I am going to be upgrading my z-axis/x-axis rigidity soon and I thought I would document the upgrade here in case anyone else is interested. Sometimes when machining harder woods, as well as aluminum, I get more chatter than I care for and I think it can be eliminated with the addition of an extra Z rail and two extra bearings on the x-axis. With the upgrade I should be able to machine with less worry for tight tolerance production pieces. If anyone ends up interested in the design just let me know.
I have finally completed the design which has taken a lot of thought and a lot of time, so next step is to machine the new parts, have them precision ground (which the oem ones are not), anodized instead of painted, and put it all back together.
I think I will need new x-rails as well that are a smidge longer in order to get full travel from the new carriage. The spindle will be centered, and the travel will be moved a little up, and it will be more forward by about an 1/8".
Let me know if y'all have any observations/comments, it would be nice to know if there is anything I am overlooking. I did add a bunch of holes to the plate that attaches to the x-axis bearings for flexibility down the road for attachments.
Z-Axis Upgrade
Reply With Quote
