Was able to get my X-Carve up and running last night after making a few final adjustments. Feels good to finally have something to post on here: Here are my totally unsolicited notes on my build, suggestions and an obligatory pic my first carve.
Build Comments:
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There are a couple things I opted not to get with the kit because I thought I knew better. Safe to say we’ve all been there at some point. Ended up working out in the end but if I had a redo:
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Buy the drag chain kit. I spent more time than necessary figuring out brackets to make it work on my own and only ended up with something I’m not totally pleased with. Especially frustrating when all you want to do is run your machine!
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I ended up opting for my own wiring/power p-supply as I intend on building an enclosure for it all anyhow. Don’t necessarily regret this but would probably have had bought at least the wiring kit as it likely would’ve saved me money just in terms of getting exactly the lengths you need etc
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Like many, I opted out of getting the wasteboard w/ the kit due to the cost+shipping (no slight against Inventables here, it’s just the nature of the beast) Not sure there’s really a wrong way to do it so long as you have the tools, the time and a little imagination. Pretty happy with how it turned out. Like everything else, I’m sure I’ll make improvements as time goes along.
Overall after I got over the fact that I wouldn’t have it running the same day I received it, things went pretty well. Chipped away at it little by little and in the end the patience and persistence paid off. The key is NOT to get frustrated. Haven’t posted anything on the forum yet but i’m not going to pretend I didn’t consult the forum at least a dozen times during the build to make sure I was doing things right. Hats off to the Inventables team on a job well done!
Here are a few pics of my setup and first test carve. I turned my kitchen into a cnc workshop. Ah yes, life as a young bachelor is a real thing. I’m a Penn State alumni thus the text… Looking forward to posting projects, offering my two cents where I can and contributing to this community. Cheers.
