HeliGav
Established Member
Just got my x-carve build and started doing some initial carves, just trying to iron out a few problems and get it dialled in. If anyone has one and would like offer some advice and information it would be appreciated....
Does anyone own an inventables x-carve
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DiscoStu
Established Member
You could always try messaging Peter, I've done so in the past and he's been incredibly helpful.
Alexam
Bandsaw Boxmaker
These ones ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGkXD6RYMpY
I have the machine it was based on and will happily answer questions about it.
HeliGav
Established Member
Just wondered where do you get your mill bits from in the uk or do u just order them from inventables usa?
Do you use inventables easel or another software?
Cheers
Do you use inventables easel or another software?
Cheers
acewoodturner
Established Member
Just had a look at the video. Must say it looks incredibly slow and tedious.
Did you get the standard spindle? Mine died after about 2 days and i replaced it with a Dewalt. I think inventible must have had a bad batch because quite a few had problems.
As for advice on the build , i think the various videos on Youtube and the inventible site will help with the build.
The only mod I did was to fix terminal blocks to my work bench to take the X, Y and Z wires from the drag chain and then link the Shield /Arduino etc to the other side of the terminal blocks.
Before I did this i found that vibration could shake a wire loose which was a real pain half way through a carve.
Also, I use VCarve for most jobs rather than Easel.
As for advice on the build , i think the various videos on Youtube and the inventible site will help with the build.
The only mod I did was to fix terminal blocks to my work bench to take the X, Y and Z wires from the drag chain and then link the Shield /Arduino etc to the other side of the terminal blocks.
Before I did this i found that vibration could shake a wire loose which was a real pain half way through a carve.
Also, I use VCarve for most jobs rather than Easel.
For software I use V-Carve, CamBam and Fusion 360 - depending on what I am trying to achieve. I will post some examples in the morning.
I get some milling cutters from China (mainly for engraving) and lots from Drillman1 on the US ebay.com. I also have an uprated spindle with an ER11 collet, so it takes up to 7mm shank cutters. This means that I can use 1/4" router cutters easily too, so I get them from Cutwelor Wealden Tool Company.
I would buy some cheap and cheerful cutters to start with, then once you know what you are doing, move onto more expensive, higher quality ones.
I get some milling cutters from China (mainly for engraving) and lots from Drillman1 on the US ebay.com. I also have an uprated spindle with an ER11 collet, so it takes up to 7mm shank cutters. This means that I can use 1/4" router cutters easily too, so I get them from Cutwelor Wealden Tool Company.
I would buy some cheap and cheerful cutters to start with, then once you know what you are doing, move onto more expensive, higher quality ones.
HeliGav
Established Member
I've got the spindle I had the 1000mm fully loaded from robosavvy, the main problem i had when starting it the othe day was loosing position but turned all the motor voltages up by 45 degrees and seems to work better now. where did you get the er11 colt from? also some of the nuts shook loose buy going get some lock nuts to hopefully stop that. be great see sum pics of peoples work and machines to discuss upgrades and projects. I'm looking to incorporate the vacuum onto the gantry at some point so haven't gt follow it with the shop vac....
My spindle is an 800W inverter driven unit from China, so was a bit of a 'red herring' on the ER11 colt. Sorry.
As promised, here are a few of the more interesting projects I have made so far.
This was my first carving/engraving project and took me a while to get right. I was having all sorts of issues with connectivity, so the gcode took a long time to get run correctly.
Having had a bit more practise and upgraded a few things, I put this iPad stand together for my niece. It was cut from another offcut of oak from a kitchen worktop.
Further down the line I rescued a wooden clock build that I had been sitting on for many years by re-cutting some of the gears from plywood. The originals had become warped, hence it sitting on the shelf. Once designed and coded, it took about 15mins to cut these.
Another carved/engraved project, this time it was a birthday gift. I had found out how to colour-fill the projects and cheated by using an off-the-shelf oak cutting board.
Some table place markers carved in laminated engraving plastic for a friend's party.
Most recently I had a go at inlaying materials using a v-carving technique. I made two 4" coasters from oak and mahogany.
I am still working on ironing out the problems I have with real 3D carving, but here is one of the WIP pieces while I get it working correctly.
As promised, here are a few of the more interesting projects I have made so far.
This was my first carving/engraving project and took me a while to get right. I was having all sorts of issues with connectivity, so the gcode took a long time to get run correctly.
Having had a bit more practise and upgraded a few things, I put this iPad stand together for my niece. It was cut from another offcut of oak from a kitchen worktop.
Further down the line I rescued a wooden clock build that I had been sitting on for many years by re-cutting some of the gears from plywood. The originals had become warped, hence it sitting on the shelf. Once designed and coded, it took about 15mins to cut these.
Another carved/engraved project, this time it was a birthday gift. I had found out how to colour-fill the projects and cheated by using an off-the-shelf oak cutting board.
Some table place markers carved in laminated engraving plastic for a friend's party.
Most recently I had a go at inlaying materials using a v-carving technique. I made two 4" coasters from oak and mahogany.
I am still working on ironing out the problems I have with real 3D carving, but here is one of the WIP pieces while I get it working correctly.
Attachments
HeliGav
Established Member
they all awesome! so will the inventables spindle take a larger collet or do you have to upgrade the spindle to use 1/4" router bits.
can anyone show me a link of which to buy to connect to the spindle to take the 1/4 bits?
can anyone show me a link of which to buy to connect to the spindle to take the 1/4 bits?
I'm not sure what spindle comes with the X-Carve that you bought (as they keep changing it), so I don't know if you can obtain different collets for it.
I would ask Inventables or your local supplier about it. The Inventables folks are extremely helpful.
*Edit: Did some research...
I looked at the robotsavvy page and they are curently shipping a DeWalt D26200 - 900W 8mm (1/4") Compact Router with their 'Loaded' setup.
If this is the spindle you have then it is possible to obtain better/other collet sizes for it. The best option, but not cheapest, is to use the ones from PreciseBits.com which are very good. They have a great tutorial which explains the benefits of accurate toolholding.
I would ask Inventables or your local supplier about it. The Inventables folks are extremely helpful.
*Edit: Did some research...
I looked at the robotsavvy page and they are curently shipping a DeWalt D26200 - 900W 8mm (1/4") Compact Router with their 'Loaded' setup.
If this is the spindle you have then it is possible to obtain better/other collet sizes for it. The best option, but not cheapest, is to use the ones from PreciseBits.com which are very good. They have a great tutorial which explains the benefits of accurate toolholding.
For solving the nuts shaking loose problem, you can go for locknuts or a small amount of threadlock on them.
Designing and building a dust shoe is a great early project. I used 10mm clear acrylic from http://www.sheetplastics.co.uk and a glued foam edging in V1, with brushes from a door seal in V2. Magnets were glued into the pieces to hold them together. For design ideas, take a look at the ones for sale by users of the ShapeOko (ShapeOko2 is pretty much the same as the X-Carve).
Designing and building a dust shoe is a great early project. I used 10mm clear acrylic from http://www.sheetplastics.co.uk and a glued foam edging in V1, with brushes from a door seal in V2. Magnets were glued into the pieces to hold them together. For design ideas, take a look at the ones for sale by users of the ShapeOko (ShapeOko2 is pretty much the same as the X-Carve).
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