Hello everyone,
I have first gen 1000mm x-carve. Everything is stock except for an upgraded z axis and some other parts I got from TBDCNC.
I’m looking for what other upgrades people recommend. I definitely need a new controller and some new stepper motors.
I fell out of using the x-carve for a while but am getting back into it. any help would be appreciated.
thank you much
Good morning Kevin. Inventables does sell an upgrade kit for both XY and Z axis. I got both last fall and have been happy with both. If you have not yet discovered him, go onto YouTube and look up Paw Paw’s workshop. Phillip makes some fantastic videos for X Carve and has a couple of them dedicated to the upgrade kits.
I recently upgraded my x-controller to the Demon controller with a rotary switch. Designsbyphil.com, Phil Johnson, designed and made it. You buy his shield and he lists out the materials you need to buy, he provides printable plans for the case. He designed a rotary switch so I can flip a switch and plug in my rotary and it works great. I use openbuilds sender. Or you can buy a put together controller he assembled. Videos and instructions on the site. Works with laser and router. Good luck. Lots of options.
In order of my priority for a GEN 1 X-Carve (what I did to mine):
You should ask yourself why you are upgrading your x-carve. In my case I was cutting a lot of AL for a High School robotics team. The upgrades made for shorter cut times which was helpful for the short and frenzied 6 week build season. The upgrades improved cut time maybe 2x which was helpful. In the end I purchased a Openbiulds WorkBee CNC. It is much beefier than the x-carve, but requires more build experience. I got another 2-3x improved cutting speed, which got me to useable turn times. Also, I spent less building the Workbee (~$2K) than I did on the completely upgraded x-carve (~$2.5K). If you are not using the x-carve a lot and are not doing it for the enjoyment of upgrading your tool, I would not trade a bunch of money for a slight improvement in speed. Really that is all you are buying in my opinion. If on the other hand you intend to make a business using the x-carve, I would skip the upgrade and go buy a Workbee or professional CNC. Good luck.
Thank you sir. That is super helpful. I’ve enjoyed the xcarve but there a bunch of things about it that sometimes don’t seem like the effort will fix the solution. I like the workbee you sent. Is this it?
Thank you
The workbee design is open source so theres a few makers and the each have their own spin on it. I have one nearly identical to bulkmans and i like it.
The openbuilds brand one uses a different contoller and they offer a few accessories that require their controller, they also have a bit better quality control IMO.
That said the mechanical kit from bulkman would work as an upgrade to the X-carve but you may need to lengthen stepper wires a bit… 
