Another $700 butcher block ruined cause x carves belting system, even upgraded is underwhelming and came off the cheap plastic pulleys. Screw drive is the way to go.
26 hours of carving and it’s all been a waste of time. Moving on to a new machine.
Are you idler pulleys not aligned correctly with the stepper motor pullies? Also, keeping them cleaner will definitely help… Dust-control is forever your friend!
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Brandon Parker
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Yeah, the belt floats in that pulley, so it’s very difficult to keep aligned perfectly. Same thing has happened all along. Many belts replaced and readjustments made. Usually the short back and forth motion causes the belt issues. I have the dust shoe, but a z axis upgrade put that to pasture. I stand and vacuum all the time tho.
X-carve doesn’t sell the 9mm belts or pulleys yet do they?
No, but I had the same problem so many times on the originals, thats why Ive upgraded. The belt system is the weak point. This machine has cost me over $3500 by this point with upgrades, and it’s still unreliable
Something must be amiss with the setup or something is getting into the belting that is deteriorating it.
I have had my X-Carve since 2015, and the only time I needed to replace the belts was when I changed the size of the machine.
Are you tensioning the belts correctly?
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Brandon Parker
Something is definitely out of alignment.
Looks to me like the pulleys may not be coplanar.
I’ve had my machine since 2016 and have as yet to replace a belt.
I’m retired and use it almost daily.
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So sorry to see that. Beautiful carving. I have owned an x-carve for over 4 years now and haven’t had an issue other than interference from the router, I have done a lot of carves It does look like an issue with the belt pully from your picture. I am moving on, to a PrintNC, check it out. PrintNC V3.0 | PrintNC Wiki.
Good luck, stay safe.
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Going to ask a stupid question, looking at all your stepper motors, are the shafts the same length? The motor for the x-axis on mine, the shaft is longer than what your photo looks like. When assembled, could the motor be in the wrong location?
This is why I have ordered a LongMill. And would you be willing to sell the file for that project? My son and daughter both work at VERY popular bbq places here in STL and I would love to make these for their bosses. They have treated my kids amazingly and I just want to show my thanks to them. (They are like family)
Google is your friend.
All kinds of diagrams available.
I have been googling since I saw this. LOL
hog butcher chart
The quickest work-flow in terms of google images → something carveable with full control of output is to use Inkscape (free software) and use that to trace image and export as SVG, something Easel support import of 
A youtube search for “Trace Bitmap Inkscape” should get you going
Or the super simple approach can be Easels own Image Trace, but it gives you less control on output.
How tight are your belts, over tightening or undertightening will throw your alignment up and chew your belts up. Need to check all belts before starting a new carve with the tension and such. You shouldn’t have any play with the wheels that the router runs off of. They will come loose over time, and maintenance goes a long ways if kept up. I’ve had my X-CARVE for over 2 years and haven’t had any issues at all with the belts or pulleys. Make the adjustments needed before carving and you shouldn’t have a problem
Looks like an alignment issue. I, like others here, have had my X-Carve for over 2 years and I have not had one single problem with it, and I use it several hours a day. Please let us know if you figure this out.
@LukeBranco sorry to hear about this. Those belts slipping (even the non upgraded version) isn’t normal. If you reach out to use directly (help@inventables.com) we can get someone from our team to dial in the problem and fix.
Your first image shows 3 of the 4 screws mounting the stepper. All 3 visible have different stick out beyond the nut.
Unless you have screws of 3 different lengths this indicates a loosely mounted stepper. Which would cause the belt to walk out of place as shown.
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I think it’s beyond that point of helping him at this time. Which is unfortunate.