K2 Review, KT-3925

[sploo]

Originally Posted by tauscnc They should not be insulted at all (!!) as they say they test every machine before shipping. That is what makes it so dang furstrating because they can't be or they just move them a little and call it a day. If they tested mine or many of the others they should of found the SAME problems we did within mintes of having them. The person that knowns the most about their machine is the one that makes it. Why is it we all have found different issues after getting them.

Absolutely.

It's unfair to expect 100% of items shipped by any company to be 100% reliable, but if I could just be a bit more confident over their testing I would probably have placed a deposit by now.

I think it's highly likely I will buy one of their machines in the long run, as I've yet to find better for the price.

Ah well, I am a professional procrastinator, so it's almost certainly going to be the new year before I order. I guess the best thing to do is keep reading this forum, and learning.

[carlnpa]

To align the rails you need a reference point. The piece of 1/2" mic 6 on mine is supposed to be flat overall to less than 0.005. I measure from the rail to the plate and set at the same distance along both rails on the long axis (my x). I then can check from the top of the plate to the bottom of the short axis rail. The deviation over the entire top surface is <0.003 when aligned this way.
This is why the deflection in the long axis is such a problem when tolerance in the z axis needs to be minimized.

[tauscnc]

Hey Carlnpa,

I see. Well, I am going just leave it then. It works well for my needs and if I do decide to do anything, I might just add a top like you mentioned. That would help with any deflection and also help with a place to mount things. K2 has a .375" one if I recall and that would probably do well. I am using 3/4" MDF for now.

I had a great conversation with Ron from K2 today. Things really seem like they have changed since my first post and they seem to be working on a few different things/designs Good stuff

Lets get cutting!

Thanks again,
tauseef

[tauscnc]

Hey guys,

Long time no write Well I figured it was time to update on the orginal thread and my machine.

Overall : Very happy with it. Acutally I love it and now that I purchased VCarve Pro I REALLY LOVE IT. I don't know if I love it more because of the program or just the machine If anyone of you are looking into programs really check VCarvePro out. It makes machining way to easy!

I have K2's 305 oz/in servo motors with Gecko drives, 24 V 10 amp power. I have a 0.375" aluminum top (edited) from K2 that I finally leveled using the machine. I just cut a mount for a bosch colt trim router using the K2, came out awesome (pics coming). Mach 3.

Y and Z axis are great. X axis is still a bit gritty and the ballscrew is still bent. About 0.08 mm backlash X and maybe 0.04 mm Y and I would say 0 on the Z.

I have played with speed and the most COMFORTABLE speed I can get is around 236 in/min (6000 mm/min) jog. Pretty good. I really wanted 300 ipm but when I run a few axes it stalls. I tried a 20 amp power supply but its probably the computer. So I toned it down to about that I generally cut wood around 2500 mm/min (98 ipm) and cut my bosch mount using aluminum with a 3/4" router bit (yikes!), porter cable router, 0.5mm deep at 29 ipm. It came out great! Again will post some pics soon.

I got the bosch trim router after I could not stand the loudness of the PC router anymore.

I finally got a grease gun and put grease in my linear bearings and to my surprise my machine became quite a bit quiter.

I had to retap my mounts for the X axis as they pulled out and stripped (my many times of banging the machine to the edge ! ( I still have to put limit switches on so I fixed that part by putting in longer screws tapped into the table from the bottom.

I don't have any major plans for any updates on it...if something breaks I will update it but for now I am happy with the function of the machine... and I LOVE VCARVE PRO.

thats all

taus
www.cuttingedgecnc.com

[carlnpa]

Hey Taus, three years goes by in a hurry.
I'm still around and still using mine, it has cut Tens of thousands of parts now, though parts production has really slowed with the downturn in economy. It still is a nice part time income.
I've gone through numerous drive belts on the servos. I'm still chasing accuracy, I added one of Dumpsters' zero backlash nuts to the z axis. I still have problems getting the tool "exactly" perpendicular to the table. The motors all seem to function fine though I'm going to order spares to have on hand. Good to see you went with the 0.5" top, the 0.375" may have been too light. I am still using the original Hitachi router that I started with, the runout is still very low, but it has gotten alot louder over time and I consider it loud now, it used to be very quiet.
I think it may be time to build a new machine, slightly wider and longer, with an adjustable z that can be made perpendicular to the table. My k2 can make this new machine, except for threading the screws.

