Thank you for the update @KyleKronyak
No worries on the delay, those things happen, these have been pretty minimal compared to most kickstarter projects.
I appreciate you taking your time and effort to put this thing together. I wanted to make one like it a few months back and just did not feel like putting the effort into it at the time, this saves me a lot of headache for the price.
Looking forward to objective reviews! Iâm a 2nd wave buyer if it lives up to the expectations.
Iâm waiting for the first reviews too
I was trying to order from the link you posted but it only has an option for âadd to wishlistâ. Am I missing something? Also, since I guess I am not pre-ordering, I do not get the anti-backlash nut. However, I do not see anywhere that I could purchase it.
I too am a bit hesitant to install before having a working suckit mount. Really excited though as my pre-order is expected to deliver tomorrow!
For better or worse, I havenât ever had a dust boot so Iâll be no worse off on day 1. Incidentally, the biggest reason I donât have one already is that I wasnât satisfied with the results cutting the brackets from 3/4" cast acrylic due to chatter and deflection with the stock Z axis. I look forward to hopefully using this new Z to finally make a nice dust boot to go along with it.
I have re-enabled orders on my web store. I was going to mill some of the final version of the anti-backlash nut on Friday night and post that as a product option but my Tormach machine died on me and I spent most of the night troubleshooting that instead. It looks like the stepper box blew out (MX3660) so that should be quick and easy to replace once I get the part.
The anti-backlash nuts that were shipped so far are functionally identical to the final version except they are white acetal and have corners instead of filleted edges.
I will honor the pre-order promotion (free anti-backlash nut) for any orders now through this Friday (7/28). There will probably be some lag time with shipping new orders until I get completely caught up with the pre-orders but it shouldnât be more than a few days. In the meantime Iâm going to try using a combination of the X-Carve and drill press to make the anti-backlash nuts so I can get another batch of 5 units out.
Is there a functionality difference between using acetal and Delrin for the backlash nut?
Acetal (acetal copolymer) is almost identical to Delrin (acetal homopolymer, specifically DuPont brand) â the main difference to my understanding is that Delrin has slightly higher impact resistance and tensile strength. I am going to use Delrin for future production because, among other things, it is actually slightly less expensive for the sizes of pieces I need.
The linear bushings have all been made with Delrin. For the tube stock it is slightly more expensive. In general the differences are fairly small for this kind of application where itâs not seeing really large loads (compared to something like structural members, gears, etc.)
@DarrylKegg I will be adding the extended version a little later â I have the parts for them (not including direct drive) but my main focus now is to get the pre-orders fulfilled and prepare for shipping the standard models. I have not finished building / testing the direct drive assembly so that may be some time. I may offer a discount etc. for users who buy the extended version to upgrade to the direct drive once available. The upgrade will occur in-place and is mainly just a matter of swapping the motor and drive parts out (shouldnât need to remove the entire Z assembly).
The mail man just dropped off this impressive package. Well done on the packaging @KyleKronyak.
EDIT: Looking forward to seeing the PDF manual 
@RichWood I have attached a preliminary version of the installation guide â the final version will have more diagrams but I think the instructions should be clear enough.
Zplunge for X-Carve Installation Guide.pdf (126.9 KB)
Really interested in how he had that foam made!
@TonyNo on the X-Carve of course!
I will say this â it fills up my Dust Deputy and Shop Vac VERY quickly!
EDIT: Specifically I got 12" x 12" x 2" foam blocks from Uline. I used 2 toggle clamps and 2 toe clamps (as end stops) to hold the foam down. To mill I used a 6mm O-flute carbide mill at 24k RPM @ 5000mm/min. The foam is extremely easy to cut and leaves a surprisingly good finish. I may try using a 1/2" router bit at some point but as it is âif it ainât broke, donât fix itâ.
Kyle,
Got mine today and couldnât wait to install it,
I got as far as mounting the spindle holder and found that the mounting holes were too high by ~.125
hence I cannot attach the delrin nut.
Unless Iâm doing something wrong, which is entirely possible.
Great looking product though, and Iâm sure we will get through this hick-up.
gonna need some better instructions and diagrams as to how the thrust bearing goes together.
@EvanDudzik it looks like they must have changed the dimensions of the spindle holder at some point. I got my X-Carve in January 2016 so itâs certainly possible it was changed after I got mine. Can you take a photo of the bottom of the mount too? On mine the holes line up exactly, and the top and bottom of the spindle holder are flush with the carriage of the Z assembly.
My recommendation would be to drill through the frame plate and bracket with a 5mm or larger drill bit. A #8, #7, or #6, or 13/64" twist drill would be in the appropriate size range. If you canât get it working I can send you a new carriage assembly with the holes enlarged. I will modify the existing parts once my Tormach is back up and running.
You are probably right about the spindle holder - my X-Carve is the newest model which they released in late 2016 or so I believe. Iâll PM you so we can work through it. Iâm sure it can be modified to work.
