I am looking at buying a used 3 XXL with the original z axis. What are the main drawbacks of keeping that axis as opposed to upgrading it? The cost of the upgrade is about 1/2 the cost of the used machine.
The original belt-drive Z-axis demands a light touch and appropriate feeds and speeds — it’s something of a balancing act to ensure that the machine is always engaged so as to take a cut and form a chip rather than deflect and rub — it’s quite fast for Z-axis movement though, so if working with yielding materials can actually be quicker for a given cut.
I keep a belt-drive Z-axis SO3 Standard at my mother-in-law’s and use it when visiting, and so long as I remember not to send a file which has feeds and speeds tweaked for production on my SO5 Pro, it cuts fine, just takes a little longer.
The other concern is that a precipitous loss of power can result in a plunge/lift which will cause the motor to function as a generator pushing current back up to the controller possibly damaging it (EDIT: though as pointed out below, this is unlikely — it’s a short distance and not that much current) — I make it a point to park the machine, moving the machine to the middle of the Z-axis motion (I set up a Quick Action for this) and put a block of foam under it — I pretty much have to though because my machine is on a folding stand:
Thank you for the detailed response.
That is very unlikely to happen from gravity alone
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I will note that we have the original assembly guide at:
and that a Maintenance Kit for an SO3:
will allow rebuilding a machine to pretty much like new — if one has any difficulties on a machine which are not addressed by that, it should be possible to use the instructions and the existing hardware to work out how to handle things — if not, post here and we should be able to work through any difficulties with you.
I have an SO3 XXL and started with the belt drive Z. I upgraded to the HDZ and it is a fantastic upgrade for an SO3. That said the SO3 is a good machine but the newer SO4/5 are head and shoulders above the abilities of the SO3. It just depends on what you are want to do. Simple vcarves and etc the SO3 is quite capable of but if you are wanting to cut metal it can but is not nearly as capable as its big brothers the SO4 and 5.
The SO3 is a good machine but has limitations and as long as you acknowledge that it will be a good machine. However with the belt Z it is pretty much a boat anchor and not a good boat anchor because it would take up most of the room in the boat.
The belt Z is workable but an upgrade would be the best bet but as you mentioned the cost is up there and then you still have an SO3 underneath. It is your money to spend but keep looking for a used 4/5 or buy yourself a new one. In the long run the 5, although expensive, would be a better long run investment. Plus the SO3 is still supported but it is getting older and older and eventually support will run out before a 4 or 5.
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