I've had my awesome machine for about a month now. The postings here by all of the new and all of the experienced owners has been invaluable. Thanks to everyone for sharing! I have a couple of questions as a new guy with this machine.

1) What is the limitation to carve depth? I know the machine will accept a workpiece 5" thick, but how deep can I carve into it? And, what is the thickest piece that I can create a cutout through?

2) Does the color/darkness of wood affect the infrared sensor? I had a scrap piece that was painted brown. I wanted to see the effect of a pre-finished piece, that was then then routed. But, I kept getting the error "Clear Sensor". I cleaned the sensor several times, ran through the checks listed in the manual, and had no success. Then, I tried a piece that was not pre-finished, and the sensor worked fine. Was it the darkness of the piece or the paint that made the infrared sensor fail?

Thanks again everybody, and I hope to be an experienced contributor to the forum someday!