[tauscnc]

Hey carlnpa,

Good to hear from you!!! I am mistaken I do have the 0.375" top...when I talked to ron from k2, acutally he called me and told me they had one left and asked if I wanted it. They changed some of the design to allow for the 0.5" so I went from MDF to the 0.375" aluminum top. Still pretty good.

I will have to check if my router is also perpendicular to the table...from what I can tell it seems to be petty darn good. I don't chase the accuracy much as cutting foam airplanes and Vcaring wood gives me the flexabilty.

I actually am thinking of making an enclosure for the machine and putting a dust collector pipe right at the top. than I can cut away and close the machine off.

Good to hear yours is running strong, I can't say I have cut that many parts but the ones I have cut I am happy with.

later
tauseef

[tauscnc]

Hey guys, I posted my router mount here using the K2 to make it.

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71910

Here is some other stuff I made using the K2 and Vcarve Pro

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showth...=15995&page=11

taus

[CNCRob]

Thanks for the updates Tauseef, I was actually just looking at this thread over the weekend. I was thinking man its been nearly 3 and a half years since the last post. It seems like just yesturday.

[CNCRob]

Hey Tauseef,
I was just looking at the photos on your website and I noticed you have cable carriers on your machine now. Are they a recent addition? I don't remember you having them before. And where did you get them at? I would like to have some for my machine. Thanks- Robbie

[tauscnc]

Hey Robbie,

Yes I did finally invest in the cable guide after pinching the wire of the Z axis and blowing the fuse. The Y axis runs right through to the other side and the Z axis wire is in the cable guide.

I purchased it here: http://www.mcmaster.com/#cable-and-h...arriers/=a1byu

Mine is 1" wide and 5/8" deep, plenty of room.

Here are some pics.

Also check out what I cut last night...VCarve Pro is simply awesome!! I did not draw this but was a "clipart" and I just did the toolpath and finishing. Not much into motorcycles but man this came out great!!!

tauseef

[millmore]

Originally Posted by tauscnc Hey Robbie, Yes I did finally invest in the cable guide after pinching the wire of the Z axis and blowing the fuse. The Y axis runs right through to the other side and the Z axis wire is in the cable guide. I purchased it here: http://www.mcmaster.com/#cable-and-h...arriers/=a1byu Mine is 1" wide and 5/8" deep, plenty of room. Here are some pics. Also check out what I cut last night...VCarve Pro is simply awesome!! I did not draw this but was a "clipart" and I just did the toolpath and finishing. Not much into motorcycles but man this came out great!!! tauseef

Hi Carl and Tauseef,

Another year goes by...

I got my 3925 about the same time you guys did. I have to say after some teething problems and am now running parts every day and very happy with my purchase. In fact, about 1.5 years ago, I bought a new K2 3925 and both machines make carbon fiber parts everyday. It is impressive to see how quickly the guys at K2 have "grown" and expanded there business.

I have one question... I use Autocad to draw my parts in DXF and MasterCAM to write the G-code.... I have struggled getting fancy fonts (fonts skewed and compressed) into usuable G-code. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

[tauscnc]

Hey buddy,

Sorry for the late reponse. Not sure. I have used MC also and find it harder (not that I have/had any formal traning in it) but know it is more picky on line drawing, double lines, which way was it draw, etc.

I would make sure the lines are all connected, no double lines hiding under...etc.

I use vcarve pro and it checks all of that... so not much help

glad to hear the machine is running well!

tauseef