Just posting some pics of my upgrade to v2 (v2?) of the machine. I was already planning on making the CNC bigger, so i figured while I have it apart, I’d use the new parts!
My original build was the suggested size, using a cheap harbor freight trim router, which works great. New size will have a print size of just over 48"x32", big enough where I can cut a 4’x8’ sheet in 3 sections using tiling. table size had to be 60"x44" (if i did my calculations right)
I’ll post some pics once it’s all set!
Hey, wanhao! How do you like having the control box on top?
Yep, it’s the monoprice rebrand of it, but same exact thing afaik.
I would have preferred the control box somewhere else, but the cables are so damn short! I kind of rigged that top platform up with a piece of mdf held on by some zip-ties, but it works well. I had to relocate the spool holder to the back of the cabinet i built for it. I should have thought it out better to let it hang above the machine, but I didn’t build the cabinet tall enough after I installed the drawer platform that lets the machine slide in and out.
oh, and an update picture! A mess, but a work in progress. I lowered those legs down to half that height which really cut down on the wobble when using the router. I got the MDF spoilboard mounted, just need to run a leveling run over the bed to make it parallel and i’ll be good, hopefully!
It looks great. I think we all have “a mess” just like yours! Thank you for sharing. I plan to upgrade to V2 soon too
Cool mess!! Where have i seen it ? 
I haven’t updated my build in awhile, so here it is. I planned my cutting size to be 48x32, but i didn’t take into account my dust collection pipe (which is a necessity, and works amazingly), so I get 31.5 x 48.5 cutting size. I installed a spoilboard, leveled it, and put in T-nuts every 4 inches, and then 3d printed some hold downs. I put end stops on X and Y for homing, so that when i switch bits, i can continue a cut and have everything line up perfectly. I also made a “touch plate” to make sure i’m homing Z consistently.
I use this machine DAILY. I still need to do some cable management, put the ramps and arduino in an enclosure with a fan, and figure out why the Z axis isn’t as sturdy as it should be, but other than that, it’s freaking awesome.
You can make the z much more stable if ou take off the rigid pieces to the vac hose and connect the hose directly to the mount. The rigid pieces act as a lever arm and most definitely move the spindle around as it moves, even though you did a great jot of keeping the hose slack it will affect accuracy. You can test this quickly with a pen and draw two very large squares or circles, one with the lever arm one without. You should see a difference.
Also I can tell if it is or not but the router cord should be zip tied to the gantry to avoid the same issue, along with the hose if possible.
Pretty cool map. I think South America might be in the wrong place though…
@vicious1: Router cable is zip tied to top of Z, is that what you meant? I thought the dust collection might be an issue hanging off the router like that, but it doesn’t seem to cause an issue, Even with the dust collection off, it’s not tight around the X and Y tubes. It’s hard to explain, I’ll take a video tonight to illustrate.
@Jeff: DOH! I knew something didn’t look right! hah, it’s actually cut completely through, it’s going to be taken out of there and assembled and attached to a 4x8 sheet of plywood. I tried to optimize it and move things around stack things to be cut together to save some plywood.
Nothing should touch the z, that makes it even worse. Anchor everything to the gantry. touching the top of the z is like a torque wrench on the bit. I understand what you are saying about the dust stuff but there is no reason to have a rigid tube there. Mount the hose directly to the bottom of the shoe and anchor it to the gantry. You will be surprised how it helps. I don’t use a dust shoe because I value my accuracy over my time (for now).
