samc99us wrote:Hey Louis,
What is the z-axis travel on the Routakit SD and HD? Any thoughts on making these available separately? I ask as the strong OX and other open source builds rely on pre-manufactured z-axis solutions, and their really aren't many out there.
Also, mind sharing some details on the belt tensioning system you are using? It is a fair bit different from the stock from what I can make out in the photos....
Keep up the great work!
Best,
Sam
Effective Z travel for the SD is 4 inches and 6 inches for the HD. The SD has about 4 inches of clearance from the bottom of the carriage assembly to the top of the work bed (assuming it's 3/4" thick). The HD has about 5-3/4" of clearance, it used to be 6 inches but I optimized it to ensure the tip of any end mill (including small 1/16th ones) can touch the work bed.
The belt tensioning system is still a work in progress, but it's better than before. To give you an idea it's somewhat similar to the Xcarve, though the photos don't show our newest developments. We think it's probably one of the better ways of tensioning the belts without having to strain and pop a blood vessel when dealing with thicker and wider belts like that of the SD and HD.
Edit: I forgot to answer your other question. We may make the z-axis/x-carriage assemblies available separately at our store, but as of now in order to keep things streamlined and focused on our end we will only be offering mechanical and full kits for the time being. Though if anyone on the forums PMs me asking for just a partial kit we can try to work something out.