V-Wheel Adjustment

So… one question I have about this is “how tight it too tight”? With the wingnuts, you have so much more mechanical advantage, is it possible to make it so tight that you could hurt the V-wheels in some way? If so, how can that be avoided? Do we just tighten this until it no longer has any wiggle when I shake it with my hand?

I currently tighten the v-wheels by feel as per instructions and forum threads. I do want to try a torque wrench setting to better quantify the wheel tension. As has been explained the spring assembly is only there to create the upward pressure of the wheel to the maker slide the you tighten as per usual except for one small change. Since I’m no longer using eccentric nuts I’ve reversed the screw holding the wheel and placed a locnut on the inside for easier adjustment and less knuckle busting. I’m also using an M5 cap screw bolt as per the recommendations of this thread. This mod has been working solid for about a week now with no problems and only one adjustment.
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I’d be very interested to see what torque values you come up with. If this design works, it would provide a great way to standardize the V-wheel settings across multiple users. My inner engineer has been screaming for a procedure and numbers for a while, and this would shut him up. For a minute or two, at least. :smile:

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Although this is a worthy goal, from my readings here on this forum it seems that the tolerances on the V-wheels are not good enough to realize this dream unless maybe you move to steel V-wheels.

I sure would like to be wrong on this point. I also like to “do it by the numbers”. :smile:

I think this about me, so I will expand my thoughts.

I don’t even like the idea of the e-nuts. They give the machine the opportunity to work the way it was built by the consumer. Under perfect conditions it wouldn’t be necessary at all.

That simple design addition allows the machine to built and run if the end user has flaws up until the that point in the tool chain.

I think backwards to the machine and not how to give it opportunities to work under less than ideal conditions.

I never intended to insult anyone or give offense. The table you put your X-Carve on needs to be a work of art like the machine. The floor you have your table on needs to be flat. That is how I would work backwards to getting the machine to work.

Dang the wheels coming loose all the time is really frustrating…I tried locking nuts and lock tight and they still come loose eventually…if this goes further can someone cobble up a parts list for this mod?

i’ve been running 4 months without having to adjust anything.

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JDM…I’m happy to hear from anybody with a tech background as you obviously have and never felt insulted by your comments. I’ve seen posts of your 3D work and am in awe. My machine is working fantastic…actually it was prior to my tinkering as well. I just have this inclination to try and modify things and try and keep my motto from the corn flakes box…the simplest things in life are often the best. This mod might not be the simplest solution to a perceived problem but it does seem to work well. On the subject of steel v wheels…I take into account what others have said of the hard material against the aluminum, or shouldn’t I be worried. The best thing thus far about this mod is being able to quickly adjust a wheel while pausing a job and not losing position. Previously had everything adjusted properly and used loctite and they still loosened. I think the next mod will involve mounting a 2 1/2 hp router to an easel controlled drone just to see the comments. Thanks again for any comments both positive and cautious.

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I believe your mod could lead to the simplest wheel adjustment that I’ve ever seen. However, I don’t see a need for the springs. Drill clearance holes in the top angle. One for mounting the upper v-wheel and one for the approximately 3-1/2 long adjustment screw. In the bottom angle, tap the hole for the adjustment screw. This way the adjustment screw can be loosened for assembly and tightened to bring the bottom v-wheel against the maker slide. If you put a clearance hole in the other leg of the angle for the v-wheel mounting screw you have accomplished the same principle as your idea. Just adjust the adjustment screw and tighten the v-wheel mounting screw. The disadvantage here is the slight amount of tipping that will occur as the screw that is the v-wheel axle moves during adjustment. This might be a good thing as it will lead to a small amount of preload to the v-wheel as the mounting nut is tightened. This could lead to an over-tightening condition on the adjustable v-wheel. A partial solution to this would be to also tap the angle for the v-wheel mounting screw. This would make the angle and the v-wheel axle a rigid assembly and use the entire face of the angle to keep things in alignment during adjustment. The disadvantage here is that the final tightening of the adjustable v-wheel has to be done with the nut on the inside of the mounting plate.

Just spent 30 minutes looking at all Vwheel and belt adjustments. First time in about 3 months. 2 Wheels required minor tensioning that required less than a minute each. Love this system. No trying to use 12 hands with tongue sticking out to frequently adjust anymore.

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Friends, Does anybody help me, I have one V-wheel, it gets tightened no matter I just adjust it righ before a project starts, it is not a eccentric nut wheel is one of the upper level, what is this about? thanks

Taking a guess… I had an issue with misshaped wheels. they weren’t perfectly round so they acted like cam clamps. try rotating the wheel in place and see if it spins free until a point as though its tightening.

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You know I’ve been having a bad time with eccentric nuts and now, the normal ones, can you believe it!

Thank You mr Phil I imagined, it has to be something like that, cause plates and rails are thin, and they suffer deformation.

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Mr phil please take a look at this picture, I reviewed the systeme complete, I adjust potentiometer, current, v-wheels, alignment, wiring; Must say, I have doubts abou some wiring connections I made, because, I’m not an expert, and may be, they were not very succesfull, As u can see in the pic, lines up down are well done, but the line down, looks like it was losing steps, waht could be it?, thanks in advance

Nothing lasts forever… sad but true. I have already replaced all my v wheels (24) and eccentrics (12) and nyloc nuts…

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I was all day long touching potentiometers, because I though it was the problem, but no it is not, the problem is the same #$$%/((( Vwheel it is hard like a rock, I don’t know why!!! and I changed the reference values of the potentiometers, can u please tell me yours, specially de potentiometers in Y axis. ohh God!!, I reviewed the wheel apparently it is fine, is rounded and smooth, but what I see, there is no place enough, I can introduce the screw by the plate, cause, they are not aligned, the hole and the screw point. so I forced them to in, and U know the rest…

I did! On purpose! And i bought new ones ahead of time to have replacements for when they did die. Also i let a little bit of dirt and metal shavings get caught up in it to see what happens…
The benefit of over tightening is negligible with belts (as it introduces a lot of backlash at high speeds) but with screws its very good for a little bit of extra rigidity… but the damage to the wheels definitely outweighs the benefits because they can die literally midcarve! (Ask me how i know!!! Good thing my gantry plates have 8 wheels each!)
However v wheels that are just slightly over-tight than 2 finger method is perfect for my screwdrives mechanical advantage.
Nothing is worse for the wheels than metal shavings!! So the importance of keeping the rails clear is tops.

Mr, Phil, how do I do to send You the G-code, I already changed the eccentric nuts, (big shoulder), I fixed also with loctite, and they are working very well, I changed the crimp contacts, and I reviewed all of the wires, and I guess they are fine, but, I’m still getting carve´s path wrong, I guess, final thing, is the potentiometers and reference voltage and what else can I look for?, may be speed, and plung rate?, I must say that I managed them but, I don’t feel confident, just try and seeing.Thanks in advance for your advice

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