I haven’t found much on required table space for the Journeyman X50.
I’m trying to decide if I can make use of this bench that I have or need to build new. This is very sturdy and rigid. Just the frame weighs over 250 pounds (two people can not pick it up) and is made from 1/8" x 2-1/2" steel angle all welded together. I covered the top with 3/4" ply and had my benchtop mortiser and a big dovetail jig mounted on it. Both of those are gone now and I’d like to use this but the problem I see is the depth is only 29 inches. It’s 75 inches wide so I think I have more than enough room there but for the Journeyman X50 I believe I need a minimum of 50 inches in depth is that correct? If I use this there will be about 11.5 inches of overhang on the front and the back. So need to look into how to build the top so that it will have the rigidity needed.
This bench is only 33 inches high so I was thinking of building a torsion box top 3 x 52 x 75. That would bring the work surface up to 36 inches and give me lots of room on the sides. Eventually I want to have an enclosure so I want to allow for that. Do I need more than 52 inches front to back?
I would prefer to make this work rather than start from scratch.
I believe the width could be much less since they imply the Onefinity controller beside it (which I wouldn’t do this way), but for the depth I believe it’s realistic.
Thanks for the reply and OK on the width, I knew my 75 inches of available space was more than needed. If 49" is the recommended depth I think I will go with 52 inches so I have room for an enclosure hopefully. I don’t want the thing hanging off the edge.
But when I look in the “Onefinity Specifications ALL Machines” booklet, it leads you to believe that you only need 48" of depth. in the table ‘A’ is the maximum width to the outside of the feet on the Y rails. Since I have enough room to place the display off to the side it seems that the recommended 49 or maybe 48 inches might be enough for the depth. Being able to go with 48 inches would simplify construction.
I’d like to build before the machine arrives but I think I better wait and get my own measurements once I put it together.
Also some people did build a table for Onefinity Woodworker, but while there were waiting for the arrival of the machine, the Onefinity Journeyman was released, leading to discussions like:
So what I kept in mind then: When I canceled my order for a Onefinity Woodworker X-35 (32″×32″ workarea) in favor of ordering a Onefinity Journeyman X-50 (48″×32″ workarea) when it was suddenly released, and I was happy to not have build the table already, I’ve decided while I’m at it to build a table for Onefinity Master X-50 Y-50 (48″×48″ workarea) right away.
Thanks, some good insights there and more to think about. I believe I should hold off on the build. I want to get my machine up and running ASAP but by the time it gets here I will have no time to learn the ropes and be able to make anything for this holiday season.
So best to concentrate on getting it setup right and learning what makes it tick. I don’t think I could squeeze a larger footprint CNC in my shop, not without disrupting the workflow around all the other tools and I have that working well for me.
Thanks for your thoughts, they have helped me decide on my next move. I’m going to research and gather the materials I need to make the benchtop but hold off on putting it together until the Journeyman arrives.
The table you have is impressing, I wish I had such here.
This is why I ordered the QCW Frame and the Any Surface Leveling System together with the machine. It is something out of the box which would allow setup and testing the cnc machine even without having any table. This way you can build the table with the experience you have gained with the machine.
There is so much to read in order to reach a good ability to use a CNC milling machine, my experience. So much.
You say your table is 48 inches deep. It looks like you have a couple inches in front of the Y rails. Does the dust boot overhang the front of the table?
I also ordered the QCW from above frame and the leveling system. I don’t see how you can setup the machine without leveling out the rails. It seems to me that all four corners need to be in the same plane else the rails will be racked.
You can measure them diagonally and they might agree but that is only checking that the frame is square. It says nothing about if one or more feet are at a different elevation than the others. And if they are then you will introduce twist into the spindle as it travels along the rails.
Think of it as if you had a twisted board that you were wanting to run through a router table. The bit is fixed perpendicular to the table surface but your wood is rocking up and down because it is twisted and hence the edge created during the cut will be twisted too. Same thing happens on a lathe if the bed is not parallel to the center line of the lathe. The distance between the bit and the work will be constantly changing and you’ll always be turning with a slight taper not a true cylinder.
On pieces that are less than 3/4" in thickness they may only be a few thou out but to me it seems this could cause fit issues when doing inlay work or other tight fitting joints.
You got exactly to the point of what is important in an assembly base for the Onefinity. Besides the rectangularity between the axes, the planeness of the assembly surface is crucial for the Onefinity CNC producing accurate results. This was last discussed here, but the QCW frames had not yet been delivered. (cyberreefguru had a prototype). I’m still waiting for it.
Mathematically, three points in space are always in one plane (a table with three feet can not wobble). So in order to make sure our Onefinity CNC is not twisted, we need to check whether the fourth foot is in the same plane as the three others.
