# Yeti Tool Smartbench - 4' x 8' transportable CNC



## GaryVaiskauckas

I have not yet seen a post on the YetiTool Smartbench - 4' x 8' CNC that can be transported to a job site or easily assembled and disassembled in a garage workshop. I have questions about the rigidity of the platform and accuracy of cuts that may have been necessary tradeoffs to achieve the portable form factor. Its a very innovative solution and if accurate and robust might be a great solution in certain environments.

If anyone has experience with the Yeti Smartbench - I'd love to get their feedback.

Here is a youtube link: 




YetiTool is a U.K. company.

P.S. I have no affiliation whatsoever with Yeti Tools.


----------



## Tony1212

That is pretty cool. But I have the same concerns over rigidity. Everything I've read about CNC routers is the need for everything to be rock solid and I'm not sure they can meet that requirement with their goal of portability.

I'd love to try one out, though.


----------



## DS

I keep scratching my head trying to think of a purposeful use that makes it necessary to be a portable machine.

Maybe fabricating counter tops on site?

You still need to measure the site and send the resulting g-code to the machine for cutting. 
No specific requirements dictate the machine needs to be on site.

Perhaps it just makes for a more budget conscious machine?


----------



## GaryVaiskauckas

DS - Good points. I haven't given much thought to the general use case.

However for my purposes having a 4' x 8' CNC capability that can be easily be broken and set up in my garage workshop is very appealing. The approximate $5k price point is attractive compared to 2' x 4' CNC machines in the $5-$7k range. But for me price is a secondary consideration vs. workshop footprint. Having said that it needs to perform competitively with stationary CNC machines in its price range to find a home in my workshop.

Tony1212 - I agree. I look forward to some reviews on how it actually performs as a CNC compared to stationary CNC machines.


----------



## DS

I suppose I may be biased, having setup and used many large industrial machines that took tens of thousands of dollars just to rig, electrify, dust collect, vacuum plumb and set up. (Level within a couple arc seconds, and the like.)

Once a big machine is set up, there is no moving it without it being an expensive production.

I would expect a portable machine to have some accuracy issues related to portability which could limit the usefulness of the machine versus an industrial big machine.


----------



## therealSteveN

> I would expect a portable machine to have some accuracy issues related to portability which could limit the usefulness of the machine versus an industrial big machine.
> 
> - DS


Actually pretty hard to see it not having accuracy issues. This is the problem with any portable tool, even the ones in heavy use. At least as opposed to stationary machines that are dialed in.


----------



## Underdog

Bet you have to have flat plywood too…


----------



## Denver_80211

"I keep scratching my head trying to think of a purposeful use that makes it necessary to be a portable machine"

For me, it's not about taking the machine to another place, it's about being able to have a 4×8 CNC router that I can fold up and stuff away, recover floor space.


----------



## Tony1212

> "I keep scratching my head trying to think of a purposeful use that makes it necessary to be a portable machine"
> 
> For me, it s not about taking the machine to another place, it s about being able to have a 4×8 CNC router that I can fold up and stuff away, recover floor space.
> 
> - Denver_80211


Yep. Back the cars out of the garage and do some CNC-ing. Break that down and pull the cars back in. That's the only way to get a 4×8 CNC in my shop (garage).


----------



## JonMaxwell

that thing has rack and pinion on it so why not?
what gets me is the dremel


----------



## cpuman

Hello. A week ago I stopped by Yeti Tool Southeast to see the Yeti Smartbench in person. I was impressed with the speed and accuracy. Everywhere the end mill travels stays 90 degrees to the material since the material is locked in position all along the x, y and z travels. Eric was very kind and let me run it and change a couple of bits as well as using the touch plate for zeroing the z axis. He also showed me how to send a file to the smartbench using wifi. I hope to get mine around tax season next year if all goes well.


----------



## cpuman

Before I forget, that is NOT a Dremel! It is a spindle although the shape reminds you of a Dremel. It is a very robust system. We took it from running at 100% to 200% and it never slowed or bogged down with carving a sign.


