For those of you that own both the maslow and a smaller type XY Cnc machine what are the benefits and drawbacks of each one? Trying to help a friend decide on a good machine for her. Obviously Maslow can cut bigger things, but that aside please compare/contrast.
I have a shaper origin. Dont’ like that you have to hold it, very tedious IMHO.
I also have a Shaper Origin, and because of it I switched from Sketch Up to Fusion 360 over a year ago. The Shaper is outstanding for what it does, and like Maslow, is getting better with each upgrade.
But I do agree, if you’re going to make a large quantity of parts, hanging on to it for more than 30 minutes is beyond having fun.
Since I know Fusion, I figure having a Maslow as a perfect complement to the Origin. Fusion can output to either the Origin their SVG files, or gCode for the Maslow.
We’ll see how this works out.
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Each of these machines have strengths and weaknesses.
There is a Winsoton Moy Video compairing the Shapeoko to the X carve.
The first question should always be “What is your goal”. A screw driver can pound a nail in the wall but it isn’t very good at it.
What is it your friend wants to make?
Thank you
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attach shaper to the maslow 
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I’m no expert, but I suspect that the XY machines are more accurate and precise, which would be important if she wants to make items with small details. Someone else will have to comment on the amount of assembly required for the machines you mentioned.
The Maslow is going to win for the size of things you can make as well as the price. I can’t speak to the XY machines’ communities, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a community as willing to help out someone having problems as this one. (@aluminumwelder has been a member of this community for a long time, so I’m sure he already knows this, but I wanted to get it into the discussion for others’ benefit).
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