New Build - 1000mm X-Carve - Questions

X-Carve Assembly
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Hi.

I’m Erik. I’ve been lurking for a long time in the Inventables forums soaking up knowledge and seeing all the amazing items created and more so the amazing tweaks/upgrades etc to the machine itself.

I would like to take a moment to thank Inventables and specifically John Hayes for resolving a situation beyond my satisfaction. It has been decided for many reasons an X-Carve is a far better solution than a Carvey for my projects and so we’ve moved forward and swapped to an X-Carve.
Everyone I’ve spoken to at Inventables has been awesome to deal with. Unlike many companies, Inventables customer service is top notch! This is a rare thing anymore so praise should be given where due. A big thanks to Zach Kaplan as well(who is notably awesome for being an active member of these forums)!

Most parts for the 1000mm X-Carve have now arrived, waiting on a couple more. Bench to be built asap.

Limited space means the X-Carve will reside in the back part of my office.
I repair computers for a living so dust control and noise are two issues which must be immediately addressed.

Dust collection will be underneath the torsion cabinet that is being designed shortly.

I have a friend who is a furniture maker/cabinet builder so the plan is to build a torsion cabinet.

Material will be 3/4" premium baltic birch plywood. The cabinet will have space below for misc, and the vacuum itself.

The top skin will be 3/4" baltic birch plywood. The torsion frame/box underneath the top will be 1x4s planed down.
Expanding foam will be used to stifle noise in the open chambers.

The plan for the top is 46" deep x 60" wide bench top. I will have the side board installed.

What size is your bench?

What would you have done differently when building your bench now that it’s assembled?

We are going to orient the X-Carve so that I can feed larger/longer material in front to back so it will not be placed back against a wall so this can be done. We will have to be creative in the back with a sweep or something for dust control on the cover. Cover may be designed simply out of 2" pink foam board for being lightweight and easy customization.
A window is a must of course.

I have perused the workspace showcase post many times, I have noted certain things I like and will post progress pictures as they are taken.

Upgrades/Things I should do before assembly…?

Wiring? What wiring can I upgrade that would be worth it? Many posts on the subject but many relate to the older X-Carve that didn’t have the newer X-Controller so not sure it’s even relevant?

CNC4Newbies 5/6" Z axis arrived yesterday. I see there are some programming modifications to make and will save/bookmark posts relevant to this. I may post for help on this only because I want it to be correct.

269oz Nema 23 motors will fit no issues? Will the 269oz motor mount on the CNC4Newbies Z axis? I recall the factory Z will not support the larger depth of the motor? (This question will likely be a new post…).

I have perused the fantastic designsbyphil.com site (liking the new gallery on the main page) and will follow many of his tips when assembling things. Phil, you can expect some purchases from me after my machine is assembled and operational, and lots of questions.

The New Brit Woodshop videos are great and I will refer to them during the build.

I’ll have to search again, but upgraded belts seem like a good idea? I recall reading I can go slightly better without changing pullies? Or, if pulleys need to be changed does anyone have a kit or source for correct pulleys for the wider belts? Would like to know before assembly begins.

In regards to the eccentric nut upgrade…

Is it still necessary on the current shipping X-Carve?

Blue loctite seems to be highly recommended(it’s on most every Apple screw, and many pc screws I’ve looked at for 20 years).

What # should I get? I’ve seen two numbers mentioned… 220 and 242?

Anything else I should do before assembly? I considered the upgraded Y plates, but not sure I should do that until I’ve learned the machine as mostly stock and was concerned with the 8" Z with bits not reaching the wasteboard without a secondary wasteboard in place so I ordered the 5/6" Z…Happy to upgrade later after I’ve used the mostly stock machine…

I have a customer who owns an X-Carve a few blocks from me, and my school has one built by high schoolers so I have some reference/local help if needed.

Thanks ahead of time for any answers to my many questions. More to follow guaranteed. Looking forward to being a member of this awesome community!

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Pulleys can be purchased at 3GT (GT2-3M) Timing Pulley - 20 Tooth - .250" Bore - 9mm Belt - OpenBuilds Part Store

Belts can be purchased at https://www.royalsupply.com/store/pc/Gates-1536-3MGT-09-PowerGrip-GT3-Synchronous-Belt-9400-4512-p17349.htm

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So when I build I simply substitute these pulleys from open builds for what comes in the kit? It’s that simple?
Then install the Gates belts? I see the site you recommended that’s a 60" belt, how many will I need for a 1000mm X-Carve? I should order one extra for a spare I think?

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I have access to a 3D printer at the local library, but I am going to support Phil so I just signed up for the waiting list for the belt clips.

How many pulleys do I need and how many smooth idlers will I need? I know I should crack open the boxes to confirm, but it’s easier to ask, and the boxes are at the office so not accessible at the moment.

Z will be CNC4Newbies so won’t need parts for that so IIRC that means a few less pulleys/idlers?

Not even an hour since my first post and already multiple answers!

Awesome, thanks guys!

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We prowl the waters of he forum like sharks. Waiting to pounce on unsuspecting new comers :grin:

From what I gathered (I have the remnants of a gen1 XC) the pullys are pressed on now. You’ll need to cut ,saw ,pry or wish them off. I would file a flat spot in the shaft to seat the set screw of the new ones. As for the belts an xtra or two couldn’t hurt but they are durable. I got three of them they come closed loop so you’ll cut them before install. Unfortunately 1 belt will not cover more than 1 Axis.

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Probably should consider a true dust collection system, and not just a vacuum for these two issues.

Yes, and yes.

I used some of each.

