S03: Assembly Guide (XXL)

Oh, and for #7 ā€” we have a bit on it on the wiki: http://www.shapeoko.com/wiki/index.php/Shapeoko_3#Belts as well as some reference information: http://www.shapeoko.com/wiki/index.php/Belts_and_Pulleys and a technique is described in the assembly instructions for the basic SO3: http://carbide3d.com/files/so3manual.pdf

The guide for tensioning the y belts is no longer correctā€¦ at least itā€™s not for the XXL, the servos donā€™t slide up and down if you look at the instructions step 1 you can see.

Iā€™ll post some pictures later today of my build and explain some of the issues I had, Z belt tension being probably one of the more annoying onesā€¦ on mine they tensions the Z belts when they assembled everythingā€¦ only problem is you have to take it apart to put the router mount on lol.

I think I was missing a screw for the Z plate that is used to tension the belt to push down on the bottom guide.

Other things to note: There was no front plate for the top of the Z/X axes assembly Itā€™s not on the parts list and itā€™s also not in the assembly instruction so I assume it isnā€™t required but you do need the parts that are used to mount it in order to mount the cable chain L bracket on the back, you can see the standoffs in picture #5. I have to say it gives the front of the machine a unfinished look.

Wiring- It would have been nice to know you can unclick the top of the cable chainā€¦ threading those cables through the giant chain with the connectors was not funā€¦ profanity ensued. OR maybe I should have sent the wires though before I attached the cable chain to the machineā€¦ oh well.

There are 4 cables for the servos ā€¦ if you look at page 34 of the normal instructions http://carbide3d.com/files/so3manual.pdf you will see the little sticky pads I think that will help people that might be having issues with wiring. ā€œwhy is this wire so shortā€

I also got an extra Z belt.

It was a PITA to get the X belt on as well I totally forgotā€¦ It would have been easier to thread through before sliding the x/z assemblage onto the rail. I could have just done that and taped them to the top so they werenā€™t in the way while I installed the unit.

You can tell Iā€™m really busy at work today based on my giant post.

Updated Assembly guide uploaded to the top post. I think you will all find this one to be more complete.

Thanks for the patience.

-Edward

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Itā€™s so complete Itā€™s got stuff that hasnā€™t even been shipped yet :wink: cough homing switches cough.

No picture of you getting that belt through the back of the X/Z carriage I see. :smiling_imp:

Edward,

Thank you for the updated manual and the drag chain detail and photos.

I had to splice a set of regular homing switches in order to put that XXL together. You can see some kapton tape in one of the photos. :frowning:

@lxkhn - Iā€™ve added a page detailing how to route the X-Axis belt. Let me know if thatā€™s what youā€™re looking for.

The link in the top post is to our dropbox and should now always point to the latest version of the guide.

-Edward

Thatā€™s exactly what I meant about the X axis belt. I think this clears up all my issues.

For some reason I couldnā€™t get the z axil low enough to install the router mountā€¦

Just to follow up on the concern that the Y-Right stepper extension is too short. Thereā€™s no way you could have known this, because it wasnā€™t in the previous guide

12 links need to be removed from the Y-Axis drag chain.

Iā€™ve made a note about this in the current assembly guide, so hopefully it doesnā€™t trip anyone else up.

-Edward

Hi, I apologize that I probably missed this but does anyone know what the lengths of the four motor cables are supposed to be for the XL? Iā€™m afraid I must be doing something wrong based on previous comments because my YR cable seems quite short. Thanks!

I measured and my YR is approximately 58", while my YL is about 48". I removed 12 links from my chain and my YR still looks quite short. Take a look at my pictures and let me know if any of you see what I might be doing wrong. Thanks!

You can take a bunch of lengths out of that cable chain which will give you extra cable length to play with. You only need enough cable chain to allow the machine to move to the position it is shown in the picture. Anything more is just overkill and causes the chain to run further than needed over the front of the Y axis rail when its at the other end of the Y travel. It looks like you could take at least 12 links out of the Y axis cable chain.

Thanks for the help, Tony! I ended up taking out 29 total links and it looks like it will work. Iā€™ll end up needing to loop some of the longer cables somewhere so Iā€™ll need to decide on the best spot to do that.

I have a XXL and a couple of the cables were way too long also. I mounted my control box outside of an enclosure that I made which allowed me to just tuck the extra cable between the Y rail and the enclosure wall.

One concern which I have here is that the cable lengths for the two Y-axis motors should be kept the same (coil the excess?)

AIUI, This is to keep the motor responses the same due to resistance not differing.

Ok, Iā€™m very embarrassed to ask this, but how do I get this thing running? Iā€™m trying to make the ā€œHello Worldā€ sheet, and when I connect to Carbide Motion, it doesnā€™t seem to let me do anything. I went to ā€œJogā€ to try to move things, and nothing happens. I did take off the control cover and noticed a small red light flashing on the circuit panel. Sorry for the rookie questions, but is there somewhere that has an easy step by step list of instructions? Thanks!

I do get an error when I get into Carbide Motion that says Machine Parameters are Invalid, so Iā€™m sure I am doing something wrong, just donā€™t know what it is.

Make sure the power to the machine is on. Also check to make sure the USB cable is connected to both the controller and the computer.

Ha, I am even more embarrassed nowā€¦where is the power? I have the power adaptor plugged into the wall and the machine, and I have the USB cord plugged into the computer and the machineā€¦is there a switch that I need to turn on somewhere?

Just to be clear, the power is plugged into the wall and the green light is on the power adaptor, which is plugged into the controller.

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Yep, found the switchā€¦did not see that on the cord. Thanks for the help and sorry that you had to listen to an idiot on a Saturday night!