I quite recently purchased a Carvey for my wife upon the recommendation of a friend, but within days of that it seems to have been disappearing from the site (and this forum is basically a ghost town).
Note that when you can find the Carvey (it’s been removed from home), it says “Carvey is currently unavailable”.
Any idea what’s up? I can’t seem to find any obvious information about what’s going on.
Hmm… Interesting. Maybe they’re planning something?
Or maybe you bought the last one.
I’m really hoping they’re planning something and I didn’t pay thousands for abandonware…
Inventables might be struggling…the only thing they’ve done in 2+ years is update Easel a bit and begin a pro subscription with it. Oh, and a vacuum tube for the carve. not much in terms of any hardware to speak of.
Not much they really need to maintain. It runs on open source firmware and can be controlled by open source software.
I was just looking into this one for my order earlier today… Support reached back.
"Thanks for reaching out! Unfortunately, Carvey is currently not being offered for sale as a result of ongoing negotiations with our manufacturer. We don’t have an exact date but we expect them to be completed within the next 2-3 weeks. I apologize for the inconvenience. Let me know if you have any other questions! "
That’s good to hear - hopefully they’re doing OK, seems like a great product.
I hope this is accurate info. I would like to order one soon. Please post an update if you hear anything more.
Got an Email from Inventables, fears confirmed - Carvey is no more. They’ll be supporting it for a couple of years (through 2021), but it’s discontinued otherwise. Incredibly unfortunate for a new owner…
Because of replacement parts? Did they say anything else in the email?
Hi Luke,
Today, we are announcing the retirement of the Carvey product line. As market conditions change, we have decided to focus on the development of Easel and X-Carve.
Carvey has played an important part in making 3D carving more accessible to makers of all experience levels. We are grateful for the community support Carvey received during its production.
What is changing?
Carvey will no longer be available for purchase.
As an existing customer, will I be able to get help and service for my Carvey?
Yes. We will continue providing full, uninterrupted, service through May 1, 2021.
Is my limited warranty for Carvey impacted by this change?
No. All limited warranties are honored as outlined in your original agreement. Your limited expires on the earlier of (i) 500 hours of use of the Carvey, or (ii) the first anniversary of the date of delivery of the Carvey to you.
Can I still buy Carvey bits and materials from Inventables?
Yes. We will continue to sell bits and materials suitable for Carvey on our website.
What if I have a question that is not answered here?
Please contact help@inventables.com for assistance with any additional questions.
Thank you,
The Inventables Team
There you go, complete email…
Well, for what it’s worth, other than an out of the box issue with the “smart” clamp that was never really resolved, I’ve never had an issue with the Carvey that required contacting support. Got it when they came out a few years ago.
I know it isn’t the biggest or most powerful, but the Carvey sure does meet my needs. It’s been reliable (except for some smart clamp issues) and support has been fantastic. Guess I’ll be keeping my eyes open for a small-ish enclosed CNC system for when that time comes. I’m not really interested in building my own, so will be looking for a ready-to-go assembled system. Don’t need it yet, but any suggestions?
Rockler sells an enclosed unit but i can not remember what it is called. And i am sure it is alot more money.
Nomad from Carbide 3D.
I don’t have one, but I’d say it’s a step up from the Carvey.
Bantam makes a solid little machine too.
I think @WayneHall is referring to the CarveWright which is a cool looking little machine, but also is very different from the others.
I actually have a Carvewright sitting unused in my garage. It is a replacement for one that failed after a few uses. After an expensive shipping exercise, the second arrived DOA. I just wrote the whole thing off to experience. I know there are many who use it with no problems, but to me it is somewhat of a Rube Goldberg contraption.
I actually considered the Nomad before going with the Carvey. I think it is a pretty close match, but I ended up considering it to be more of a CNC-mill, with slightly less size capability. Might have to revisit.
I wasn’t familiar with the “Bantam” name, so looked it up. It is the Othermill. Yep, had one of those also. Mac-based at the time. Another CNC-mill, but with VERY limited size capability.
What’d you do with the Othermill?
It sat for several years. I gave it away two days ago to the 15-year old son of a friend who’s always wanting a “project” to work on. He got it along with a Mac-mini along with my blessings and instructions NOT to use me as a resource. I also tossed in a 3D printer that I tried and found wanting. It’s also a “orphan” since the company has since folded. Same restrictions on my help apply there.
as long as inventables is around, I wouldn’t worry too much just yet about parts etc.
I do hope they have something else in the pipeline though. A company can’t expect to keep existing on 1 product.