Introduction/Assembly Advice

My name is Nicholas Krenning. I’m a 3D Designer at a structural engineering company and teach drafting/design at a local community college here in Denver, CO. I’m a certified Autodesk Inventor user with many hours of experience. I look to run either Inventor with the addition of the HSM add-in or Fusion 360. I come from a construction background and have had odd-jobs in the past in which I’ve ran CNC routers for other companies (worked at a few signage companies).

Introduction aside, I can’t begin to describe how excited I am to get my X-Carve and get started. I just ordered the 1000 x 1000 kit with most of the bells and whistles. I’ve already fiddled with Easel and it seems too easy. I really wish to devise a system for seamless integration between 3D parametric programs and our X-Carves (If anyone has any questions about Inventor or Fusion 360, please don’t hesitate to ask).

My main question: What are some things I should look to do/upgrade during the assembly phase of the build? Like any other building process, its better to address these things in the beginning. I would love to hear some suggestions on assembly “must-do’s” and other tips and tricks. Thanks in advance!

Spend the next 6-8 weeks reading here on the forum. Use the search function, there is an unbelievable amount of information here. For specific questions or problems, there are alot of knowledgeable people here that will help with just about anything. Read through the instructions before you start it will help you be familiar with the machine. There are several upgrades for the older model here on the forum it might even be a good idea to look through the old model instructions to see the difference,

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@PhilJohnson, @ChrisRice, Thanks for the prompt response! I’ve searched around this forum for a few days now, just don’t really know what to look for! :wink:

Correct me if I’m wrong, the GT3 belts are the ones that most upgrade to? I plan on ordering the Suckit MZD kit hopefully over this weekend. Any other things that I should look to order and install in the beginning?

Welcome to the club!

A good solid workbench… and if you need to, wire some extra outlets (and/or a good solid surge protector) . I installed an outlet on the ceiling of my basement over my Xcarve and plug my router into it. Seems there is always a need for more power…

Read, read and read… I watched the assembly videos and read the documents so much, that by the time I went to assemble, it was a piece of cake…

Good luck…

Ron

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@RonSabourin, thank you! I plan on building a pretty stout bench. I’ll be sure to incorporate a power strip or two! I’ve already watched the assembly videos more times than I can count. :wink:

Play around with Easel and checkout UGS. Read all of @PhilJohnson help documents. Check out the y axis mod. The dust boot is a must, I just finished making Phil’s.

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@ChrisRice, correct me if I’m wrong, aren’t the newer x and y axes beefier already with the addition of the wide makerslide? I’ve seen what people have done on the older machines.

The x is 1 piece now instead of 2 but the y is the same and can be stiffened, very simple.

Hello Nicholas, I’ve had my machine assembled and running around three weeks now. I preplanned just as you are now and it helped a lot. All the replies above pretty much cover it. Power source and computer. I don’t have a dust collection system yet but it is needed. Bits, it’s not to soon to source those. Im surprised nobody wrote blue lock tite for the build. Be ready to adjust belts and the V wheel eccentric nuts after a few runs. I have nothing but high praise for the help you will find on the forums. Look forward to seeing your first carve.

Edited

Maybe someone can tell me how to properly upload a video to the forum? HA!

@SHubb, thank you! Attached is an animation of some of the stuff I wish to accomplish with my X-Carve. I’d say much of what I intend on doing is rooted in industrial design.

https://discuss-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/original/3X/2/e/2e75d6f05851593a1216aa4c836d64ff708b13b7.mp4

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if you remove the “design.” before the https: in the URL above you should be golden…

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@RonSabourin, you the man! Thanks!

@BillBlades, sounds like you’ve got a solid game plan! I look forward to seeing your progress. I had seen someone on here talking about the GrabCAD files, I haven’t seen them myself yet. I will check them out this weekend!

Do you have a link to any info on the added alignment pins?

This is my favorite mod. This stiffens the rails while keeping most of the flying chips off the rails. They will bind if you get too much buildup on them.

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I’m here… what did I miss?

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@JustinBrower, care to elaborate on what’s going on there exactly? I like the idea of enclosing the sides like that!

It is just thick bent sheet metal. It isn’t drilled and bolted yet in that picture.

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I like that idea! Thinking I will do the same, but with clear acrylic and use magnets for quick removal

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@BillBlades, nicely done! I really look forward to seeing how you integrate that!

Can someone confirm the benefits of pre-tapping all extrusions? I like many of the ideas on this particular post:

Welcome to the forum!

That post you linked to has many upgrades commonly done on the Gen1 X-Carve. You shouldn’t have to do most of those, and the ones you might do, don’t need to be done right away. Yours should already have:
-eccentric spacers instead of eccentric nuts
-molex style connector for motor wiring

If you upgrade the belting, you will need new pullys to match. I am still running GT2 belting on my Gen1 and have not had slippage or belt breakage issues.

Cheers!

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