Just a amall rant.
Got my xcarve, super excited to get it put together and so far have not been real impressed with the instructions. Bought the upgraded kit eight off the git go and the ibstructions for putting it together are AFTER, the machine is built. Not cool, wasted time and effort…
Welcome to the X-Carve community!
I am sure that is frustrating, but instead of expressing your frustration maybe it would simply be better to send Inventables a feedback email detailing what could be made better in your situation. Something along the lines of, “Hey, I purchased the upgrade kit to install during my X-Carve’s initial build, and I think there could be improvements to the instructions that point to specific upgrade instruction pages embedded within the regular X-Carve build instructions.”
Things like this exist for the old M8 vs. ACME lead screws and the NEMA 17 vs. 22 stepper motors.
Another thing to consider is that upgrade kits are typically meant to replace pieces/parts of whatever they apply to on machines that have already been built.
Just take a step back when you do get your X-Carve completely assembled and admire what you have accomplished. Then, get to making stuff…because it is super fun!
Again, welcome to the community!
{:0)
Brandon Parker
You have to realize that the X carve assembly instructions are actually excellent compared to a lot of DIY assemblies, and the upgrades came something like 5-6 years later. I’d vote that they are the best I’ve seen to date. I’ve put together some knock down furniture that my daughter bought that would make you bang your head against the wall.
As mentioned above, a revision or link to a set of upgrade instructions probably would be useful for those in your position. I’d be willing to guess that eventually all the upgrades will come with a Super X carve package, so they can get a head start on it now.
In hind sight, you’re right. I was extremely frustrated, and after speaking with inventables today found more issues that needed to be rebuilt. In speaking with them I was also told that they are aware of this issue and are working on it. Still, when you purchase a product you expect to get what you need. I dont want to read between the lines and I dont want to backtrack to accomplish the build. So thanks for your input, I’ll try to temper my rage in the future…
For sure there are lots of erroneous steps on the assembly, especially pictures. Wrong screws, belts threaded the wrong way, and a lack of pictures for critical assembly points. I’ve spent lots of time fixing errors due to either lack of clarity or just plain wrong instructions/pictures. And one threaded part wasn’t properly tapped so I’m going to have to buy a tap to clean it out. There needs to be instructions for those who bought the upgrade kits BEFORE assembling the machine-some of the steps in the post assembly upgrades don’t translate well, especially when trying to figure out what bolts to use for a sub-assembly. There needs to be many more pictures of each completed sub-assembly to show what it should look like after the step is completed.
@JamesDuke Welcome to the XCarve Community. Sorry you experienced issues while building your machine.
The XCarve has been an evolving product which makes the instructions misalign with the upgraded machines. We would all like it if the documentation was perfect… the best way to help new owners avoid the pitfalls you found along the way is to document when and where the assembly took a wrong turn for you.
Now that your machine is together please continue to visit this forum to share the wonderful things you build and remember we in this community love to help each other.
If you have anything to ask we are good at listening and answering.
Again, Welcome Friend…
I just finally finished the assembly. If I had a nickle for every time I had to go back and undo/redo a step due to unclear or marginalized steps, I’d probably have a couple of bucks. For one thing, the wiring of the Y Axis motors should be amplified to make sure that the polarities are opposite at the connection into the controller. I know there is a diagram, but unless you really enlarge and stare at it for a while, it’s easy to miss that the black and green wires are switched on Y1 and Y2. I assumed that the controller board took the polarity difference into account. Only found out when I powered up that axis during the test phase. Also, I missed putting in the limit switch posts because once again, this step seems to be almost an afterthought in the instructions. I think you should have a final checklist of what I consider to be critical steps (motor polarity, matching the wire assemblies with the proper motor axis, limit switches).
My 25 cents.
Jim
