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myairplane
02-21-2009, 02:55 PM
I spent the day our looking over wood, I ended up buying $250 worth of Genuine Mahagony to try another stab at the Neoclassical box.. When down to my basement and went to put in the cutter, noticed something odd about my z-truck.. Further looking at it, found it was broken in half! right under the collect, just above the 2 bottom rollers.. I've been cutting bassword, how on earth could this happen!? Heck, now I'm wondering how long its been broken! lol Is this normal?

How can I check the hour meter to see how much time is on it? I bought it off ebay, was a customer return.. I put maybe 25 hours on it since I've owned it (about a month now).

fwharris
02-21-2009, 02:58 PM
Go to the options menu and scroll down.

myairplane
02-21-2009, 03:24 PM
Thanks.. found it.. My machibe is 50 hour scut time.. The z-truck does have the washers on it, so that should put date of manufacturer early October? They say in the official warranty that its not transferable, but being a customer return it shoudl still be cover. In Ohio, the mfg has to honor a car warranty no matter who has it if it falls within their advertised warranty period..

I'll call CW on Monday.. How much does one of these cost? I've read a lot about them breaking, looks to be a mfg defect or design defect on the machine, you;d think a stronger one would be in the works?

FINGERS
02-21-2009, 04:03 PM
Say myplane can you post a picturn of your Z-truck .

Digitalwoodshop
02-21-2009, 04:15 PM
Did just the right corner break off? Common failure due to the screw and the taper of the hole in the Z Truck act as a Wedge. The latest Z Trucks have a black washer there to prevent the broken Z Truck. The Casting is thin there.

AL

myairplane
02-21-2009, 05:21 PM
No, the entire thing is broken.. across the bottom just above the rollers. Maybe this is why my 1/8" cutter broke the other day when starting to cut.. This machine has 50 hours on it, mostly cutting bassword, I did one part on oak but was only a .125 final depth.

This is my z-truck

http://www.myairplane.com/CNC/IMG_0200.JPG

A closer look at it

http://www.myairplane.com/CNC/IMG_0201.JPG

I seperated the 2 halfs a little so you can get a better look.

http://www.myairplane.com/CNC/IMG_0202.JPG

AskBud
02-21-2009, 05:36 PM
With that kind of break, I would want to send the whole unit back so they can check everything for damage. You could, also, have damage to the rails or other parts as well.

I would think that that breakage had to happen as the wood was moving, rather that just the truck moving along the rail(s).
AskBud

myairplane
02-21-2009, 06:42 PM
The last project I sis was the neoclassical box which came out perfectly.... if the wood was "moving", you't think the details in the carve istelf would have been buggered?

I can't see anything damaged other than the z-truck (which still moves up and down without binding), it slao moves left to right on the Y, I did check the x using the measure board function and it moves fine as well.. This is my baby so nothing hit it at all, I live alone so no one else was messing with it either. The only thing it can be is a mfg defect... or it was cracked when I got it and it slowly finished breaking.

lovejoys
02-21-2009, 08:52 PM
I had 2 do the same thing the only thing

No idea why

same place sent both back new one is ok so far

Jeff_Birt
02-21-2009, 09:49 PM
There have been a few pic on the forum of broken trucks but I have not seen one that was broken in half before. You mentioned that you bought the machine as a return (from Ebay etc?) It is kind of hard to say what may have been or not been done to it before you got it.

Give CW a call, while I'm not sure about your warrenty questions, I do know that they can send you out a rebuilt Z-truck to get you up and running again. They have a core charge on some parts (kind of like an auto parts store), you get the core charge back when you send them the old part. I suspect they even like to get broken parts back to perform a 'autopsy' to figure out why it broke.

myairplane
02-21-2009, 11:53 PM
Well, not much could have been done on it before I got th emachine. I did only projects I've bought from CW. Did the picture frame, took 15+ hours! the keepsack box which was about twice which totals out to be about 48 hours cutting time. There is only 50 hours on the machine.

I'll give them a call first thing Monday morning.. How much does a z-truck cost? or do I want to know?

locovalley
02-22-2009, 12:11 AM
I just bought a NEW, not rebuilt, Z truck and it was $85 + $40 core charge. Rebuilt (if they have them in stock is $15 less.

Joe

JOHNB
02-22-2009, 06:28 AM
after you get it back together, you might want to practice a little longer on some cheaper pine instead of 250.00 worth of mahogany?

myairplane
02-22-2009, 07:39 AM
Thats because I found a really nice piece that was 13.5" wide but 10.6 ft. long, I also picked up another 10 ft piece that was 8.5" wide. I had 2 lengths of walnut as well but opted to put them back thinking it was running up the bill but was only $100.. At that point, the line was long and I was tieing everyone up, so rather than go make another switch I just bought them. Wanted to try the neoclassical project in it. Hopefully will be far less fuzzies than the basswood.