----------



## cpuman

The purpose of it being portable is not just for movement but for storage. My shop is tiny so I have to do a lot of my work outside of the shop. Having a full size CNC that breaks down for storage or moving to another location is mandatory for me.


----------



## Bobk831

Mine ships from England tomorrow

I am a nubie to CNC but not woodworking.

What questions would you like me to investigate as I am going down this path with this new tool.

I have a buddy with a full size shopbot and we will be cutting projects on both machines for comparison.


----------



## Tony1212

> Mine ships from England tomorrow
> 
> I am a nubie to CNC but not woodworking.
> 
> What questions would you like me to investigate as I am going down this path with this new tool.
> 
> I have a buddy with a full size shopbot and we will be cutting projects on both machines for comparison.
> 
> - Bobk831


My main concern would be rigidity, which affects how well the spindle cuts. If the z-axis is flopping around, it will result in wavy lines.

I'd also be curious to know how long it takes for you to set it up/break it down the first time you use it. I know it would get better the longer you use it, but it'd still be interesting to know.


----------



## AndyJ1s

> "I keep scratching my head trying to think of a purposeful use that makes it necessary to be a portable machine"
> 
> For me, it s not about taking the machine to another place, it s about being able to have a 4×8 CNC router that I can fold up and stuff away, recover floor space.
> 
> - Denver_80211
> 
> Yep. Back the cars out of the garage and do some CNC-ing. Break that down and pull the cars back in. That s the only way to get a 4×8 CNC in my shop (garage).
> 
> - Tony1212


This.


----------



## Bobk831

That is the major reason that I went down this path. I wanted to get into a CNC but I do not have the floor space to dedicate to a machine that can do 4 X 8 sheets.

I did not want something that could not do 4 X 8 sheets. This was the only alternative that I could find that met the criteria.


----------



## DS

I guess all CNCs are transportable If you have a big enough crane and truck.

I see the desire to have it be part time in one slot of your garage. But given the money that can be made, why wouldn't you dedicate the space for it full time?

Just thinking out loud…


----------



## oldnovice

The Yeti does have a large X, Y work area but it doesn't seem to have very much in the Z axis making me wonder how much 3D carving it can do.


----------



## Bobk831

I just built this shop 2 years ago and it s 30' X 25'. Detached, Heated and Air Conditioned. It was built with cash and I incurred no debt to build it. I do agree that it is rather on the small side and I do hope to expand it. That being said its a one man shop. Or it will be for the foreseeable future.

It is already morphing into more than I expected and I am putting this together to be a retirement income stream (Still got 12 years left). If it works wonderful. If it does not wonderful. It is nothing that I am counting on. Right now its a sideline hobby that is paying for itself.

I do want to get experience with CNC technologies. I am a the IT manager for a large national Electrical and Instrumentation company. Computers and networks are my life. I also program and am very experienced with CAD software. The shop does have a network, wireless and all the streaming capabilities that you could ever wish for.

Woodworking is my escape from all of that. What I am concerned about is will I spend more time on the computer and less time with the shop tools.

As I mentioned above I have a buddy that has a full sized ShopBot. It took 3/8's of his shop. He is looking at a shop expansion.

Quote from above "I see the desire to have it be part time in one slot of your garage. But given the money that can be made, why wouldn't you dedicate the space for it full time?"

At this point I am not concerned about the money that can be made. If it morphs into that and I cannot keep up, I will purchase something larger and expand the shop. I am not at that point. I am about investigating and learning. But I do want the ability to cut 4 X 8 plywood.

Quote from above "The Yeti does have a large X, Y work area but it doesn't seem to have very much in the Z axis making me wonder how much 3D carving it can do."

6" on the Z travel is enough for me *at this point.* Standard ShopBot Z travel is 8". I currently do nothing that approaches 6". This might be shortsighted on my part but I figure I can always sell it for something bigger (or keep it) if needed. I would expect to take a beating on the resale. Even ShopBot takes a beating on resale. I currently do not know much about 3D carving. If I get into that and this machine does not have enough capability I'll get something that does.

