Is it possible to create giant X-Carve?

1

Hi there!

I have a clothing company, and it would be amazing to set up an X-Carve to draw our patterns onto fabric instead of having to trace them by hand.

It would just be holding a pen and drawing on paper, rather than doing any cutting (though after hours giant cnc projects would be so much fun!).

However our cutting table is 20’ x 6’.

It seems that 1000mm is the largest rail option. From looking at the upgrades, it seems like the only changes needed to make the 500mm upgrade to the 1000mm is the wiring length, wire drag support, and longer rails.

Could rails be connected together in some fashion? Or are there custom rails we could acquire somehow?

It seems like over large spans we would have to include some kind of support from underneath to avoid rail sag at that length, rather than just end support. Is that a viable option or would it necessarily interfere with the operation?

Thanks for your help!

2

rails can be connected. the Y axis should be simple enough, not sure about the X. they use to have 2000mm makerslide a long time ago, that would be close to 6ft i believe

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I’m not seeing how you could combine rails. Any pointers?

4

couple different ways to do it.

you can use mending plates https://www.inventables.com/technologies/mending-bracket

mid span supports http://www.improbableconstruct.com/products/shapeoko-2-mid-span-support

also you can add internal support by cutting the head off of a bolt and using it as a dowel http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/22/hu9a6y2u.jpg

google search joining makersilde for more ideas

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There are some 3rd party options out there that seem to do a good job, like Makerfoot. That kind of thing would let you join two spans of rail and also increase rigidity.

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7

YES IS POSSIBLE

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