Awesome set up!!! I am planning on making something similar but a little taller so that it also incorporates a slide out keyboard stand and doubles as a stand up workstation. I am also planning on having another pull out shelf that all the electronics will be mounted on.
Finally got the carcass and top finished on the new CNC workstation for upgrades I will hopefully be doing soon on my X-Carve.
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Nice looking unit, now onto the doors and drawers.
Thanks, hopefully I can get them done in the next few days and start upgrading my X-Carve to the full size.
Just wanted to share my x-carve station with ya’ll, since I looked on here for inspiration before building, I’ll add mine to help others also. Simple 2x4 and 4x4 construction with pocket holes. Top is a 4’x4’ torsion box. Made a small shelf on the bottom out of some left over ash and a small box/shelf for the electronics. The feet are self leveling caster wheels from Amazon. I decided to move my PC down to the basement as well, in lieu of buying a new laptop.
I have the Kent CNC dust shoe, and it works great for dust collection, however, I felt that it was affecting the cut with the weight and pressure of the hose. My quick fix was adding a bungee cord from the ceiling and taking off some of the weight while still maintaining is flexibility. This is a semi- short term fix, as I have bought another hose, just need a coupler. I plan on attaching the hoses and running them up the wall and across the ceiling so that it comes right over the top of the machine and its centered. So far, it worked much better than just letting the hose swing from the vac on the floor to the boot.
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What is this Dust Boot- Are there plans/files for it?I just finished my XCarve with Dewalt 611 and need to figuyre out the dust boot thing. This one looks great!
Yup 150$ dust boot for 120$ router for …
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There are some amazing workspaces here and I applaud everyone that has posted here… but what I haven’t seen much of is how the electronics are mounted. As I am building this new workstation for my X-Cave that I’m about to put on steroids I am putting a pull out drawer that the sides and back are open. This will be a 14"x18" dedicated space to lay out all the electronics (power supply, G-shield, etc). I am looking for some ideas on different ways to lay it out neat and organized.
@MikeMerzke Mine isn’t very fancy, but the photo should show what I did.
The electronics were mounted into a plastic box (available from any hobby electronics store) with the wiring connected through plugs. This way, the Arduino & bits are securely mounted and none of the wiring can be accidentally pulled or knocked.
The power supply I mounted vertically with the switches on the top - this was to give me quick access to the power button for those “Oh crap” moments. My intent is to fit an emergency stop button, but like many, I’m too busy making sawdust and tweaking things to get around to it…
The “bench” is a bar table from Ikea - it’s higher than normal and at 1200x1200, it was perfect for the X Carve. I added additional timber so I’d have a few drawers & cupboards etc (again, still not completed - see above excuse).
Yeah, I was looking at your setup. I like how everything is neat and organized. This is similar to what I want to do but on that drawer bottom instead. I would find a way to destroy the electronics if I don’t hide/protect them. I still need to figure a way to mount an emergency stop button also.
Agree. I actually stuffed around a fair bit, adding holes into the electronics box and then covering them with fine mesh to try and keep the dust out. Mounting things further away from the tool would be preferable.
Keen to see what you come up with.
I finally mounted my electronics. Will have to find time to take a photo. I used similar to your photo and have all parts flat on a sheet of plywood. The Arduoino is screwed to the wood and I put a piece of metal strapping over the power supply to hold it in its place. I also put a block behind the power supply so it won’t slide back when pressing the on button. I then mounted it between 2 of the supports of the underside of the work top. This way it has clearance for airflow but not dust chips.
I still need to finish a couple drawers, the drawer fronts, and the cabinet doors… But at least my X-Carve is finished and back running as before, well except bigger and badder! Here is a couple pics of the progress.
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Nice! I like the monitor setup.
The drawer slide electronics looks sweet as well, glad to see that the stepper cables are secured.
On mine< I installed a terminal strip between the gshield and the actual stepper wires to reduce the strain on those tiny little connectors on the gshield. I have a concern that although anchored, the wires could shift a bit within the outer jacket and compromise the connection to the GS.
My setup makes it alot easier for me should I need to disconnect the steppers for some reason as I wont need to go into the GS enclosure.
I like that idea, I have a few extra terminal strips that I could easily add to that. Thanks for the suggestion!
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Well I’m finally finished with my upgrades to my X-Carve and its new workstation! Enclosed electronics, dust collection, and plenty of storage.
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Looks great!
I like the way you maintained the grain lines of the plywood on the drawer fronts and doors.
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what type of workholding do you use?
I use double sided tape. I tried clamps and they never seemed to work for me. So when I increased the size of my X-Carve I just used 3/4 inch MDF as the waste board and stick the work piece to it. I have since made a 90 degree reference mark on the waste board to properly square up my material.
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