Did my 1st cut yesterday with my new Shapeoko 3 to flatten my wasteboard and the lower wheel on the left Y carriage fell off in the middle of the cut. A real pain to partially dismantle the machine to get that wheel back on, then had to re-level my wasteboard. Is this a reoccurring issue I should be aware of? thanks
First time I hear about a V-wheel falling off during normal operation, so I would say “no”.
Was the eccentric nut tightened properly as far as you can tell before the event ?
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As far as I could tell, yes, the eccentric nut was adjusted to just past the point of “free-wheeling,” i.e. the wheel could not be rotated without the gantry moving, per assembly instructions. I’ll just have to keep an eye on it for awhile. Hopefully it was just a one-off event for some strange reason.
Just so you know (and hopefully you will never have to this now) it is sometimes technically possible to swap v-wheels without disassembling anything, I did it a few weeks ago. I started by loosening the bottom eccentrics nuts to the position of maximal distance between the wheel and the rail, removed the bolts then wheels, at this point the gantry rests on the top vwheels only, then reinstall the news bottom wheels (a bit tricky, since you have to put the wheel in place, slide the washer between the wheel and plate, and then insert the bolt, it’s a fun game, but doable.). For swapping the top wheels I installed a support under the gantry, and proceeded similarly.
But as far as I heard, in recent machines there is a bit less available travel with the eccentric nuts, so it may not be possible anymore
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Yes, it was very tricky to hold the wheel, bolt, washer assembly while trying to screw it in with old fat fingers 
. Also managed to drop the washer which disappeared, but I keep a collection of washers, so was able to replace it. I removed the upper wheels to drop the carriage below the Y rail, but had to squeze my fingers holding the wheel between the Y rail and wasteboard to insert the wheel screw. A real pain.
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Be mindful when tightening the eccentric nuts. I had a similar problem. My issue was when I adjusted the nuts to tighten up the wheels it loosened it enough for the vibrations to back it all the way out.
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