I'm seriously looking into doing an X3 conversion and have done quite a bit of reading and study. I'm weighing the pros and cons (as I see them) of three different options and would appreciate any feed back and perspective.

1.) CAD Monkeys plans....

pros
a robust and capable setup
cost less
proven plan, know to work and Greg is around to field questions
most of the mschining is done on a mill, less on a lathe.

cons
a lot of time invested into machining parts
requires a fair amount of modification to the mill itself.

my situation....
I'm not in a hurry and if my boss gets the MultiCAM router we're looking at this Spring, I could likely machine the aluminum parts on it, as it is VERY robust. I have access to a lathe at work, but not at home.

2.) CNC Fusion Kit

pros
proven plan, help and support is availabe
no significant mods to the machine itself required

cons
it's pretty expensive
design constrained to not mod. mill itself... may not be optimal
less pride in doing it myself

3.) Dick Stephen's design (published in the model engineers workshop)http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/projects/X3-CNC/X3_Article_Part_2.pdf.

pros
proven plan
much less fabrication,
much lower cost, uses existing bearing seats and bearings

cons
system for mounting the motors is not as robust
more fab. is done on a mill
looks like fewer people have done this, and those who have are in the UK.


At this point, I'm leaning towards Stephen's design.

I'd be very interested in hearing others perspectives on his design and how the three options stack up. Also interested in looking at other options.

Thanks in advance,

Matt

Hi Matt
Just read your post and like you i to like cadmonkeys design, i am just starting to convert my X3 but am in no hurry as the weather is a bit cold and due to the fact that i underestimated the size and weight of the X3 my workshop is being re-hashed around 400 pounds of metal.
My conversion will be similar to the Syil one with the Z axis drive mounted on a plate under the column, this tucks the drive behind the original cover so it is not seen, the parts in the Syil design are mostly steel and seem to use quite a bit of the original mills hardware, if you ask around you may even find that some kind soul has sketched up those parts.
I unfortunately do not have any size info but have seen what they look like, the reason for my choice is that i already have a set of completely finished ballscrews and shafts (to the Syil design) so for me its a no brainer, but my intention is to replace the X and Y screw mounts with items very similar to cadmonkeys as they look very professional.
Regarding the design on Arc eurotrades site that to looks good but in the end they all have as you rightly say good and bad points, so just take your time and decide whats best for you, if you need a sketch for the ballscrew shafts i would be happy to oblige as i have Autocad Lt.

Regards

Paul

Thanks Paul....

I may take you up on the ball screw shaft sketch.

I'll have to see if any one out there has the Syil plans, as they look pretty well laid out.

My major constraints are $$ and time....

Ha :)