Shapeoko 3 xxl waste board

How To
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Hi, im brand new to cnc machines and looking to learn. Im in the process of putting together a shapoko 3 xxl and hae a question about the waste board. Ive been reading about custom waste boards and see alot of files and designs out there. My question may seem stupid but are these modifications made to the stock waste board that comes in the box or are you buying an extra piece of mdf, modifing that and attaching it to the stock waste board? Thanks.

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The stock waste board on the SO3xxl is a two piece MDF setup.
Some have used one big solid MDF piece.
Some have added a second on top of the original.
I have seen people use HDPE as waste board.
There are those who have more expensive aluminium base board.

It all depends on environmental factors, preferences and need for rigidity.

It is up to you as a maker to find out what your need is.

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The easiest and relative cheap way to get better results on a SO3 is to prevent waste board sag.

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My recommendations would be:

  • support the entire machine using a sheet of foam (this will help to address sag
  • if you’re not installing T-tracks, install a supplemental sheet of MDF which is the size of the working area plus the radius (along Y) and diameter (along X) of the tool which you plan to use to flatten your working area — with rounded corners at the back

Then either add T-tracks to that (unfortunately the Carbide 3D system has been sold out for a while), or threaded inserts — my inclination these days for an SO3 is threaded inserts — but rather than just add them everywhere, keep a master file and add them as-needed, where-needed, so that one is guaranteed of using each insert at least once.

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So you’d suggest a supplemental piece of say 3/4 mdf top of the original 2 pieces that came with it, then add the threaded insert to that? Then attach that supplemental piece to the original, do i have that correct?

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Yes, but I’ve given up on installing the threaded inserts from the bottom — easiest to just screw the supplemental piece in place (I would suggest using nylon hardware for this just in case) — just machine a suitable recess and screw them in from the top, installing them as low as you feel comfortable with.

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Thanks, i appreciate the input!!

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I have an SO3 XXL. I have a document that I created specifically for the XXL but would apply to any machine that wants a supplemental spoilboard. I go through how to decide the size and the type of hold downs you will use for the supplemental spoilboard.

spoilboard_considerations.pdf (1.3 MB)

I also have one for building a torsion box. I have built mine and use a piece of 3/4" foam to support the bottom of the SO3 XXL. If you do nothing the center base of the XXL will sag.

torsion_box.pdf (2.0 MB)

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