We use cookies to personalize content, interact with our analytics companies, advertising networks and cooperatives, and demographic companies, provide social media features, and to analyze our traffic. Our social media, advertising and analytics partners may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services. Learn more.
Inventables’ promotional material states that the 500mm X-Carve has about a 12" x 12" work area. I found the actual work area for my 500mm machine to be more like 10.5" x 10.5" because of the belt length taken up by the original belt clip and requisite (in my experience) zip ties to prevent slipping (see photo below).
I decided to design a simpler belt end clip for the X and Y axes and came up with a decent solution that now gives me a full 12" x 12" work area.
It’s a simple piece (made out of PLA here) that accepts the belt into a slot with teeth on the bottom. A 4x40 flat-head machine screw comes from the bottom with a nut on top that is used to securely fasten the belt in the slot. Then, a hex-head 6x32 machine screw is inserted through the front hole, through the frame of the X-Carve and finally tighten with a nut.
The STL file for printing this belt end clip can be found on Thingiverse:
For each belt I attach the clip to one end using and tighten it firmly to the X-Carve frame. After hand-tightening on the other end I cut the belt so that it’s about 1/4" from the end, slide the belt into the clip and tighten it down with the 4x40 flat head screw. I then insert the 6x32 hex head screw into the front and through the hole in the frame of the X-Carve. I tighten the screw and bring the belt to the appropriate tension. I’ve found this whole process much easier to do than the original clips and hex screws. I use an iPhone app (PitchPerfect) to get the tension of the belts to be roughly the same frequency. The exact frequency is a judgement call and can change with the positioning of the carriage, but it works well to “tune” the X-Carve.
Sweeeeeeet !!!
thank for sharing !
but i think i will add an “exit” hole for the belt, that way i dont need to cut it, in case of i want to return to original clips
Yes, Don, I considered that, but hesitated cutting into the metal frame with my current metal working collection of tools and skill set (pretty basic). If a slit was cut it opens up other methods for tightening the belt (e.g. ratchet-type, etc.).
For anyone interested…I uploaded a new and improved version of the end clip. I found a YouTube video that showed how to put a hole through an irregular surface that worked for me here. Now, once printed, there is no post-production work. Here’s a photo of the new model:
The 4x40 nut on the top and the slotted 6x32 hex-head machine screw are both recessed so only a small Philips screwdriver and wrench are needed to put the end clip to work on the X-Carve.
An earlier comment got me to thinking about how to improve this design so the belt wouldn’t have to be cut. I was inspired by the following GT2 belt clip:
and simply cut out the shapes in a 1/2" x1/2" square bar of aluminum. I’ve shared the Easel file at:
Once the milling was done (I copied/pasted the single carve so I could mill 6 at once) I used the 2mm-deep groove to help guide the cutting of the bar with a jigsaw (held upside-down in a vice) holding a metal-cutting blade. The cut segments were then put into a vice and ground flat with a hand-held grinder/polisher holding a coarse grinding disc. My skills with the hand-held tools show with the less-than-square surfaces, but the clip works well in the X-Carve. It’s not easy getting the belt into the clip, but it will fit.
I believe I’ve taken this project to a final conclusion. I’ve been carving some nice end clips out of 1/2" x 1/2" square aluminum rods using this end mill:
This end mill will cut all the way through the 1/2" rod leaving a clip that’s ready to be installed on the X-Carve. Here’s the carving in progress:
With the use of these clips I now have just over 12" x 12" of working area and I don’t have to cut the belts in case I want to expand. I plan to enlarge my X-Carve to 18" x 18" soon.
I initially planned to make the clips out of some kind of plastic, but ultimately decided to go with aluminum for maximum strength. I also wanted to gain some experience milling aluminum. I milled at a slow pace and the aluminum chips were very small and were easily removed with a vacuum hose placed near the piece so there was very little mess.
