This is a half baked idea, but what if we had alignment pins in the corner blocks of QCW that picked up receiving hole-and-slot features in the Y-rail feet? Maybe this could help with machine squaring on the QCW? This would require some precision manufacturing of the QCW and for it to be pretty darn square after assembly to work well. Feasible? Not an option? Curious what people think of this. Maybe it over-constrains the machine frame …
cc: @jfleser
Interesting idea but the way that I’m envisioning what you described it would mean that it would be something that 1F themselves would have to do and not something that we could do now. Is that right?
I think that 1F believes (believed??) that with all the construction screws that the QCW couldn’t help but be pulled into square. Have you used the Yaw fine adjustment screws on the ends of the Z rail? I could see something like that for fine adjustment of the squaring as well.
Yeah I’m positioning this as a feature request. A QCW feature that helps keep the machine frame square. I think it’s something we could make ourselves once we have a square machine, but just as a pay it forward type of offering.
Did you mean the screws at either end of the x rail that can be used to (marginally) adjust tramming front to back? I’ve messed with those but have not adjusted any screws on the z rail yet.
Oops. Yes, I see that this is under feature requests now.
Yes, if (once the QCW was assembled) there were similar screws to adjust the XY angle. The way I did it was quite clunky. I’m trying to envision how your idea would work but can’t get it in my head.
I should probably draw it out. Basically, you have precision (location and diameter) pins sticking up out of the feet of the QCW. Then there are precision, receiving hole and slot features on the bottom of the Y rail machined aluminum feet. On each Y rail, one foot gets a hole and the other foot gets a slot. The position of the Y rail feet are then driven by those pins and receiving hole/slot combo, so if they were made precisely they could square the machine. With the way the QCW is currently designed, that would also mean (relatively) tight tolerances on the QCW individual members to ensure the assembly is square. It would also mean relatively tight control of the Y rail lengths OR long slot features on the bottom of the Y rail feet to account for the length variation. Maybe it’s not feasible.
Jace, I have a better understanding now. You should draw it up. Do you have any idea how much 1F pays attention to this thread??