so is the x-controller available for purchase?
Iâve written a letter to Santa. Iâm sure heâs been in contact with Inventables. 
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I think most of us here are eager to get our hands on the x-controller. Especially those that upgraded from the stock spindle. Has there been any published or talk of when the first units may hit the street? Before the end of the year, first of next?
When you do get it, guys, get the relay box too! Itâs pretty darn awesome.
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I second that, the relay box makes all your auxiliary equipment work the way you always wanted it to.
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Right now, I have mine running my spindle and dust collector. I am planning to eventually have my âacessory 1â outlet on the X-Controller (mist coolant) running either an air blast to clear the chips from the cutter, or a pneumatic actuator to close the dust cover over the X-Carve before the dust collector powers up. I still need to build the dedicated table and dust enclosure, but thatâs the plan!
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I am looking at a way to add a wireless button to the end of my unattached dust collector hose. The button would send a a control signal to the relay box that would start/stop the dust collector. I have the dust collector wired so that the gcode M7 turns it on now (I do not have a mist coolant). Since the dust collector is now turned off at the end of the job, I find that I need a way to easily turn it back on to clean up the part I just just after I remove if from the clamps.
Hmm, good point. Could always just send another M7 from the console, I guess⌠Or better yet, build a âTâ for the power, where the source could be from two directions? Either the relay, or flip a switch and itâs powered directly from the wall for a manual-on?
Could we get that just built into the relay box? Just add it to the top over the outlets? That seems like it could be very handy.
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I would think that a variable bracket mount, to allow either top, bottom or side mounting, might be a nice modification.
So, after using the relay box for a while, Iâm going to call that one a âmust buyâ along with the X-Controller, particularly if they add the manual-on functionality to it so that you can clean up with the same vac you use for dust control. It makes the largest difference for me in engraving operations, where the router is so lightly loaded that you canât hear any difference between âcuttingâ and âfree in airâ to mark the end of the program. Itâs just amazingly convenient, particularly in conjunction with a program like Fusion360 that automatically sets up your âcoolantâ commands anyway. I have mine set up so that triggering âflood coolantâ automatically activates the dust collector.
@DanBrown I put the M7 and M8 in my gcode, but I often manually send them before starting a job by typing them or clicking a button in my sender. It is easy and a nice way to verify that someone didnât unplug anything or flip a switch at the vacuum.
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I generally use a macro that sends (this is re-written from memory, so pardon any stupid code errors):
M3 S25000
M8
G91 G0 X2 Y2
G0 X0 Y0
G28
M9 M5
Before each of my jobs. Just a quick exercise of all axes, test the spindle and vacuum relays, and generally confirm that itâs ready to roll. Really, the axes test is quite un-necessary (since I just homed it, so theyâre all working), but it gives enough time for the router to spin up and shut down.
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I have a big 3kw VFD spindle at home that starts 99% of the time, so I always give that a test like you are doing.
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SO far, my router has started perfectly every time, and the relays have cycled just as theyâre supposed to. But I donât want it to be that once that I forget to turn on the separate power switch on the relay box, or forget to turn the switch on the router back on after a tool change!
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If you have any more that you would like tested please let me know, I am currently an owner of the x-carve and so far so good. I have a background in Software / hardware QA testing and I feel that I would be a great fit for testing these controllers / power supply. Good luck in your testing efforts and I look forward to seeing more great products from Inventables.
Thanks,
Oscar J.
oscar.juarez07@gmail.com
Soooooo true Sooooo true, Inventables does not award freebies to those that donât have enough followers. So if you are just getting into the X Carve and donât have thousands of follower, donât expect to be a tester of anything, just a fact of life. I feel everyone should get the chance and not just a select few. Just my thoughts.
Jeff, Inventables sent me an X-Controller to test and the last time I checked I think I had about 3 people (excluding family) following my Youtube channel. And to be honest I have no idea why even those three people follow it.
I never post anything on Twitter, only friends and family know I have a Facebook account.
So based on my personal experience I must disagree with your assertion that Inventables only allows people with thousands of followers to test anything.
I am just a pure hobbyist that enjoys making stuff for friends.
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I concur with Allen, I am not a youtube personality either, just a happy X-Carver.
I do agree, though, that for the purposes of getting the word about the machine out and getting it reviewed properly, a good choice is definitely going to be to pick people who are well-known for doing decent, unbiased reviews already! 
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Am I correct in thinking that I do not need to order the power supply and Arduino controller if I am going to wait for the x-controller.