CNC Carving has had a place in the industrial and manufacturing world for quite a long time. But what about hobbyists and small businesses? The financial investment for the high-end horizontal milling machines is far too much.
There is an answer though: a horizontal mill from Inventables, the X-Carve. Even for those with little to no experience with CNC carving, this machine will take a concept to a product in no time at all.
Advantages of a Horizontal Mill
With any tooling investment, the quality of the build is of utmost importance. Horizontal milling machines are consistently more heavily constructed and, because of that, cause less vibration within the machine. This translates to a longer life for each of the machines.
Horizontal mills have the ability to not only cut faster but in many instances, make multiple cuts at the same time. “Chips” are more swiftly being removed when the cuts are made in part simply by the effect of gravity.
This also results in much cleaner finishes on the end products.
Speed and precision lead to longer and/or larger production runs without the need for a larger amount of machines. However, the trade-off is a larger financial investment initially.
The X-Carve Machine
With the X-Carve CNC machine, the team at Inventables has found a way to bring that power to a larger market. With it, the user can go from concept to design and all the way to product in mere minutes.
The X-Carve is a modular machine that can be set up in any size workshop, configured with “Easel”, a piece of 3D design software created by Inventables and utilized just as a standard CNC machine would be.
One of the large points and more than likely the biggest for many is the price point. The level of customization and power that is allowed for at the price that is being asked is far less than others in the field.
Beyond the machine itself is the software; it is completely open-source to be modified as needed. The process for inputting for a design file is fairly simple.
X-Carve’s motion controller (called X-Controller) in the form of specific X, Y, and Z coordinates for every toolpath. The official name for this data file is a gcode file.
Vetric VCarve has been shown to be a popular selection for those looking to expand their design needs after Easel has been worked with and shown to not fulfill every need.
A Milling Masterpiece
The horizontal milling machine has a lot of benefits if the financial investment can be overcome. For the individual looking to get involved in the entry-level fashion, the X-Carve presents itself as just the right option.
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