There are at least three methods to check this that I know, but since I’m still waiting for the QCW Frame (and also I unfortunately have not enought time and room to do these things at the moment), I planned to check this in the future and to report it here then (under a topic like “How do I make sure my QCW Frame or Table Top is not twisted?” or similar).
One of the question I asked myself at that time was:
Still I have no answer since I’m still waiting for the QCW Frame.
I am only able to set my Woodworker up in a temporary location at this time, but it has allowed me to work on, and test, its functionality and that of my controller.
However, I still wanted the frame supports to be square and co-planer. For the latter, I attached a heavy mass to both ends of a fine fishing line, and hung it over the top tubes on opposite sides (one at very front, one at very back). I did this a second time with a second line in the opposite orientation which then created an ‘X’ in the middle where the lines crossed. I shimmed my supporting base (double 3/4" MDF) until the lines just touched in the middle.
What you can imagine in your head isn’t always what reality will be. Bob, you asked about having a couple inches in front of the Y rails and asked about the dust boot. You want at least 4" in front of the Y rail simply for any clamping system you may use. In your mind you may think you will just use tape and super glue to hold your work down but in reality you’ll find depending on what works best you’ll use the best way to hold the work down.
For width you will need 6" for the wires that connect to the X-axis. Drag chains reduce this down to about 2". The height of the table also may not be what you think is right in your head. While my table isn’t too high it should be lower. The table doesn’t need to be at a comfortable work height like a work bench. You’ll almost never do any work on it so slightly lower will just make it easier to reach the back of the table. Lots of people make enclosures. I would wait until I was up and running before even thinking about it. Get everything else right first. Why build something only to tear it down to build it over again.
My mind has never even considered blue tape and glue. I just wouldn’t be able to trust it. It might work but I wouldn’t have faith enough to use it.
Cable management is something that I will have to deal with right off. It will drive me crazy to have cables and hoses dragging around. They will be buried on the underside of the table or routed such that they don’t look like cr@p. I have read that using the drag chain is not recommended by Onefinity. I guess because it forces the cables to run close and parallel which with poorly shielded cables would be a problem. So maybe a cable upgrade is in order.
Your comments on table height are valid and I will keep them in mind when building my tabletop. This bench is 33 inches high now, so I will try to keep it below 36 inches to the waste board.
Yes, I want an enclosure but I will wait until I actually have the machine setup and running. I might erect a temporary back wall just to control dust in that direction.
Reaching the back side of the table is going to be a problem for me. I will have room to get to the sides and reach in from there but that’s not as good as being able to walk all around I know. I’ll just have to deal with it somehow. I don’t really have room
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Aiph5u
(Aiph5u (not affiliated with Onefinity))
13
Hey Bob,
I was surprised to see that this guy apparently tapes and glues everything and what he is doing are interesting things… and a lot of them.
Messed around today and got the dust boot on. You’re right- the table needs to be (I’d say) at least 52" if you have an enclosure planned in the future. I’ll have to get creative when building mine.
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Aiph5u
(Aiph5u (not affiliated with Onefinity))
15
Hey Bob,
as far as I know, they didn’t say not recommended, but not supported.
Here in Germany we use this for 3-phase high-frequency spindles: LAPP ÖLFLEX® CLASSIC FD 810 CY. It has double shield and it is specially designed for use in Power Chains. I use 4 × 1,5 mm² (3+PE) for 2.2 kW.
FWIW,
I flipped my y rails to the front and I am using 49" wide MDF (with some trim to clean up the edge) for depth and have enough room with no overhand of the dust boot (Suckit Pro) and should have just enough for the enclosure using extruded Aluminum frame,
Did I see on here somewhere that there is a dust boot available that routes the hose behind the router?
If so wouldn’t that reduce the overall space required front to back. It would be the same as flipping the Y rails to put the motors in the front basically but the motors would remain in the rear.
Aiph5u
(Aiph5u (not affiliated with Onefinity))
18
Thanks, I didn’t see that option when I ordered. Revising my order now to drop the Suck It Dust Boot Pro and get the combination kit with the Suck It Pro and the PwnCNC v8.
I also somehow screwed up my order and had ordered the Woodworker QCW board, so I want to change that over the the correct size board. However, when I look at the images of the ABOVE and the BELOW versions, the images look to be the same. I don’t see any difference in the two types. They both look to have a flange with holes drilled in it. I don’t see any PEMs or riv-nuts and the flange does not look to be thick enough to be tapped.
So can someone please provide actual photos of a Secure From Above frame including detail of the waste board threaded connections?
I’d like to see what I am actually paying $525 for before I give them my money.
