New Linear Z for my SO3 XXL - Long post with pictures

One easy way to get more room under the machine is to use an oversized metal table and flip the endplates around.

2 Likes

For me it isnā€™t about the height under the bottom of the carriage, itā€™s being able to retract a long end mill far enough to clear my work without constantly shifting my router in the mount. I just ordered one, we shall see :slight_smile:

Dan

1 Like

This looks like a great mod, thanks for the write-up.

I think I might have to buy one of these.

what rod and ball screw diameters are used?

I donā€™t see the exact dimensions of the screw on the website. You could ask Joe - cnc4newbie@gmail.com

Yes!!! I planed on retro fitting one of these onto my s3 but now that know he can make them setup for it Iā€™m going to buy one for my standard and my xxl !!

You made my day

1 Like

For sureā€¦ and if you want to see some additional exponentially larger forces just see what Iā€™m running right now on the stock belt/wheels!! Note: No Z skipping even WITH STOCK Springs!!! Iā€™m extremely impressed with it as of now and I firmly believe that there is something to having more mass to ā€œsuck upā€ some of the small issues on the machine with the default setup due to the inertia generated to keep things moving along smoothly. I thought about other upgrades as well, but when I ran my machine into my mounting bolt I broke 1 v-wheelā€¦ and not 5 other parts and bent part x & y :slight_smile: Weak links are like fuses made to stop the damage and might not be bad in cases like this!!!

oh and my machine!!! sorry:

Great job and nice write up!
Itā€™s been a little over a week soā€¦ are you happy with it?

Ray

So far so good Ray. I forgot to put loctite on the grub screws for the coupler. So they both flew out. One I found immediately and the other I found the hard way when it wedged itself in between the extrusion and the carriage and caused me to lose X steps.I have since replaced the grub screws and used loctite this time. I just finished a pretty aggressive planing of a large uneven panel glue up (old warped 6" oak flooring planks) and it worked great. Iā€™ve done a couple of carves since getting the new Z. I will post pics as soon as I can.

I am very happy with it so far. Thanks for checking out my post.

1 Like

Got mine last night, but have yet to start trying to fit it. Noticed something though, on the newer X-axis plates with the pulley tensioner nub+screw, how is this supposed to clear that? Has anyone else given this a try? I did notice that they have revised the bottom mounting holes and made it just one hole, but with the tensioner nub in place I donā€™t see how this will fit unless I take my X axis plate to the grinder.

visual of nub:

Thanks,

Dan

Mine was a 2015 version that did not have the tensioner. I doubt they can make a hole big enough in the plate for that could they? Iā€™d probably go ahead and grind it off unless you need to keep it on there for fallback purposes.

1 Like

Very doubtful, it sticks out pretty far.

Yea, Iā€™ve thought about that, but even though Iā€™ve forked out the dough Iā€™m not completely sold on this upgrade until I see it in action for a few hours(for reasons stated in my above replies). I really want it to work though, I wish there was a way to grind it off, but have it still be there for fallback reasons, haha!!! I sent a message to Joe, hoping Iā€™ll hear something soonish.

Wonder if anyone has a 2015 plate they want to part with? @WillAdams , hypothetically speaking, if I were to destroy this plate does C3D sell it by itself? Just hypothetically of course, as in I donā€™t have this plate up against my grinding wheel, ā€¦just yet :wink:

Thanks,

Dan

While as a matter of policy we donā€™t sell Ć  la carte parts, we will sell replacements to folks whose machine have damaged parts which need replacing.

Actually, on second look, it sticks out about 0.384" and the back plate on the Z slider is 0.375", so you could in fact mill a hole completely through and it would still miss the workings of the slider. The hole would have to be about 0.5" to clear, but I think there would still be enough material to hold the bottom single screw bolting the slider to the plateā€¦itā€™d be awfully close though since the newer plate has a slot for the bottom/center hole instead of a straight hole. If I were to go that direction Iā€™d rather have the earlier version of the slider with two holes at the bottom for security. I have a whole weekend to look at it though, and we have a Bridgeport mill at work that I have ā€œsomeā€ access to so I could get that hole dead on.

Question, on your version of the slider, do the two bottom mounting holes also thread into the bottom screw holding plate? I wonder if on mine it would be a matter of boring a 1/2" hole, then removing the bottom plate screws, and using those threaded holes to mount the bottom? Any idea what the thread pitch is?

Thanks,

Dan

1 Like

@DanoInTx I recommend you email Joe and see what he says. Iā€™m assuming his testing was done with an older style plate like mine, so he will need to incorporate that hole in his design to accommodate all of the new plates. My package only came with M5 screws for mounting the slider and M4s for mounting the motor. Iā€™m not sure what size Joe used for the bottom center hole. He is usually pretty fast to respond via email - cnc4newbie@gmail.com

Iā€™ve contacted Joe and he has replied, apparently Iā€™m the first with this issue, so Iā€™m going to take some measurements and send them to him so he can accommodate the adjuster nub. Weā€™ll see how it goes.

Thanks,

Dan

Small update. Iā€™ve just discovered in addition to the adjustment nub thereā€™s also a clash with the four PEM nuts used to hold the stock Z stepper motor in place. On earlier versions I suspect because belt adjustments were made by lifting the stepper they didnā€™t have these permanent nuts @dtilton71 can you confirm?

Thanks,

Dan

Not on my Z plate. I have a picture above of my plate prior to installing the new slider. Mine does not have PEM nuts there, just holes. I can see the PEMs you are referring to in your photo above.

I never thought Iā€™d be so happy to have the old plate.

1 Like

Also definitely worth mentioning, Joe at CNC4NEWBā€™s is really quick to respond to emails and is already planning to correct these issues for folks with later model X plates like mine, great customer service!!!

Yep, I didnā€™t think so, mostly because there is no way to move the stepper for belt adjustment on the current plate, thanks for confirming. Funny, I didnā€™t even think to look at your pictures above, Iā€™m getting so blind these days I doubt Iā€™d be able to pick those tiny PEM nuts out unless you zoomed way in.

Thanks,

Dan