My drag chains both sag outward, I suspect because of the weight, but I’m not sure they wouldn’t sag outward anyway.
The X chain sags back. The Y chain sags to the left. I have water-cooled lines attached to the drag chains, so I’ve added some weight there. I expect others have done the same thing and may have devised solutions for this.
It may not be a huge problem, but the sagging did cause one of my drag chain clips to snag and get broken off. I’d like to find a good solution before more of the drag chain is damaged.
I have to admit that I’m not a fan of drag chains. I’ve seen many instances of them coming apart or binding up and severing wires, on industrial machines. The drag chains on the Onefinity machines are way too flimsy to actually sever a wire, but I can see how it’d be annoying to have them not functioning correctly.
It wouldn’t resolve the sagging issue, but have you thought about replacing the drag chains with reinforced silicone tubing? It may not be an elegant solution, but it’d keep all of the wires inside and wouldn’t fall apart.
but this should not be generalized. You can also buy something that is more decent. Problem is, on the Onefinity, it will be a custom solution again.
I don’t understand why Onefinity with the Elite Series decided to officially have a spindle option but put a drag chain on it that can’t even take the coolant hoses.
the problem with a drag chain on the Onefinity is that the axes consist only of the two chrome-plated hardened steel hollow shafts. You have no means of attaching a support for the drag chain somewhere in the middle. Therefore a serious solution would need to have a chain guide that is stiff from end to end.
True. The issue with these drag chains is that they’re designed to pop open, to allow insertion of cables from the side, rather than having to feed cables through them. Definitely makes it easier to add additional wires, though it also makes them prone to falling apart. The hinge points are super flimsy. It’s not really a design that one can depend upon.
I agree with you, but that’s typically how drag chains work. Generally, they’ll be a bit more robust and rely on the hinge points to increase the stiffness of the system to avoid sagging.
on usual CNC machines (i.e. those where the axes are made of aluminium extrusion profiles with the linear rails bolted to them), you can have a few additional drag chain brackets in the middle to prevent sagging.
Here it’s the unique design of Onefinity that prevents that – no opportunity to support the drag chain in the middle so the drag chain tray has to be very strong, since it is supported only on its two ends
Sure. A support channel or bracket would be beneficial, but the lack of that really comes down to what I’d mentioned earlier:
Keep build costs down to keep initial prices down. Let us modify and figure out how to actually make the machines usable after buying them. Win for everyone, right?
Dan
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Aiph5u
(Aiph5u (not affiliated with Onefinity))
11
Hey Dan,
what I have noticed in the last two years in this forum is that not every buyer was aware that the Onefinity is a machine that lacks some things from the beginning or that what is on it should be replaced by something better right away.
I needed a much larger and robust energy chain for my ATC build. I designed and 3D printed supports for my X50 Woodworker that allowed me to use standard aluminum angle. See images below:
Thank you, am happy to share. It is also getting late so I don’t trust my ability to paint a picture in words
The angle is standard thin wall - ~32mmx32mmx1.5mm (I’ll let others figure out the inch equivalent).
I wanted something light weight, as the full energy chain is very heavy (I imagine the chain, and contents of both axes, together having a mass of several kg).
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Aiph5u
(Aiph5u (not affiliated with Onefinity))
15
Hey Tom,
thank you!
So we can say, at least for the Woodworker 32″ width, 1.5 mm (something between 1/16″ and 7/128″) aluminium wall thickness for the drag chain guides and it will not sag (I assume you would have reported sagging and your chain is well-filled ) To bridge the Journeyman distance (48″) I planned to use 2 mm wall thickness
If I had the longer span, I would definitely use a heavier gauge for the aluminum. I would also machine an aluminum version of my supports, although so far all the plastic has held up surprisingly well.
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Aiph5u
(Aiph5u (not affiliated with Onefinity))
17
Hey Adam,
did I understand that correctly, it bends sideways? Or gets it twisted because of the clips with the coolant hoses?
I have never had one of the new Elite Series in my hands, so I do not know exactly how the drag chain guide looks exactly, but do you think with such an aluminum angle you could straighten and stabilize the whole thing?
) To bridge the 
