Hello everyone. I bought the C-Beam kit and I would like to know what everyone is doing to make this machine more rigid? Should I use metal wheels, linear rails? What can you suggest? There is way too much flex in this machine that I’m kind of frustrated with the money I spent on it. Please help me out on what I should do! Thanks to all who reply!
I bought the cbeam plate maker. The cbeam that is used for the X has some flex and the Z has some flex. It honestly doesn’t allow me to cut thin aluminum. I can grab the Z carriage and twist it to the left and right and also front to back.
One tip that I can offer - and I don't know if this will help you...is to take the removal of material slow and shallow...making several passes rather than trying to hog it out in one fast cut. Apart from that, many many people, including us here at OpenBuilds successfully mill aluminum and yes, make plates as well. Interested to hear how you make out.
Before you look at cutting parameters, you first need to look at where the flex is coming from as that doesnt sound right. Give it a wiggle or two, but follow the trail. Look for what exactly is giving. Incorrectly adjusted eccentrics spacers, Loose wheels, loose bolts, something just sounds like it wasnt assembled quite like it should be And just checking but where did you buy the kit from?
I will go over the wheels now that it’s all built and recheck the tension and go over bolts. I will definitely post my results and findings over this weekend.
Getting handson is going to be the best way, wiggling on it will help you see and feel what is loose Good luck! Have a good weekend!
I have the same machine and while it can "cut" aluminum, it's really not a metal machine. The amount of flex inherent in the design means a very shallow DOC and fairly gentle ramping as well. I am able to cut 60 mil aluminum but it is sooo slow. There are several mods that can beef it up but each one will push the flex to the next point. Where does it end? Sure, you can add dual ball screws, linear rails, add lots of metal to the beams, beefier plates, ... I love my CBeam machine - it's fine for cutting wood and plastic. But, I don't think it's worth the effort and cost to beef up. I am in the final stages of selecting a new machine that is inherently more rigid and has a larger work envelope. It should allow me to cut at least at 6000 mm/min. Not surprisingly, it is around 10X the cost of the CBeam.