The way that I am looking at this is, this is a learning process for me. 
If I don't like it I do not have a 20-30 K investment. Only 8K
If I exceed its capacities I'll get something bigger. 
If I have to get something bigger I can expand the shop

But my current criteria was something that can do a 4 X 8 sheet of plywood that can be broken down and stored when not in use.

This was the only tool that met the criteria.


----------



## Bobk831

Tony2012,

It actually took me 5 minutes the first time I set it up. I have broken it down twice now. Each time it has gotten faster. Honestly 3 minutes to set this up is very realistic.

I have not cut anything on it yet as I ran into some problems with Sketchup and vCarvePro that I feel I am very close to resolving.

If the hurricane is gracious to leave me with power I will probably be cutting my first sheets this weekend.


----------



## Ringwall

> Tony2012,
> 
> It actually took me 5 minutes the first time I set it up. I have broken it down twice now. Each time it has gotten faster. Honestly 3 minutes to set this up is very realistic.
> 
> I have not cut anything on it yet as I ran into some problems with Sketchup and vCarvePro that I feel I am very close to resolving.
> 
> If the hurricane is gracious to leave me with power I will probably be cutting my first sheets this weekend.
> 
> - Bobk831


Hi Bobk,
I'm pretty interested in this machine. Wondering how its been treating you, now that you've had it a few months.


----------



## Bobk831

I am pretty happy with it.

It does have its own challenges compared to a standard CNC. Specifically hold down. The "Typical" hold down methods that you see on YouTube mostly do not work as the spindle rides back and forth on the work piece, compared to a shopbot where the spindle floats. Not a problem, you just have to approach your hold down in a different method. Also bottom flowing vacuum hold down would never work with this machine. Screwing it down works fine.

The spindle is adequate at about 1.25 to 1.5 HP. But it is not a 3HP monster. I have cut an entire Ron Paulk ART trailer with this machine. It did fine. Saved me from hours and hours of manual routing and allowed me to assemble while the next piece was being cut. If I ever do another trailer it will be very quick.

I have built numerous cabinets cut completely with this machine. Cut everything except the face frame on it.

Service with this company has been stellar. I did have a problem and they fixed it no questions asked.

If I had the dedicated room in my shop for a full sized CNC I probably would not have purchased this machine. But for my criteria

"something that can do a 4 X 8 sheet of plywood that can be broken down and stored when not in use."

this is working fine for me.

I must be totally honest here. I had NO previous experience with a CNC. A lot, if not all, of my problems were do to my inexperience with this equipment. If you do not have experience with this type of equipment be prepared for aggravation and failure. I was extremely frustrated as I was learning. Hell I am still learning. But as you start to get it, and understand it, it is wonderful. And safer.

The machine in my shop that I faithfully use is my shaper. But I am terrified of the machine. Just flat dangerous. And I have hundreds of hours of experience with it. I am trying to convert all of that work to the CNC. Arches, Doors etc.

Am I happy with this machine. Yes. Would I purchase it again? With the same criteria in place yes. Do I think that this will be my last CNC? Probably not.

Bob


----------



## cpuman

I have been using 2 small Carvewright CNC machines for 8 years. I stopped by Yeti Tool Southeast to see the Smartbench in person. Eric Schiller demoed the machine for me and I was so impressed, I bought the top of the line Precision Pro Smartbench.

As for portability, I have an extremely small shop and many times have to work outside. To have a 4×8 CNC that can be put away and set up in 3 minutes or less very very important to me. This fills that need perfectly!

Accuracy is spot on whether 2D or 3D Carving is works just like the large expensive models that CNC is known for. I can't tell you how long I wished for a machine like this but my machine is available now. Nothing against any manufacturer such as Shopbot, Laguna, etc., but those machines are expensive for a 4×8 and take up huge amounts of space. On top of that, they can't be moved easily and setup quickly again and retain their accuracy. This can. I saw it for myself. Eric is a great guy and willing to help and answer any questions.

