List (with links) of available 2017 X-carve upgrades?

Wondering if there is a list or summary anywhere of all the machine upgrades Inventables has introduced in 2017? The “Products” category in the Forum claims to be for that. But almost nothing has been posted there since 2015!

I bought my 1000mm X-carve in Nov. 2015. For Xmas 2016 I bought all the Inventables upgrades that were available at the time (after @Zach_Kaplan posted a list of them). Now Xmas 2017 is approaching and it’s got me thinking about purchasing whatever new upgrades have been introduced in the past year.

FWIW, IF there is no such summary document with all the machine upgrades (from Inventables AND other sources), I’d be willing to put one together for sharing if people will help me out by sending me the relevant info along with links about where to purchase said upgrades.

Inventables has only released the dust control system since the upgrades in 2016.

Third party upgrades that have been popular:

  • phantomm’s screw drive kit
  • cnc4newbies linear Z axis
  • kyle’s z plunge kit.
  • Charley’s y axis end plates

I have been updating this post.

It’s true that we now have the upgrades available individually. I can add links to the post but in the meantime you can search Inventables to get to the page or each component.

You forgot a very useful upgrade…this forum and it’s wonderfully supportive users. Read it before bedtime every night and when you carve the next day, you’ll be all smiles :wink:

2 Likes

Thanks @Zach_Kaplan!

I just reread that entire thread; which happens to be the thread with your list that I referenced in my initial post in this thread above. But the last post there that I could see was made in December '16.

Might I suggest that you create a category in your online store called simply “Upgrades”? Maybe locate it under “Machines”? That way it would be really easy for those of us who like to keep our machines up to “state-of-the-art” to check if a new upgrade has been released.

I see that under “Machines” you currently have “Dust Collection” and “3D carvers” (with the X-carve label and the X-carve Upgrade Kit as a subcategory of “3D carvers”). But if I hadn’t been seriously, actively, and somewhat randomly, browsing for some time to see where I could find the various upgrades, I don’t believe I would ever have thought to look for those upgrades where I actually found them in your store.

That said, every day I’m feeling happier with my X-carve and with Inventables. I’m spending more and more time working on designs for projects and much less time on machine fine tuning and adjustments than I spent during my first year of X-carve ownership. And I have the forums to thank for much of that.

I’m also beginning to feel like my retirement “hobby” is heading in the direction of becoming a business; one which would be a pleasure rather than a daily grind.

Something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving perhaps.

also reading before bedtime causes you to slip down the rabbit hole, consuming every post that interests you until its 1am…it’s kinda my therapy lol

You know @RickJohnson that’s a good idea. Check out this category page and let me know what you think.

1 Like

I personally am very happy that I upgraded my drag chain setup from the 2015 version to the new version even though this isn’t an official upgrade kit. I had previously upgraded to the X-Controller but hadn’t yet run a second wire from the X-Controller to the second Y motor. So I did the drag chain upgrade at the same time as switching to eccentric spacers, replacing all the wiring to add second Y axis and z-probe, and wide X axis. It involved a full weekend and basically gutting the machine. I also had to drill a new hold in the original left X axis end plate.

Looks great @Zach_Kaplan!

Maybe add the newer, more wiring-friendly, “flip-open” drag chain and the X-carriage and Y-carriage plates?

When I upgraded my X-carve last year, the X-carriage and Y-carriage plates that were required for me to complete the upgrades were different than the plates that came with my original 2015 X-carve. (They had a different hole pattern with additional holes which, if I recall correctly, were required for attaching the new drag chains.) But they were not included with the X-controller upgrade kit. Your customer service was, however, kind enough to send the newer plates out to me.

And even though swapping those plates required effectively rebuilidng my machine, I think the new drag chains, and the lessons I learned about my machine in the process, were worth the effort.

1 Like