Ok. Thank you. When purchasing the HDZ upgrade, I was under the impression that I was also purchasing the easy tram system. What do you understand by the term “should suffice”? In any engineering endeavour, I don’t usually hear “that may do” or “it is somewhere there abouts”.
From the Carbide 3D web page information on the Shapeoko HDZ for Shapeoko 3
This is the Heavy-Duty Z, or HDZ, a premium Heavy Duty Z/X axis for your Shapeoko 3. The HDZ is precision-milled and designed to replace your existing X/Z carriage. It is a significant upgrade that offers additional rigidity, EZ-Tram, and zero loss of Z clearance.
Further down the page the bullet points state:
- 150mm of Z-travel
- 15mm machined aluminum back plate
- EZ-Tram plate for quick router alignment
- Suitable for heavy 2.2kw spindles - supported in our new 80mm mount
- Includes inductive proximity switches and mounts for X, Y, and Z.
- Fully supported by Carbide 3D and Carbide Motion
Nowhere does it state that the EZ-Tram system does not get used with an 80mm HD spindle mount. I was mislead into thinking that it was an integral part of the system that I was buying into. I noted that the issue was flagged in January 2021 by @nixman. The post mentions specifically that the descriptor should note that the EZ-Tram plate will not work with the HD spindle mounts.
Here we are three years hence and still no mention of the issue. I am in agreement with @nixman and feel the issue should have been noted for prospective buyers. He also mentioned the soft bolts and as I have just suffered with a cap head falling off the bolt, I am minded to ask, what material are the bolts fashioned from? Not every bolt needs to be very strong and the range of steel which can be machined for bolts is vast. A2 stainless, Marine Stainless, High Tensile Steel.
For now, I have rough trammed my 80mm HD mount and torqued the bolts to 5 N-m.
