X carve mods for cutting cast acrylic

X-Carve Upgrades
1

So while I wait for my x carve controller to show up, I went down the rabbit hole called “modding”. I’ve been reading a ton of topics on here about the parts and I’m not really sure on what I will need to buy or how much of each. Also, i’m cutting 1/2inch cast acrylic only for the time being so i’m wondering do I even need to do any modding?

So far I plan on getting:

For sure getting these two
40x40
openrail
(Also, how many screws and nuts will I need for this if I get 4 of them? can’t find a good photo to count em.)

Not so sure on this.
GT3 Timing Pulley
(How do I make a loop out of the belts they sell if I did end up getting this?)

So I guess what i’m getting at here is that I want my cutting speeds on acrylic to be as fast as I can get them without my x carve throwing it’s back out and messing up my 60 dollar sheet.

3

You’re right, but seeing as how I already spent 1.5k on this machine, what’s another 100 bucks on mods that will improve my cuts?

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4

Why would you need this? why would you not just use the new one piece makerslide from inventables? Is this one stronger? I would also like to know as I bought the new makerslide with the understanding that it would be better.

5

I found out about all of this in here and the reason I may need it is because I’ll be cutting cast acrylic and the last thing I need is my drill bit sliding around at faster speeds. The one on openbuild is cheaper lol and I think you also need new wheels for it? I’m still in the middle of learning everything.

6

That thread relates to the old Xcarve and not the new Xcarve. It is outdated and most not applicable anymore.

Here’s a breakdown of every mod that he listed:

  1. Extrusions are already tapped now. You can still change the bolts if you want.
  2. No need to change the X slotted holes (see #4 below)
  3. The V-wheels are eccentric spacers and not nuts like they used to be so no need to do this.
  4. No need for the 40x40 OpenRails as the old Xcarve had 2 independent pieces of makerslide and the new one is a solid 43ishx40 piece which is almost exactly what the openrails is but is actually made to fit the machine with no mods.
  5. You can replace the nuts if you want.
  6. Eccentric spacers are now standard on the new Xcarve
  7. Many people change the belt but I don’t know how much, if anything, you’d gain from doing it though.
  8. There are only 2 set screws for the entire machine now (pulley on the ACME rod). I do recommend this change and also the use of loctite.
    9 & 10) Personal preference.
  9. Motors are now connectorized from Inventables. No more bare wires and terminal strips.

Save yourself headaches and money and just build the stock machine. Most of the mods that used to be done aren’t needed anymore. There will be no difference in cutting if you use a flanged nut versus a non-flanged nut or a flanged bolt or a non-flanged bolt.

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7

If only I saw this about 7 hours ago! I was up all night reading as much as I can about modding seeing as how there are so many topics about it! I bought my machine last month and now i’m just waiting for them to ship the controller before I even start building it. Thank you so much!

8

If you’ve ordered anything, maybe try cancelling orders before they ship?

I replied in that thread itself at the bottom so that other new people get some caution before setting out to mod.

I myself bought the old Xcarve and had all sorts of mods ready to go on day 1 but the new Xcarve iteration wasn’t released yet.

9

Thankfully I didn’t buy anything and most of my part list came from the mod one list. What are your thoughts on the mod two list?

11

Sorry to keep pressing the topic, but I just wanted to make sure I’m good to go on everything before I start building my Carve. Some of the designs I have in fusion 360 takes like 4 hours to cut so if there is anything to speed that up on the machine side of things, I would be more than happy to do so.

13

You’re cutting hard wood at 100 ipm? What DOC?

How is your machine different from stock? I just ordered the 2.0 upgrade for my 1K x 1K and I want to cut that fast!

15

Wow that is a lot faster than i can run.

I manage about 1400mm/min to 1600 with a depth of 1.5mm on a 1/8th bit.

Maybe i’m taking it too slow. I’ll have to try ramping it up. What router do you use?

24

OK so, let’s say i’m cutting .25inches out of 1/2inch acrylic. The shape is a 17x17in square. Using [this bit] (Amazon.com) my settings so far are:
100 ipm
16000 rpm
cutting depth im still working on
and I know I’m missing something else

That’s what I have ready in Fusion 360 and with something that big, I’m getting like 4 hour cut times. Not sure if thats fast or not. Also, I bought some 5x5in test pieces this week to see out my bits work out.