leave the spoilboard on.

Good to know

  • Emergency stop locks: turn it clockwise to release, then unlock in the controller.

  • After an emergency stop the machine keeps its position — no recalibration. After a restart it must home again.

  • For long idle periods, leave a tool clamped so the collet keeps its grip.

Troubleshooting

Problem

Action

Workpiece moves

Emergency stop; wait for the spindle to stop.

Bit breaks, unusual noise

Emergency stop, report in #cnc.

Probe doesn't trigger, won't connect

Check connection and probe fitting; ask in #cnc.

Smoke or burning smell

Stop; don't open the cover until cool; report.

Vacuum clogged

Vacuum off, spindle stopped, clear it. Check the 20 mm hose inside the machine first.

Fix what you're comfortable fixing — and write up what you did in #cnc.

Specifications



Model

Makera Carvera Air

Work area

300 × 200 × 130 mm

Spindle

200 W, 0–13,000 rpm

Tool change

Manual, quick-change lever

Bed

18 mm aluminium fixture plate + 5 mm MDF spoilboard

Accessories

Wired probe, 3-axis probe, air assist, rotary module, Bosch EasyVac 3

Owner

Stockholm Makerspace

Pictures

Bare aluminium bed with M6 grid and engraved rotary outline

Bare aluminium bed with M6 grid and engraved rotary outline


The eight Genmitsu clamps

The eight Genmitsu clamps

Bosch EasyVac 3 with red power button

Bosch EasyVac 3 with red power button


Files

Links