Introducing HDZ 4.0

Send an email to sales@carbide3d.com if you want to know what version HDZ is being shipped but as the name on this thread says it is a 4.0 HDZ. The HDZ has been out of stock for some time so the new ones they have built should be 4.0, but ask sales to be sure.

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  1. I was thinking, regarding the deflection in the wasteboard, of going to the local quarry and bashing the rocks together until i came up with an idea… like going inside, and buying a thick 1.5” slab of granite countertop, having them surface grind & polish it flat, & seeing what kind of tolerance they can hold across it. Build the machine on that slab, & then wipe on a couple microns of frekote sealer & mold release, and adhere the wasteboard to it, surface the wasteboard, & Bob’s your uncle. The whole works is squared to the granite surface, & the slab sits on vibration dampening rubber bumpers. …& maybe an air cushion.

  2. All are 4.0’s. This was discussed previously. There have been no other models left to sell for quite some time.

  1. I believe that what you’re wanting here is a granite inspection plate:

Still kicking myself for not buying one to put under my Nomad the last time Woodcraft had them for sale.

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Many DIY CNC-ers do something like this but to get the machine really flat on top of the solid base they do an epoxy pour of the mounting base for the linear rails to get them really level. Then you machine the spoilboard flat.

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Has anyone been able to retrofit suck it dust boot to hdz? I know they sell a kit for this but they have been out of stock of everything for awhile and said they may have it available at the earliest middle of September

Did you see this thread yet?

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Thanks. I had not seen that thread yet

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I ordered about 30 mins after they went live, and just received a shipping notification. Thanks C3D that was quick, now I have to find a way to explain the purchase to the wife.

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As did I! Looking forward to it (not the explanation part)!

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Lucky you.lol
I place my order exactly 8 minutes after it went live and still haven’t gotten a shipping notification.
I inquired about it today and was told it would ship by next week.
I guess the orders aren’t processed in the order they’re received…

Want to make sure I’m reading the Z height specs of the offerings correctly.

Z-Plus is same as original belt Z machines with 3 inches (76mm) of Z height travel.

HDZ is 150mm of Z height travel ie closer to 6 inches?

Does that translate to more working height for Z or is the assumption you’re using a much larger/taller router which keeps working height about same? I don’t necessarily need more rigidity or a larger router but more Z would be nice. Apologies if this has been covered already.

The Z Plus has a slightly restricted reach downward, many people end up putting more spoilboard on the base in order to use small short bits.

The HDZ can plunge way down, with a big spindle it can easily reach well below the base, which is great if you make a vertical clamp for the front of the machine to machine the ends / edges of workpieces.

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Does an ability to plunge deeper infer a higher retraction too? In my case I’m only interested in more z travel for a taller part sitting on the wasteboard. thanks

The HDZ is limited to being a bit below the X rail because of the V wheels so that pretty strongly limits the total Z height you can work with on the machine.

But yes, there’s loads of travel, which is very useful for getting big bits back out of the work. I’ve taken to doing joinery on 2x4s with 1/2 inch cutters now.

What size / depth workpieces and bits do you need to run?

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Ah, thanks for the info. I have a part I’m thinking about designing and it’s more of a machining ability would inform the feature decisions I’d make versus having an immediate need right now. I’m still a newbie so should probably just stick with stock machine til my skill matches my desire for upgrades :grinning:.

Good thinking, learning the machine and what you want to do before upgrading is a better way to spend your money and time on the things that will matter to you. That’s why no two Shapeokos look the same after 12 months. Learning to square, tram, adjust V wheels and belt tensions, how to do workholding will keep you quite busy.

So far as HDZ clearance and travel, here’s mine with a 1/8" bit in the collet, there’s just over 100mm from the top of my spoilboard to the bottom of the HDZ metalwork, that will vary with spoilboard thickness, mine’s on it’s last levelling before being replaced;

I’ve set my spindle in the clamp so I can easily hit the wasteboard with even a small 1/8" cutter, that’s about 10mm into the hole;

But you can also load up bigger cutters in a spindle on the HDZ and use them effectively thanks to the travel, here’s a 1/2" cutter in the collet with 95mm clearance to the spoilboard, I could get that up to 100mm by sliding the spindle up in the clamp;

Here’s the same cutter 48mm below the front edge where I can cut into things in a vertical clamp;

And the full travel in that same location of 140mm bottom to top with 5mm clearance to the HDZ metalwork

Remember, the further down from the X rail you come, the bigger the leverage and the more the deflection when cutting so only run long cutters low down when the workpiece requires that.

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Just got mine today!!! Will be setting it up and giving it a run through over the weekend!

Yay!

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Ooookay…so FYI gang:
The 4.0 documentation is not up to date with the release of the product because of the homing switch replacement.
The referenced video is for 3.3 - there is no 4.0 video.
The proximity switch kit does not come with instructions - so there is nothing to tell you what goes where or how to set/test them. Is there a video or document somewhere that I"m just missing?

Overview video for the homing switch here:

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Thank you! I may have missed this reference…but I didn’t see it.