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 
.
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.
OK…of course, now, I need to know when to do this upgrade. Do I do it while assembling the HDZ or do I get the HDZ on and the retrofit the sensors? Can I even do that? Will I have access to the screw holes unless the HDZ is off the Shapeoko?
Also - the video shows a replacement of electronics on the board - it would be great to have some documentation on this, to make sure I put the right thing in the right place.
Strange to be left alone on this.
i just received and edited mine today. and actually, i was looking for it too… and i came across this video.
I didn’t need some parts, like aluminium brackets, to hold the “plastic tracks, for the cables”
(I scratched my head for a moment…) 
everything is working fine. I’m happy, more than happy to modify his sukkit.
Might be worth reaching out to support. From what I’m gathering, looks like it’s been a hectic couple weeks over there, so documentation may be lagging behind slightly.
Based on what I see through video (and having not gone through the process) it looks like you can do this all with the HDZ installed. Nothing looks hard to reach once installed. Though you could certainly do it with the HDZ off the machine as well.
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@GJM
undo all the old Homing Switch (open the “caterpillars” where the elcetric wires are) set up the hdz, and take care of the new Inductive Homing Switch. do it all the same day. it’s easier.
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