One last thing. The Yeti Smartbench is easily customizable to your needs.

Hopefully this answers many of the questions and doubts I have read here in the forum. It runs and does everything as advertised.


----------



## xeddog

Interesting reading here. I really like the concept of a machine like this because I would be one of those that would have to back the car out of the garage to set it up. But about setting it up. It sounds like the surface you set it up on would have to be perfectly flat to start with. I haven't measured my garage floor to see just how level it is, but I'm sure the best description would have to be "flat-ish". I would assume that there would have to be some adjustability to insure that your 4×8 sheet of plywood (or whatever) would be flat from corner to corner without a dip in the middle???


----------



## cpuman

Hello. I have been seeing a lot of people with different concerns about the Yeti Smartbench. Why is it portable? Is it inaccurate because of the mobility. I can tell you emphatically that is portable for any number of reasons. First is most people have little to no shop space. This takes up very little when stored. If you need to move it while it is cutting, you can! Also, if you like to work on site and something needs doing that the CNC can do, you don't have to go back to the shop to do any fabrication! This leads to rigidity. The only part of a CNC that needs to absolutely be rigid is the point where the end mill touches the material being machined. Nothing else matters. Only where the gantry moves to and where the end mill touches. No matter where the gantry and end mill are on the Smartbench during a job, it is always perpendicular to the material. It is hard to wrap your head around the concept of not needing a 400lb+ machine to be a fast accurate machine. What you can't do with the Smartbench is 4 axis work auto bit changes. If these don't matter to you, then this machine will amaze you with accuracy and speed. I admit it is 5 to 8 times more than hobby CNC machines but this is not a typical CNC. It is also capable of batching jobs quickly and doing 2 and 3d work equally. Having seen this machine run in person and looking at the build quality, I decided to save up and bought the new Yeti Smartbench Precision Pro CNC.

I hope this overview is in some way helpful to anyone on the fence or unknowing about why the design is the way it is, rigidity, accuracy and functionally.

cpuman


----------



## BonzaiCan

I have two Yeti Smartbenches with the first I have owned since May 2020 and the 2nd purchased August 2021. There are a lot of positives, but also some issues / challenges to be aware of & so far I have put in over 5000hrs on the two of them so I have had my share of faults whether user error or mechanical failure or software bugs. I'm probably one of the higher work hour users out there but I don't push the machine too hard … I tend to go somewhat cautiously with speeds/feeds but still have what I would consider to be an unexpected number of mechanical issues.

I really don't care about the portability as that was not a factor at all when I made the initial purchase … I wanted something capable of doing everything from small signs to full 4×8 sheets & also working on large / thick solid wood sign blanks. Also key was something that I could get up to speed quickly with on the software / user interface side. Budget was also a key factor. The other alternative I was considering was from Stepcraft, but there is no Canadian supplier so that was not a good option.

I'll be doing a video review some time in the coming weeks or so as pretty much all the reviews out there are somewhat biased as they are Yeti dealers or I've seen a couple by users who only just got the machine and haven't put any significant time in to it.

Meanwhile if you have any questions fire away and I'll do my best to provide some answers.


----------



## Signdude

We recently picked up a Yeti Smartbench Precision Pro with V-Carve Pro software. We haven't had a free moment to set it up yet, but will do soon. We're new to CNC. What is the actual cutting area of the 96×48 sheet of material? On their video, you need 70mm on each side of the X axis for the rollers. Do I need to factor in that as "lost area" for cutting? We started out with the Shaper Origin (great machine), but moved up for the automation of the Yeti. The Shaper can be a back breaker if you need to do lots of cutting.


----------



## Desert_Woodworker

*DS- * you tried… :>(


----------



## OzarkJim

Good to see some lower cost options coming onto the market. Nothing like competition to bring prices down. Some folks don't need precision down to the thousands of an inch so there is a market for something that isn't a commercial machine.


----------

