Laser/3D printer attachments for X-Carve?

X-Carve Upgrades
1

Has anyone tried or found something like these attachments that could be utilized with the X-Carve system?

http://www.rockler.com/3d-printer-module-for-cnc-piranha-fx

2

For the price of extruder you should invest in a real 3D printer. 3D printing is not just plug & play it can be a real pain.

3

Yeah, I can’t imagine that attachment working well. I’m fairly familiar with 3D printing, and am building my own third printer here shortly (MTW MendelMax 3 - waiting for FedEx to deliver it!) and I can tell you that it’s NOT that simple. I see no layer cooling fan shown there, there’s no enclosure to prevent warping, and the dust from using it for carving is going to be HELL on 3D prints, both from a bed-adhesion perspective, and for nozzle clogging. Dust in all forms is the DEVIL when it comes to 3D printing.

4

Agree 100%.

I think the laser addon for the XC is a great feature, I’ll be doing one myself soon, but as far as 3D printing goes, the ability to maintain adhesion between the print and the bed will probably be your biggest problem once you have the extruder and temps all figured out.

If you want to print PLA you can get away with a cold bed, but you need something like a ZebraPlate or PEI surface, if you want to print ABS, you’re going to want a heated bed, which means even more customizing.

I have a dedicated 3D printer and it likes a clean, quiet place to work, I think trying to do double-duty with the XC is just going to sour you to the whole 3D printing experience…

6

We documented a bit on this on the Shapeoko wiki:

Shapeoko CNC Router, Rigid, Accurate, Reliable, and Affordable — specifics of my conversion here: Shapeoko CNC Router, Rigid, Accurate, Reliable, and Affordable

7

e3D makes really good hotends.
But for 3d printing you really want a big z height as well. And dust can be an issue (I keep my 3D printer in the house).
So I would recommend buying or making your own 3d printer

My Ideal upgrade plan:
Convert my current XC to a dedicated laser cutting table and make an upgraded CNC (CNC OX or E7 C-Beam style) So I don’t have to reconfigure / re-tool for different projects.

2 Likes
8

I’m going to be playing with four of 'em in a couple days! :smiley: The MendelMax carries a pair of E3DV6s, and I ordered a pair of Volcanos as upgrades.