X-Carve Y Axis Stiffener

thingiverse

This is meant to make the Y axis rails of the X-Carve stiffer by providing a tie between the rail and the table the machine is attached to. There are two sets of pieces, 4 brackets which tie into the side waste board mounting holes and brackets (I used 4 on each side) which tie the Y rails to the table top the X-Carve is sitting on. Pre-insertion nuts are inserted into the upper and lower inner grooves of the Y rails and a M5x10 Button Head Cap Screw is fastened through the stiffener and into the groove and nut. Four M5x30 Button Cap Screws (longer than what came with the X-Carve) are used for the brackets which fasten to the waste board mounting holes. Assuming the table top is at least 3/4" thick a Kreg 1 1/4" course pocket screw then fastens the stiffener to the table top. The pocket screw is at an angle so the pocket screw driver will clear the Y rail for easy installation. I can confirm that these stiffeners made a significant difference on my machine - peck drilling in Fusion 360 now works significantly better because the flex is gone. Total parts required (as I installed, fewer brackets might be sufficient): 4 x printed waste board mounted brackets 8 x printed counter mounted brackets 24 x M5 pre-assembly nuts 24 x M5-10 button head bolts 4 x M5-30 button head bolts 8 x 1 1/4" course thread Kreg pocket screws (and you'll need a square driver for them) I've added a third file for a bracket where the reinforcement starts 10mm lower. This is for X-Carve owners who have a 30mm bolt attaching the lower V-wheels on their Y plates. The 30mm bolts collide with the outside brackets. If you (like me) use 25mm bolts to attach the adjustable V-wheels you may find they just clear the brackets.