Hi.
I’m Erik. I’ve been lurking for a long time in the Inventables forums soaking up knowledge and seeing all the amazing items created and more so the amazing tweaks/upgrades etc to the machine itself.
I would like to take a moment to thank Inventables and specifically John Hayes for resolving a situation beyond my satisfaction. It has been decided for many reasons an X-Carve is a far better solution than a Carvey for my projects and so we’ve moved forward and swapped to an X-Carve.
Everyone I’ve spoken to at Inventables has been awesome to deal with. Unlike many companies, Inventables customer service is top notch! This is a rare thing anymore so praise should be given where due. A big thanks to Zach Kaplan as well(who is notably awesome for being an active member of these forums)!
Most parts for the 1000mm X-Carve have now arrived, waiting on a couple more. Bench to be built asap.
Limited space means the X-Carve will reside in the back part of my office.
I repair computers for a living so dust control and noise are two issues which must be immediately addressed.
Dust collection will be underneath the torsion cabinet that is being designed shortly.
I have a friend who is a furniture maker/cabinet builder so the plan is to build a torsion cabinet.
Material will be 3/4" premium baltic birch plywood. The cabinet will have space below for misc, and the vacuum itself.
The top skin will be 3/4" baltic birch plywood. The torsion frame/box underneath the top will be 1x4s planed down.
Expanding foam will be used to stifle noise in the open chambers.
The plan for the top is 46" deep x 60" wide bench top. I will have the side board installed.
What size is your bench?
What would you have done differently when building your bench now that it’s assembled?
We are going to orient the X-Carve so that I can feed larger/longer material in front to back so it will not be placed back against a wall so this can be done. We will have to be creative in the back with a sweep or something for dust control on the cover. Cover may be designed simply out of 2" pink foam board for being lightweight and easy customization.
A window is a must of course.
I have perused the workspace showcase post many times, I have noted certain things I like and will post progress pictures as they are taken.
Upgrades/Things I should do before assembly…?
Wiring? What wiring can I upgrade that would be worth it? Many posts on the subject but many relate to the older X-Carve that didn’t have the newer X-Controller so not sure it’s even relevant?
CNC4Newbies 5/6" Z axis arrived yesterday. I see there are some programming modifications to make and will save/bookmark posts relevant to this. I may post for help on this only because I want it to be correct.
269oz Nema 23 motors will fit no issues? Will the 269oz motor mount on the CNC4Newbies Z axis? I recall the factory Z will not support the larger depth of the motor? (This question will likely be a new post…).
I have perused the fantastic designsbyphil.com site (liking the new gallery on the main page) and will follow many of his tips when assembling things. Phil, you can expect some purchases from me after my machine is assembled and operational, and lots of questions.
The New Brit Woodshop videos are great and I will refer to them during the build.
I’ll have to search again, but upgraded belts seem like a good idea? I recall reading I can go slightly better without changing pullies? Or, if pulleys need to be changed does anyone have a kit or source for correct pulleys for the wider belts? Would like to know before assembly begins.
In regards to the eccentric nut upgrade…
Is it still necessary on the current shipping X-Carve?
Blue loctite seems to be highly recommended(it’s on most every Apple screw, and many pc screws I’ve looked at for 20 years).
What # should I get? I’ve seen two numbers mentioned… 220 and 242?
Anything else I should do before assembly? I considered the upgraded Y plates, but not sure I should do that until I’ve learned the machine as mostly stock and was concerned with the 8" Z with bits not reaching the wasteboard without a secondary wasteboard in place so I ordered the 5/6" Z…Happy to upgrade later after I’ve used the mostly stock machine…
I have a customer who owns an X-Carve a few blocks from me, and my school has one built by high schoolers so I have some reference/local help if needed.
Thanks ahead of time for any answers to my many questions. More to follow guaranteed. Looking forward to being a member of this awesome community!