Digitalwoodshop
02-22-2009, 01:23 PM
What does the underside of the board look like? Specifically the edge that is in contact with the brass roller. If a board is being carved and a void or chip is missing from the wood and the brass roller will loose contact and will cause the board to JERK and break a bit or Z Truck.

AL

ChrisAlb
02-22-2009, 01:36 PM
WOW! Now that's really broken. Were you running in a cold shop or something?

I can't imagine what would cause that...:confused:

Tom75
02-22-2009, 02:42 PM
holey cow batman that is pretty bad . i had a z-truck that was cracked 3/4 the way across but not like yours .

myairplane
02-22-2009, 03:34 PM
No voids, no knots, just solid basswood.. Working in my basement which is heated, about 68 degrees..

myairplane
02-23-2009, 06:56 PM
Called CW tech today, very, very, very helpful.. Have a new z-truck on its way via 2nd day along with the wrench and adjustable bearings.. I hope this doesn't happen again! lol

myairplane
02-25-2009, 06:14 PM
Ok.. got the new z-truck in and installed! Looks good.. :)

Due to the fact you have to tighten the screws I couldn't tell how much pressure I'm putting on the rollers. So I got the roller snug aginist the slide with the screw just barely tight, then backed it off a little, tighten the screw and turned the roller untill no play was felt against the slide and then gave it just a little bit more with the wrench. Slides up and down smoothly and zero play.

http://www.myairplane.com/CNC/IMG_0212.JPG


Now.. what I found when I took the broken z-truck off. First thing, the roller on the lower right where the washer is was bad, turned very rough while the new bearing were smooth and free.

The broken casting looks like it was cracked at some point because where it was broken, the surface was smoothed over from rubbing under vibration for some time before it gave up the ghost.

http://www.myairplane.com/CNC/IMG_0214.JPG

http://www.myairplane.com/CNC/IMG_0216.JPG

This looks like it was a fresh break on the rest of the casting.

http://www.myairplane.com/CNC/IMG_0217.JPG

The next photo is the spindle bearing area. Its is VERY thin walled! I did have a problem once when my flex shaft heated up to the point I burned my hand when takign the flex shaft out of the spindle. I assume this area experience heat as well to help stress crack it. That might have been what started this whole thing. I hold a Mechanical Engineering degree and would NEVER design a spindle housing where the main bearing had a .020" wall thickness. For those that don't know the decimal system, thats almost a quarter of a 1/16". A large portion of the bearing area is not supported other than the thin wall. I'm surprised it doesn't crack when they press the bearing in place.

http://www.myairplane.com/CNC/IMG_0218.JPG

Digitalwoodshop
02-25-2009, 06:34 PM
Sounds like you got the bearing adjusted properly. That little flat of the nut that is closest to the screw hole should face out when the bearing is tight.

Your right snug with a screw driver, loosen the nut slightly and tighten the screw then tighten the wrench making sure the flat is facing out. That is the trick.... Too Tight you snap the screw, just right and your back to carving.

Good Job,

AL

earlyrider
02-27-2009, 09:10 PM
Myairplane's concerns about the thinness of the of the Ztruck may have been addressed already by CW. I received a new one yesterday and saw that the metal on the bottom half of the Ztruck was substantially thicker than on the old version, and noticably heavier. There are no holes for the old connections and sensor, so if you want to attach an auxillary air jet you need to drill and tap for your own screw.
I thought this was cool, but I may be too easily impressed.:roll:

myairplane
02-28-2009, 10:17 AM
Problem Number 2!

I have the new z-truck installed and then was settign up to square my board in the machine. When I put the 3/8" sutter I notices a lot of "slop" in the "fit" inside the chuck. I then tried the same cutter in my old spindle and it fit very snug. Then I tried the 1/16" and 1/8" cutters in the new sprindle each having some play but not as much as the 3/8" cutter. I checked to make sure notice was inside the chuck causing it not to hold the cutters snuggly but it was clean (well, its brand new!).

Did I get a bad spindle? I still have my old one, which out taking it apart to see, can this be easliy replaced on the new z-truck from my old one? I do see there is a top plate with 2 screws but not sure if the spindle is pressed into the bearings or not. Figured I ask here before I go and start taking things apart. :)

It is the tool fitting in the chuck thats lose, not the sprindle iteself or the chuck, those are solid.

