Expanding the x-carve size(bigger then 1000x1000mm?

Hi will be getting an x-carve soon and thinking bigger and better (as always) i was wondering if anyone’s upgraded the size of their x-carve to something bigger then the normal large size(1000x1000mm). if its possible i would at some stage like to increase the size to something like 3000x3000mm is this even possible, have seen on youtube that Izzy Swan has increased his to several meters long but hadn’t increased the width, can the width be expanded on?. what do peeps think, if you’ve upsized could you please post pic’s or vid’s.

1 Like

If you do a search on the forum, you’ll find a few topics that mention increasing the size of the X-carve.

2 Likes

You can extend the Y axis on a standard machine as long as you want so far as you support the rails so they don’t sag.
The gantry is a whole different story. You will have a hard time keeping sag out of the gantry rails that are longer than 1000mm. If you want to go longer than that then you are looking at a complete new design using something other than maker slide for the carriage to travel on. You are also looking at some thing better than the standard V wheels that the gantry travels on.

Can it be done YES is it practical to do it NO. If you need a CNC router that large you would be money ahead to go out and buy a commercial unit in the size you need.

Dave

1 Like

cheers i had a look but couldn’t find any must not have entered the correct search terms, will check them out

1 Like

Just click on the blue titles. that will open the thread linked to.

mine is 1500x1800 with aluminum tee mod to carriage i guess all depends on what you wanna cut and how fast

1 Like

I upgraded mine to a 5’ x 8’…I very never use a whole sheet at once but I could if I want…almost all of my cutting is straight cutouts

All of Frank Howarth’s videos are worth watching.

2 Likes

I bought the 1800 MM maker slides for the Y axis. I make a lot of tower speaker boxes. So far this has been working great. I bought some end plates for center support thinking it would sag in the middle, but so far, that hasn’t happened. Its working great now. I’m using Dewalt 611 with 1/4 inch bits for this.

9 Likes

I’m slowly getting the parts to do the same thing. Did your issue with Easel ever get sorted out ?

Hi Andy,
It did kinda sorta, (as my wife likes to say). What we worked out with x carve customer support was, 1) Switch to the DeWalt 611. They sent me a new spindle. I need to put that on but the 1/4 inch router bit works great for what I am doing. 2) I reversed the polarity on the y axis motors. So far so good.
Customer support was great from X Carve. We were on the phone for over almost 2 hours. I think I put John into overtime. So my thanks to John.

I have the same droop issue with my cable track. Does anyone have any ideas on how to support it or keep it up off of the table/work piece?

I have a short piece of alum angle that I drilled to put on there above the motor and extend out for about 10 inches.

I made up a bracket out of 25mmx3mm aluminium angle to bolt on in place of the cable chain end bracket.
It’s kicked up at an angle so the bracket clears the Y axis plate on the right hand side.

Not so clear view from the rear of the X axis carriage.

1 Like

I still have bits end pieces missing but I’m personally in process of expanding (I should rather say full rebuild) of mine to 1.8m wide and 2.8m long. Please keep the feedback coming I will be sure sharing mine once I get things going.

I can’t be sure about performance but I have the following “feet” waiting:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121395852283?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I will be cutting them into 3 inch section as suggested and the join of slides will be inside one of them with mending plate on the opposite side. That is the plan should this not be sufficient I got few more ideas.

Could you connect two pieces of makerslide by inserting two metal rods into the holes on the end. The rods would have to perfectly fit into the “bolt” holes on the end of the makerslide. A 12" piece of Rod inserted 6" into each hole will leave another 6" section for the second maker slide to slide onto. These Rods are like alignment pins, they SHOULD align the two pieces perfectly.

The standoffs that were just listed could still be used to secure the two pieces of makerslides, this would give decent mid support for the makerslide. Or a flat bar could be used to connect the two pieces together with 4 -M5 bolts and 4 Tnuts per side of the makerslide. The downside is the outside of the makerslide only has one T slot so all of the support is on the one slot and the bolts will need to clear the Y rails.

The important part of this concept is using the existing holes on the end of the makerslide to perfectly align it with the next piece of makerslide. The holes should be perfect and the rods should be a very snug fit. With this situation, the slides SHOULD align perfectly. (Just make sure the ends of the makerslide are cut perfectly square.)

Thoughts

1 Like

All valid point.
The feet make them align very well already and my only concern is keeping them this way and the bump Angus mentioned. Some things I considered is for example drop of JB weld and sanding it off and adding between 1 and 8 wheels to make it all aligned when crossing the bump (just like tank tracks).

That’s a good idea. If the threaded rod could extend fully through the makerslides and have nuts that attach through the endplates, it could be used to help maintain alignment through tension, as well as potentially increase the stiffness of the makerslides a little bit. The rod could even be slightly undersized and have snug-fit alignment pins threaded on to ensure perfect alignment.

I was thinking of a piece of threaded rod that is slightly smaller than the holes. With a good threaded alignment pin that fit exactly inside the holes, it could work.