Just finished build - a few questions

Just finished building my mk2 750mm XCarve and I have a few observations/questions…

  1. How tight is too tight on the spindle clamp? I bought the Dewalt spindle holder/clamp for a new Makita rt0700c4 and I have shimmed it with 2 sheets of thin acrylic (which I think has worked so well it I’ll be a permanent solution). The clamp just seems to allow you to really mash it down as I assume the aluminum is soft.

  2. After reading about the issues with the xcarve 1, the 2 seems to have improved in the major areas - X axis gantry seems fairly rigid, no soldering on the build and an enclosed controller all seem good. Cosmetically it is a bit better as well, with minor stuff like the stepper motors colour coded.

  3. I think one area that does need work is the Z axis though - the bottom of the acme thread doesn’t run in any bearing and it probably should. Also, the way the GT2 pulley is attached to the acme threaded rod is less than ideal - the instructions show using an Allen key in the tiny set screws to stabilise the pulley as you tighten the nylon locking nut at the end, you can easily damage it like this and one of my set screws is. I think the very end of my acme threaded rod is slightly off as well, as with the v-wheels slacked off on the z axis carridge, there is a bit of wobble as it travels. With the v wheels set in place, it looks fine though - is this something I should be worried about? Also, the top belt and pulleys on the z axis have no protection, are there any Designs out there for some kind of dust cap?

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did you mean something like this

Also send some pics of the issues you are having so other can help, I am not a expert you need Robert or Phil they seem to to be the gurus . Although Im sure others can assist

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