HDZ/VFD Spindle Upgrade on Shapeko 3 XXL

[MadHatter]

@QCDvacuum

You have just made me think about linear rails now. The surgery required to swap the belts for linear rails is possible and would be the ultimate upgrade, plus or minus a 32bit controller.

Well, here is an overview of someone who did just that.

Shapeoko on the Rails!

I have wanted to add linear rails to my SO3 for well over a year (I had 4x 600mm HG15 rails in a box since Nov of 2018 ). I just wasn’t satisfied with the HDZ, I was getting a lot of chatter still and broke a few v-wheels when cutting into 6061. Let alone having to do such shallow DOC, really wasn’t pleasing and depending on the LOC of the endmill using only 5% or less of it. Also, what else I got to do? I’m not very artistic, so I just resort to modding my toys […

I started my upgrade by buying a used XXL and planned on doing the work with my XXL then doing the swap of the rails and re-asseme the new XXL in short order.

Then things happened and I didn’t finish it, then the SO5 Pro came out, and I want the 4 x 4 cutting area, so I stopped upgrading and sold the extra XXL.