Vertical Storage for Shapeoko 3?

Is it possible to store a Shapeoko 3 vertically when not in use? (Come to think of it, is it possible to mill while vertical, assuming it is stable?) Or will it require lots of recalibration when you place it back?

I have seen some full sheet milling systems that were designed to work in unison with gravity. I don’t think the Shapeoko or similar designed systems would be suited for this if you want to retain a good level of precision. Any sort of movement to my system and I would want to re-calibrate or at least verify with a calibration cut to make sure I was within acceptable tolerances, but I am fussy.

1 Like

Potentially you could mount it vertically for storage. Not for use as the drive system is geared up for it. It might however move things so I probably wouldn’t recommend. it. There was a chap who mounted his on a deck linked to pulleys and had it raise/lower from rafters. Apparently it worked well, I don’t know if it lowered onto a desk/workbench or was still suspended.

1 Like

Would not recommend. The Y gantry assembly is not featherweight and would strain the steppers too much.

1 Like

Regarding vertical use, I would also think that the V-wheels are not made for the type of forces that would get exerted on them, in particular the only thing holding the Z-carriage on would be the very thin contact points of the X-axis Vwheels.

2 Likes

Store: Probably ok, but you’ll want to be sure the gantry is resting against blocks, resting against the lower plates in that case to take the load off the belts. If the belts have the extra tension of the gantry hanging on them, they might stretch and need recalibration. For that matter, keeping the base flat will take some care with how you support it - a little torque on it and it’ll be out of square with the spindle again.

The more I think about this, the more hassle it seems.

Run it: I think that’s going to have a lot of problems, and the spring tension in the Z axis is certainly going to be an issue to overcome.

1 Like