sgspenceley submitted a new resource: Inner OX wheel plate - Strengthen your OX gantry assembly using inner plates Read more about this resource...
Hi IsaaX, I would suggest 20 gauge stainless steel or mild steel. I used stainless steel because I wanted it to look good and be very stiff.
Steve what are your thoughts on the stiffness gains that come from an inner plate versus the gains that could be made by joining and stiffening between the 2 y axis instead? ( or indeed bolting down the 2 Y extrusions to a rigid table like the charging ox - link) I cant decide which way to go!
Hi Mathew, I think both solutions have merit. If I was building an larger OX I would bolt the axis rails to the base, my OX is relatively small 750mm by 500mm so I did not see flex in the Y axis extrusion but could see movement in the wheels when testing and the X gantry crabed. If you choose to secure the Y axis you could still use just an upper plate brace plate to tie these wheels together. Adding full height corner braces and bolting the X axis beams together is worth the effort.
I would love to get a price to cut 2 of the plates out of stainless - I am just putting together the parts that I need for this built and felt your interior plates were a great feature. Thanks - Mike - [email protected]
I built a 1000mm x 1500mm OX with the inside plates but I'd trade them in a heart beat for brackets to mount the Y rails to the table. My machine still cuts nice but Y rail flex is definitely one of the limiting factors