Replacing V Wheels with Linear Guide bearings

Here is the way to go!! My next upgrade!! Take a look at the specs: Redirecting...

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Mine too. All I need now is money :grinning:

Its tempting, got the money, but I donā€™t do much anymore with the xcarve. I think Im gonna wait a while until I see more people buying this kit and see what they think about it, then I might buy it. I wish I had more room to go bigger tho.

First things first: impressive, I really really like that build. Iā€™m amazed by it and this thread has been shared to a lot of my friends with just the comment ā€œI need to do this.ā€

Second:
Iā€™m planning on getting rid of the V-Wheels this year, Iā€™m just asking myself ā€œhow?ā€. I guess some of my answers have been answered here :wink:
You mounted your linear bearing on top and bottom of your rails. Is there a specific reason for that?
I was wondering, if I could take a c-beam and mount two bearings to the side with the 2 extrusions of it, then the plate, then the rod (everything facing the ā€œoutsideā€ of the machine, I hope I made myself clear).
Since you clearly know that stuff much better than me, Iā€™m curious why you chose this design.

PS:
Happy easter!

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Thank you @DominikMai! And happy Easter to you, too!

I guess it depends on if youā€™re talking specifically about the X or Y axis. I did them the way I did on the X axis so the original X carriage could be reused. And although I did replace the Y axis makerslides with 20 x 40 extrusion, it was designed from a true ā€œupgradeā€ perspective so that someone would not even have to replace their Y makerslide. The X axis extrusion would need to be replaced either way because the original wide makerslide doesnā€™t have the necessary slots to work with. Thereā€™s no reason you couldnā€™t do what youā€™re talking about, but keep the component ā€œstackā€ as tight as possible.

Additionally, this particular design was developed to support an incremental upgrade path where a user who purchased a Supergrade screw-drive upgrade from @LukeWilson could later upgrade to linear rail bearings while using the existing side & end plates.

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Thanks for your feedback, I didnā€™t consider that aspect at all to be honest. Thatā€™s because at least here in Germany linear bearings and the direct drive are that costly, that the rails donā€™t matter to be honest.
Iā€™m currently planning with some c-beam rails and right now am at the point im asking myself whether I should have 2 bearings per rail, or if one would be sufficient enough.

It really depends on the height of your X extrusion since this ties the 2 Y axis rails together and basically sets the squareness. For example, an 80mm tall X rail will hold the side plates more rigidly and squarely than a 40mm tall X rail (hope this makes sense). The 80mm tall X rail affords a 2:1 advantage over the 40mm rail for holding the side plates square (assuming the ends are cut good & square). You could probably get away with a single rail on the Y axis, but I opted to go double to help keep the assembly good & square. A rough ASCII example of your sideplates: | | vs. / / or \ \

Either way, your machine accuracy will be measurably better than compared to V-wheel guides. If youā€™re only planning on cutting softer materials then 1 per side should serve you well. If you want to cut metal or other hard materials, you may want to consider going with 2 per side.

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Thanks, I really appreciate your input. I think I will be doing 2 per side, for all the reasons you stated. I just need to find a good vendor shipping to Germany I guess. If I can match the professionality of your machine to 80% Iā€™m happy :smiley:

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Any more kits in the works?

TBD has one available now.
https://www.tbdcnc.com/shop/linrail

If my walletā€¦

The best kit :ULTIMATE upgrade kit for X-carve, Shapeoko, openbuild ...

Right on queue. :roll_eyes:

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