Continuous Improvement Suggestions for the Inventables team, Make a great product even Better!

I freakin LOVE my X Carve and just think it’s awesome the job Inventables have done:

In the spirit of continuous improvement and customer satisfaction I suggest the following. After assembling my X Carve and in review of all the posts in here, a couple pretty redundant opportunities to Improve upon the X Carve experience from the production level come to mind.

Belt Tensioning - There must be a better way to make those clips or to devise attaching them to eliminate all the slipping issues continuously mentioned.
V-wheels and Eccentric Nuts - is there a better way to modify these parts to hold more dependably from the start
G Shield/Arduino Union - Re-sizing the opening on the electronics box to make it easier to seat the G-Shield.
Added extrusions under the waste boards with more attaching screws to hold it flush and level to the extrusions to reduce warped and uneven work surfaces.
Much more detailed instructions on preventive maintenance and squaring of ALL angles and axis to improve reliable performance.
Limit Switches - Needs total re-work from connection terminals, to the actual effectiveness. Right now it feels like a waste of time and money since there are so many modifications to do to just use them. They are currently a hassle, they break, they fail and trip for all the wrong reasons.
Comprehensive Easel training videos and Demos - Such an awesome program but the potential needs to be better presented with ALL the features

I would guess these small issues would have the biggest effect in providing a more positive experience for your target audience for the X Carve and Easel.

These issues are so small compared to all the absolutely awesome features of the X-Carve.

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I’d like to see an X-Carve kit that has a big enough work area for a quarter sheet (2’ x 4’) of plywood/MDF… and as Scotty might add, “and maybe just a wee bit more”. So perhaps this kit would be 1500mmx1000mm, or even 1800mm x 1000mm.

Then I could have blue box or orange box quarter a sheet for me (which would fit in my car), and not have to cut it again to fit the X-Carve.

I’m in the process of configuring my future X-Carve as a 1000X1800 with and extra 50mm of z height.
Because I have steppers, drivers, computer, software, tools and MDF I could drop those items from the kit and add in the longer makerslide I will need. I’m close to 1K plus shipping at this point.

Dave

Maybe some sort of wiki could be set up. (Is that how you say it? Or is it also a verb like google? If so, then “maybe we could wiki a wiki?”)

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You can have this now I believe by contacting customer service and ordering the rails you need to add to the 1000mm kit.

I’d love to see an improved connection between the X-Carve and the power supply / electronics. Currently this is a static connection that requires a lot of work to unscrew and it’s very difficult to move the X-Carve and the power supply because you have to hold them together but my cord isn’t long enough to put the power supply on the cutting bed. Every time I try to move it even with a friend on of the wires pulls out. I’m going to make my own rails and a connector to screw the wires in more securely and in a way that comes apart better. I think this would be something good to look into in the future.

EZ fix on the carriage that moves the Z access please move the bearings off center from each other, then add a hole which would allow easier access to tightening / loosening the wheels if needed. trying to squeeze the Allan wrench in there for adjusting tightness is not fun!

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