After figuring out that I had a broken v-wheel (upper right X-axis, on a Shapeoko 3 XXL), I remembered that the guy we bought the machine from had what I assume is a Maintenance Kit. That’s great, except for that the wheels that are currently in the machine all have essentially flat sides on the outside of the plastic part of the wheel, and the ones in the Maintenance Kit are definitely what I’d call beveled. I believe it’s on Carbide3D.com where it says that the v-wheels for the 3 and 4 are NOT compatible
My question is, which machine are the flat ones for, and are the beveled ones for the other, or just newer design?
The v-wheels only ride on the v on the rails. So any flats on old or new wheels are not important.
If you replace the v-wheel there is a little washer between the side plate and the v-wheel. Be sure you put that back in place or you v-wheel will rub on the side frame. I use a punch to hold the v-wheel and washer in place while I insert the bolt.
V-wheels for an SO4 are much larger than for an SO3.
The beveling was a redesign done in summer 2016 I believe, or maybe a later revision — they should work on your machine, but when you replace the V-wheels on any axis, do all 4 at a time, and when you do the Y-axis, loosen both of the Y-axis rails, remove the entire gantry, and then reinstall and allow the new wheels to set the position along the X-axis (left–right) of the Y-axis rails.
@WillAdams : Is the difference between the v-wheels for the 3 and 4 in diameter? Is it visibly noticeable? So are you saying that both flat and beveled wheels are for the 3? Is it surprising that I have flat/non-beveled wheels on a machine built in 2019 (according to the Shapeoko plate on one of the Y-axis rails)? Sorry for all the questions, I’m just trying to avoid screwing up this newfangled machine, and my partner who’s finding this thing would like that too