Dennis

Digitalwoodshop
02-28-2009, 10:35 AM
First, if anyone is still using the old Z with the Probe jack in the Z Truck and the thinner 16 pin flat cable you really want to upgrade to the New Z with the 14 pin flat cable. This is running your Z with 14 wire THICKER wires that can increase the reliability of the Z Motor. Thinner wires can carry less current or drive power and cause a Z Stall easier and also being thinner can crack easier. It's like the difference between a AA and a D Battery... Same voltage but more current capability.

That said, you would be foolish to drill holes in the Z Truck to install the probe jack. That would be going backward with reliability. Just my opinion....

As for the sloppy bit Holder.. It would lube up the QC with 3 in 1 oil and do the sling shot a few times. The sling shot is pulling the QC back and letting it snap. This could unlock a stuck ball bearing.

Also make sure the QC it twisted on all the way, could be loose too.

AL

myairplane
02-28-2009, 12:34 PM
I did go and lube the chuck up a bit and that seemed to help a great deal! There is still a slight play in the bigger bits but the normal 2 that come with the machine are solid..

Thanks!

myairplane
02-28-2009, 03:49 PM
Spoke to soon! It worked, but once the spindle gets to running, it losens back up.. :( I tried lubricating it a few more times so that I was SURE everything in the chuck was gettign some.. Fits in tight, once the spindle gets to turning it becomes lose again.. ARGH!

I was able to get ahold of tech support before they closed and he needs to get his boss to autorize sending me another. Disappointing to say the least, I was hoping to work on a project this weekend..

Someone over there needs to test these prior to shipping.. Mine has one heck of a time getting a tool to snap in there let along the tightness issues.

I tried to find a 7/8" flat wrench so I could swap chucks with my old one but no luck in the local stores.

Dennis

supershingler
02-28-2009, 06:04 PM
if you have any routers try some of the wrenches that come with them

that is what i used to change mine i think the one off my craftsman 2 horse fit perfect

kendall

Jeff_Birt
02-28-2009, 06:26 PM
Also try a local bicycle shop. They usually have lots of flat wrenches.

myairplane
02-28-2009, 09:40 PM
The CW tech support guy said the chuck might be on with thread lock cement and might require the use of a tourch.. Did yours come off ok? What did you use to lock the spindle so you can unscrew the chuck?

I already tried all my power tool wrenches! lol My route has a built in wrench to lock the sprindle and the chuch wrench is too small (has a 1/4" collet chuck).. :(

mtylerfl
03-01-2009, 07:49 AM
The CW tech support guy said the chuck might be on with thread lock cement and might require the use of a tourch.. Did yours come off ok? What did you use to lock the spindle so you can unscrew the chuck?

I already tried all my power tool wrenches! lol My route has a built in wrench to lock the sprindle and the chuch wrench is too small (has a 1/4" collet chuck).. :(


You need the square socket tool, a socket extension to position the square socket tool into the chuck from the bottom of the QC, a flat wrench, and a heat gun (I wouldn't use a torch, myself).

The square socket tool and wrench are available from CarveWright or from Ron Justice - send an email request to CW_Parts@yahoo.com for Ron's current list of custom tools and accessories for your machine.

A heat gun can be purchased at a hobby store if you can't find one at your local home center store.

Two full minutes of heat from a heat gun applied to the top nut of the QC (in the small gap just above the plastic outer housing) is usually all that is required to loosen any thread locker (Loctite).

The wrench needs to be turned clockwise as viewed from the top to unscrew the QC, while the square socket tool holds the spindle from turning. The wrench should be "jerked" in small increments to get the QC started to unscrew - steady pressure can cause something to break.

If you do not work fast enough, the thread locker cools and "grips" again, so you will need to apply more heat to soften it to continue.

Download the QC replacement instructions for more details http://forum.carvewright.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=15894&d=1222616533

myairplane
03-02-2009, 11:52 AM
I couldn't find an R4 bit anywhere! and I tried beleive me! lol So I took one of my screw broken screw removal tools and groudn down to the size I needed to fit the spindle. The old part needed to be heated up because it was put together with thread cement. The new z-truck came apart without a problem and had no thread lock on it.

I couldn't find a 7/8" flat wrench but used a basin wrench instead, it just barely fits in there! :)

Got the old chuck on my new z-truck and everythign is fine now! I didn't use thread cement when putting it back together since the new one didn't have any on it.. Is this ok? or should O put a little on the threads?

Dennis

fwharris
03-02-2009, 01:30 PM
Dennis,

You should put lock tite on the threads of the QC to the Z truck.