Hey everyone. First of all I want to thank everyone for all the wisdom, advice, and inspiration I have found on this forum. I am wanting to upgrade my Workbee 1010 to a 1510. It will mostly be used for wood, but I would like it to be strong enough to handle aluminum when I need it to. This thread is to share my current plan for upgrades and to get feedback from the group. For the Y axis, I plan on purchasing 1500mm c-beam and mounting them directly to the mdf top on my stand/bench. On top of those will be 1500mm linear guides. (2X HGH15 Linear Guideway Rail Shaft Rod 300-1500 with 4pcs HGH15CA Block Bearing | eBay) OR (https://www.amazon.com/OrangeA-15-1...+linear+guide&qid=1566390043&s=gateway&sr=8-3 The bearing blocks will be attached to the Y plates with aluminum angle. 8mm leadscrews will be too flimsy so I am going to order 1/2 inch leadscrews from McMaster-Carr and machine my own antibacklash nuts from Delrin. For the X axis I will use the 1000mm c-beam that is currently used as my Y axis. Since I have 2 of them I plan on using both on the X instead of 1 c-beam and 1 20x40. I am hoping this will strengthen my X axis a bit. Both the X and Y will be ran by high torque Nema 23s. (For now i am going to stick with the wheels on the X and Z. I will upgrade these to linear guides in a couple months when I have more funds) In order to accomodate the C-beam support that will replace the 20x40 on the X axis, add strength and rigidity, and increase the height of my Z axis, I will be machining my own Y plates out of 1/2 inch 6061. These will be 2" taller than standard. ( I am hoping that by increasing the plate thickness to 1/2" and replacing the 20x40 with cbeam I will more than compensate for the extra deflection caused by increasing the height of the Y plates. If anyone has any comments, recommendations, or criticism PLEASE comment. Thanks for reading!!
Hey Jacob. Sounds pretty good. In order to lay the new Y c-beam directly on the bench, you'll also need to modify the Y end plates. I'm sure you've thought through all of this, but here's another approach. Use the existing Y end plates and brace the Y c-beams similar to what I've done in the image below. My deflection went from .017" to .002". This way you dont lose any Z height. Then, instead of custom 2" taller Y plates, you can do 1" taller. Cheaper and more rigid than 2" taller plates.
Consider turning your existing base framing crosswise to support the side rails. It'll not only provide both vertical and lateral rail support nicely it'll also eliminate the need to buy longer members or do creative splicing.
Thanks for the tips! I plan on making new endplates for the y cbeam anyway so I can fit the bearing for the larger leadscrew.
