I’m looking to do this upgrade to my 1000x I was wondering EXACTLY what I need to set up BESIDES install of upgrade to be back in use. I’m using easel .
going through 400 page threads is a big pain in the butt, lots and lots of time wasted, I can relate. Whenever I have a long thread I try to edit my original post to include all pertinent info uncovered for those coming afterwards.
Angus do you even own this Z-Axis slide?
The only change except the mechanical side of things is:
- Recalibrate the steps/mm GRBL parameter, $102. (required for any machine)
- Adjust the max feed rate, $112 (optional)
- Adjust the acceleration rate, $122 (optional, but most likely able to handle higher values than stock)
- Adjust soft limit range, if $20=1, $132 (optional)
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The question was surrounding the accuracy of the Xcarve vs the tolerances of typical aerospace machining.
The specs give a best case accuracy of 0.003” accuracy (worst case of 0.005”) and that’s probably not on materials like aluminum. I know at my aerospace company (yes, I work at an aerospace company too…we make things for planes and space!), our tolerances are usually way tighter than that.
The fact that you’re upgrading the Z axis shows that the hobby kit CNC that is the Xcarve isn’t really suited for aerospace operations. Could it work? Sure. But using your cookie recipe analogy, would you rather cook each cookie over a candle or put an entire sheet in the oven? The Xcarve is the candle…
The prototype CNC at my aerospace job is a Haas mill (VF-3 I believe).
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Hi Ben,
You’re likely a pretty nice guy. A I do hope you’re able to meet your deadline. I want to toss some gems your way and hope it’ll help you.
I’m in manufacturing. We live by the schedule and project completion. One of my daily tasks is to assist employees by determining what their barrier to success is. Within seconds or minutes, I can determine if the barrier is a skill, knowledge or attitude.
You lack skills and knowledge with the xcarve. That is not an insult. That doesn’t mean you can’t turn it on and get a result. It means the learning curve when something new arises will take you longer to figure out, thus slow you down.
Attitude is the key though. A crappy attitude when you lack skills and knowledge more often yields crappy results and lengthen the time to complete a task. Who wants to help someone that displays a poor attitude? A person with a great attitude can accomplish and learn so much more when they must seek out answers.
I have a good number of really smart people that work for me. Most are much smarter then me in their given trade. Members of my team sometimes need to be reminded not to let their education get in the way of learning. (I made that sign already). Many of the best answers come from unusual sources and are not taught.
None of us work for you. Your deadline doesn’t keep me up at night.
Take nothing for granted. Be kind, humble and don’t be afraid to show humility. Above all be respectful. This is a great community - you can still help make it better.
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Shubb, While I appreciate your thoughtful post, there appears to be an odd correlation between this forum and people handing out unsolicited life advice. I don’t think the internet is the place to tell a grown man how he should act.
I’m not sure if you saw my original post in another thread, but all I was saying was that I had a piece of equipment that didn’t come with an instruction manual, and I asked if someone could point me in the right direction on how to calibrate. At that point 3 older gents (who I don’t think even own said piece of equipment) chimed in and started talking about how I need to figure things out for myself.
If someone would have said “you need to adjust your Grbl settings for the Z -Axis”, that would have been plenty of info for me to go on.
In-house prototypes don’t have hard specs, and not every piece of equip is designed to go on an aircraft. Command and control ground stations have many moving parts, many of which are made of high-density plastics. The Xcarve is perfectly suited for these applications.
If it works for you, then awesome.
My in-house prototypes have the same tolerances as deliverable hardware, otherwise the purpose of prototype is defeated. But that’s my company and not your company.
Hope you have good success with your machine and upgrades. I know I love my machine and my linear Z upgrade.
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Are you 12 years old?
I’m still trying to figure out why it took 4 hours to go through a 400post thread.
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