So 5511 is looking into getting a CNC router and we’re pretty much decided that it will be our next tool. We figure a manual mill can wait as we’d rather make our own gussets and custom parts with a computer rather than by hand.
However, being a second year team comes with a few drawbacks and we don’t really have much money to spend at the moment making the X-Carve by inventables a decently solid $1500 option. We’ll get the deluxe with the Dewalt 611 and upgraded base package. I’ve looked and a good feed rate seems to be 0.01" at 50 IPM but it seems like some guys have pushed it farther with PID.
We’re just about to pull the trigger but I just wanted to see if anyone has had some experience with the machine or any advice with CNC routers. Our mentor says tooling will run us $500 but considering this isn’t a true mill, I’m not entirely sure. I’m aware of the X-Carve forums but I wanted to get the FRC outlook first.
Tooling for a router should not run you $500. You mainly need clamps and cutters, which won’t be more than $200 altogether. However I don’t have a whole lot of experience with them, so I can’t say what else you would need compared to a standard mill.
You will probably need measuring tools and the like, and that will run you a lot depending on where you buy them.
Team 3604 recently purchased an X-Carve with the upgrades you mentioned. PM your email address and we’d be happy to share our experiences (assembled and are getting ready to perform our first projects).
1678 is looking at their router as one option for a CNC small enough to bring in our Pit Boxes, but as with ANY machining tool bigger=BETTER. The price scale on machine tools is almost comical, twice the money can easily get you 3-4 times the machine.
If only the build volume wasn’t like 50% smaller on the shapeoko.
I’ve been looking into an X-Carve for my team as well. Out of curiosity, does anyone know of any other large format (30"x30" or larger) CNC routers in the sub-$2000 range?
You can look at OpenRail from OpenBuilds. It is based on aluminum extrusions like 80/20 so it can be sized as needed.
Be very picky of the eBay routers. Ones with linear recirculating ball rails on hardened steel tracks are typically far superior to the other options available.
We have a ZenbotCNC 24"x48" router. Our initial investment was just a little over $2500. It’s been pretty good for us so far but we really haven’t stressed tested it too much.
I purchased a fully loaded X-Carve a few months ago and had a chance to play with it quite a bit. The assembly instructions are great - everything is really easy to put together. The only time I deviated from the assembly instructions is when installing the belting, I’m using a different method to keep the belt in place than they recommended. I find that the recommendation they gave causes a lot of slip in the belt, especially when ‘carving’.
The biggest issue I have encountered with my X-Carve is getting my CAD files to read correctly in Inventable’s Easel software. In order to import your files, you need to have them in SVG format. Solidworks does not directly export to SVG, so the best way I have found to get them to be readable is by exporting files as DXF in solidworks, importing them into Inkscape and exporting them as SVG. At the point when I upload it to Easel, I usually run into multiple issues and I think most of it has to do with curves in the parts. Easel tells me that I need an (infinitely) smaller bit to run my parts, when in reality I do not. I’ve also attempted to import a 32t sprocket into Easel and every time I do the webpage crashes (in Chrome) I’ve done this on multiple computers as well. I’ve had a lot of problems using Easel and at this point I’m considering getting a beefier control board and running HSMWorks out of Solidworks.
The quality of the cuts the machine makes are decent, I’m sure if I played around with calibrations I could get it running as well as any top-line CNC router. I’ll see if I can get some pictures of cuts I’ve made so far.
My Machine Specs:
1000mmx1000mm
ACME Lead Screw
NEMA 23 Stepper Motors
300W 24VDC Spindle Kit
Arduino/gShield Motion Controller Kit
Limit Switch Kit
Fantastic, thanks for sharing, this is the type of information I was looking for. Did you know that xcarve runs GRBL firmware? This means you can import into files into a software known as chilipepper. It looks like you can import dxf and gcode files. Other software exists to convert solid works parts into gcode but dxf can work just fine. Hopefully this helps and you could share the result.
Could you explain more about how you modified the belt system? Possibly include pictures?
In your opinion could an X-Carve be used to build “mission-critical” parts for FRC robots?
I’m considering getting one of these to speed up fabrication of our drive system, but the drive modules are expensive to make (or rather, to have to make more than once if they get screwed up) and require somewhat high tolerances (but within what the X-Carve advertises to have).
Currently we make these parts on an (older) large Bridgeport 2-axis CNC mill, but between the setup, pre-cutting, and programming it takes an operator about 3 hours a day for the better part of a week to complete.
Having a 3 axis CNC knee mill in our shop as well as a metal router an order of magnitude more rigid/powerful than the X-carve I would say there is no way it will compete with the knee mill other than fixturing seems easier on a router (assuming you’re willing to screw down material into the mdf).
Fixturing is the main issue honestly, that and programming. Currently we have to cut our material to size on a bandsaw, then clean up the edges on the mill, then use 2 clamps + supports to position the material. After we’re done with that we have to manually program each step, and babysit it the entire time it runs (as each new step requires intervention). I would like to be able to just attach a sheet of material directly to a workspace, import the cut path from the CAD model, and just let it run.