It won’t change your build experience, they look pretty much the same (they’re not black) just inches taller. ( I got the 2 inch version).

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Love the research, I am in the same place. Have everything pretty much ready to go once mine comes in. Been looking at it for about a year. Just from my experience in other builds using belts and 2020 extrusion(did my own fairly large 3d printer), I would say if you upgrade the motors, you might as well upgrade to the 9mm belts since you would have to get new pulleys anyways and the Inventable ones are pressed on and seem like a pain to get off. Just seems like a might as well moment if you do the motor upgrades (At least it’s how I feel, but I have spare 269oz laying around from other builds so that cost isn’t upfront for me in this case).

I like the initial Z upgrade, I feel with the right amount of research and knowledge with the tech prior to building, the initial upgrades are fine.

Would love to see the cabinet design progress!

It’s refreshing to see another jumping into a new build that also does their research. Just waiting on a few more packages here and it’s go time.

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Ha! Thanks!

Pulleys, idlers, belts, and belt clips all ordered. In fact Phil even sent me a picture of the clips being printed today, which is so cool.

I wish when I ordered a motherboard I’d get a cool picture of it being born from the factory too!

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Will a Fein Turbo II be sufficient for my needs? Needs being the X-Carve, that’s it. Chop saw will be on the porch. Access to planer, jointer, table saw, and many more at friends shop. Eventually the plan is to build a garage so I too can have more toys, but that’s a few years away.

Ok, I’ll order some from amazon shortly.

The higher plates won’t affect top of waste board being zero and the bit being able to reach? I think taller Y plates was so you can get more Z height? Just wanted to confirm. Happy to go with the higher plates just as a future -likely to do it anyways- but don’t want to have to shim projects to bring them up to the bit for now.

Thanks for all the replies!

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39 PM
39 PM1154×707 88.5 KB

These(well these are recommended for the factory pulleys)

Openbuilds has specs of Set Screws included (M3 - 5mm - 1.5mm) for the 3GT timing pulleys. I think I’ve got this wrong, I don’t know screws well…

If I have this correct I need a M3 which is the thread size, 8mm length so they stick out more than just as a set screw would, and I need to order 1.5mm as the 3GT pulleys have a different thread pitch than factory? Do I have that right?

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I bought mine from Home Depot.

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Ok, I plan on using 269oz motors, so I just attach my new pulleys to those since I won’t be using the stock motors?

Where do I find NEMA 23 269oz that have the same wire connection plug as the factory motors? I swear I saw a link somewhere perusing the forums, but I’m having trouble finding it in the search.

Steppers Online has a few different 269oz motors, which is the correct one?

Thanks!!

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I have no info on the motors. You may have to remove the plug. I’m not sure.

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Don’t know, I haven’t used that unit.

Not sure. I’m going to install the cncnewbies Z and I plan to use secondary waste boards to reach the thinner stuff anyway.

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Will post specs/info soon when cabinet is started.
Friend stopped by today to peruse the…mostly not ready space where this is to be built and we have a game plan now.
Dust collection is going to be…creative to start.
But it’s nice to have a plan now. Went back and forth on a larger top or smaller top, think we’re going with a mostly fits the X-Carve top and options all around as far as feed table, work tables, project tables to maximize options.
Helpful to have a wood worker who ran a couple large shops previously, and has an awesome shop now to say “hey, this is what you should do instead, and here’s why…”.

Hopefully starting on the x-carve base on Monday.

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For whatever reason a link to the correct upgraded motors in one of Phil’s posts was dead a few days ago, but is now active, and Phil emailed me the amazon link. After changing from China to US warehouse and adding shipping, Amazon prime pricing(seller on amazon is steppermotors online) was $10 more, so 269oz upgraded motors have been ordered. Spoke to John today, factory motors are modified at their supplier so not going to find motor with the plug connector ready to go. Terminal block or soldering, will deal with that when we get there.

Links to motors in case it helps someone else even though it’s in other posts.

https://www.omc-stepperonline.com/hybrid-stepper-motor/nema-23-bipolar-18deg-19nm-269ozin-28a-32v-57x57x76mm-4-wires-23hs30-2804s.html?mfp=16o-ship-from%255Bunited-states%255D

Openbuilds order of idler pulleys, and grooved pulleys arrived today.

Waiting on:

Dust collector from Inventables(3 week? lead as of today)
9MM belts from Royal Supply(shipped)
Belt clips from Phil(look awesome, and are on their way - shipped)
Upgraded 269oz stepper motors Manufacturer Part Number: 23HS30-2804S(shipping tomorrow).

Hopefully Monday we’ll have a top built so we can start assembly asap.

Still debating the Y plate upgrade…

Thanks to everyone for their comments/suggestions/insight and to Phil for the amazingly fast production on those belt clips and to John again at Inventables for confirming I wont find a set of upgraded motors with the Inventables plug on it. I try to keep things simple where possible…

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I think my best course of action is to probably order one of those multi-pack boxes I saw on a post somewhere so I’ll have plenty and in many sizes.

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didn’t see mention of bracing the Y extrusions. full length or couple small brackets should help keep it nice and rigid.

built my enclosure and wish i would have added quick disconnects to the all cables. that way i could easily separate the xcontroller and lengthen the cables some in the process. barely reach currently with x controller mounted outside - may do it at some point still.

led lighting is great - can never have enough.

bump stop addition is always a good idea. either permanent or easily repeatable via pins and associated holes

setup you soft limits once you have your endstops situated

dust deputy is a great pairing for a vacuum

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My ACME was 3mm screws just like the other ones when I bought my machine…

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The motor connectors can be found here.