The CNC Shark line by Next Wave CNC has been in production as early as 2010 when the machines were being built by Tim Owens in his garage. Many of these machines built over the years are still in use today by hobbyists, schools, and small businesses. With advancements in production and technology, the main control boxes that interface between the machine and computer are no longer in production and can be replaced with the new HD Controller and Pendant with some refurbished kits available at times. Most CNC Shark machines can be connected to the HD Controller and Pendant immediately and some require a motor cable rewire. See the information below to determine what style of main control box you have for the best course of action.
Determine your control box.
There are two types of main control boxes used between 2010 and 2017. The silver metal control box with a red e-stop button on the left or right side of the front panel and a two-piece control box with the power supply external to the main box and has a fan mounted to the top.
The silver metal control box pictured here uses the same DB9 serial connection currently being used on the new HD Controller and Pendant kit. This means replacing this style control box will be plug and play with only a potential model number update.
The two-piece control box pictured below utilized a four-pin Molex style connection. When replacing this style control box with the HD Controller and Pendant would also require sending your motors into Next Wave CNC for rewiring or purchasing new motors. If you would like to send your motors in for rewire, please contact Technical Support at Support@nextwavecnc.com for a Return Authorization.
Differences in operation:
Once your Shark CNC machine has been upgraded to the HD Controller and Pendant kit and your model number confirmed, you will no longer need to run your machine from a computer and can operate your machine from the LCD Pendant entirely. If you do want to operate your CNC machine from a computer, please download the Ready2Control-Basic software that is freely available after logging into your Next Wave Portal account that is created at the time of registering the Controller and LCD Pendant on our website. For more information on how to operate your machine through the LCD Pendant or Ready2Control, please see the webinar videos here.