OneFinity Elite arrived - finally...

[Dave Roock]

I think the big box weighs north of 125 lb. How they get regular UPS to deliver that is surprising. It is sort of surprising 1F doesn't use a crate instead of the cardboard box. When you get to that weight range you just know it's going to get bumped and dropped along the way. My Journeyman, where the largest box weighs only around 80 lbs, I think, had some damage, too, but everything inside was fine. I hope yours is in good shape once you get it unboxed. I would do that right away, just in case, so you can notify UPS and 1F if there is any damage.

Are you planning to reinforce the sides and rear of the cabinet with plywood? It would be a good idea to keep it from flexing. Even the Journeyman can exert some pretty high inertial forces, and the Elite is much faster and heavier, so it will put even greater loads on the cabinet.

John

FedEx and UPS ( I do believe) have a 150lb limit on boxes being delivered. Packaging boxes in that 100-150lb range (and lighter) calls for reinforced strapping tape. Very interested in getting a Elite 1F , have some other projects first.

[Brian Tymchak]

Have been attending to a few other things, so I haven't made any progress in setting up my 1F. But I got a notice today of a new 1F video on how to replace a motor on the Elite machines. ...Hmm... I hope that video is just an example of 1F being very proactive in getting info to its users...

[John TenEyck]

Brian, I've had ZERO issues with my Journeyman, now about 12 months old with a couple hundred hours of run time. The biggest issues I've read about are controllers going bad, but yours has a Masso controller. Fear not, but if something does go bad 1F will make it right, right away. The biggest issue I'm reading with the Elite is shipping damage. 150 lbs in a cardboard box wasn't a good decision.

Prior to the Elite series, 1F's were purchased mostly by hobbiests, and many of them weren't woodworkers or others with even basic mechanical skills. People would complain about problems that had nothing to do with the machine, but their own stupidity to put it bluntly. It's generally a good idea to read the manual, yet many never bothered but then had plenty of time to complain about things that were covered in the manual. There are also lots of complaints that are related to whatever design software people are using, not the machine itself.

You'll be fine, and I bet impressed once you get it setup.

John

[Brian Tymchak]

Finally got some work done and out of the shop, got the taxes done, got the yard work taken care of, etc. so I had a few hours this afternoon to get back to my casters issue.

...And I made the most amazing discovery -> If you install stuff properly, it will most likely perform as expected...

Somewhere between the point of reading the instructions and marking the leg for the screws, I added in about 5/8" to the height from floor. (Where's that Homer emoji?) A little back breaking work to reinstall and the casters have the leverage and now work fine.

Tomorrow is my volunteer day at the furniture bank, so, hopefully on Wednesday I'll be back to the regularly scheduled program...

[Adam Herman]

glad you got them sorted. I put a set of these on a heavy machine and they work very well, lock from rolling and turning.

https://shop.servicecaster.com/Swive...520-pur-rs.htm

[John TenEyck]

The problem with those casters, Brian, is the lack of leveling. Your table doesn't need to be level, but it needs to be flat. If you move the table and the top flexes, at all, you're cooked. Worst case, the machine stalls, more subtle is the bit will no longer be dead parallel to the spoilboard. Your table is not very stout, so it's not going to that on its own.

You need some way to adjust the legs to make sure the top is flat, preferably level. That saying about a house is only as good as the foundation it's built on applies here.

John

[Brian Tymchak]

Just a quick update. I'm about halfway through upgrading my table per John's suggestions. Spring yard work and the Masters have slowed the progress on that.

[John TenEyck]

Thanks for the update, Brian. The wait has been killing me!

John

[Michael Burnside]

Excited to see your first set of cuts! I always build a tool tray as my test.

[Brian Tymchak]

Got the table upgrades finished today. When you're right, you're right John. Much more stable and it rolls so much better on the WEIBIDA casters. Appreciate your suggestions.

I worked on it with it on its top to make sure I solidly registered the plywood side panels against the top. All the new plywood added quite a bit of weight so I was grunting pretty good to get that thing flipped back onto its wheels. That was enough for today. Time for a protein shake and a nap..

[John TenEyck]

Your table looks plenty robust now. Good on you for reworking it. I can see how a nap was in order after wrestling it back right side up. Some ibuprofen, too. Or a bourbon.

John

[Brian Tymchak]

Got a few spare hours yesterday and today to focus on getting the machine assembled and wired. Powered it up.

image_50449409.jpg 1681691332306_image_67513089.jpg

Crap, the display pic is rotated...

I've been following the written instructions for assembly. They're different from the "official" Youtube video from Onefinity in how to square the rails. The instructions call for setting a single screw in the front bases of the Y rails and then powering the machine up and jogging the X rail to the back, setting the screws in the back Y rail bases, then jog the X rail back to the front and finish setting the Y rail screws in the front. Tried that but the X rail would only move to about midway and quit. Got alarms from the stepper motors. Took me several attempts, power cycles, and head scratches to figure out that instead of the X rail squaring the Y rails as it moved back, it was actually binding on the Y rails because they weren't square enough. Checked the diagonals on the Y rails and found they were off about an 1/8". So, I went back to the squaring method in the Youtube video, where the X rail is moved manually to the back. Check the diagonals again, and set the screws. I get full travel now on all axes.

The other installation issue that took me a bit to figure out was wiring up the homing sensors. The instructions showed where to plug the sensor wires but I couldn't find the plugs they were showing. It turned out that the sensors weren't even there on the rails. Well, I ended up finding the sensors in the bottom of the accessories box, along with an instruction sheet that says they are removed prior to shipping. Got those on and finished the wiring. Pic of the sensor installed on a Y rail.

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One thing I noticed is how close the base of the Y rail gantries are to the table top. Only about a 1/16" clearance there. Seems like it should be more. In the instructions, they show a spacer being installed on the bases of the Y rails for the Foreman model. Seems like it would be useful for the Jouneyman too.

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I think at some point I'll remount the power box on a set of slides so that I have ready access to the back panel. But for now, it's fine.

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Next up hopefully tomorrow is to mount the router. Not sure if the power cord is long enough to get to the back of the power box. May have to rewire with a longer cord.

[John TenEyck]

Good progress, Brian. I found out how low the Y bearing blocks are to the table when mine actually rubbed against my torsion box at about mid span. Turns out my torsion box wasn't as flat as I had hoped. I ended up shimming up the back feet with a piece of Formica to get some clearance.

Your machine might not be truly square yet; probably isn't, actually. After you get it running and a temporary spoilboard on it, then cut a big square from some scrap mdf and check the diagonals on that or make two of them and turn them 90 degrees to see if the corners all meet. Getting the machine truly square isn't critical for those folks doing carvings and craft work, but for cabinet and furniture making it's critical, so spend as much time as required to get it really, really square.

The homing sensor wiring looks sort of hokey and easy to snag. I would have expected 1F to put a little more thought into that. I guess that goes along with the wiring harness being at the front of the Y rails. That always has seemed rather stupid to me, since the motors are at the back. I ended up putting the harness in a dado in a cover strip screwed to the front of the torsion box. The connection to the rails is still exposed, however. My Journeyman has been trouble free, but there's always room for improvement. Too bad they didn't take this opportunity to implement some of these seemingly simple ones. Anyway, good luck with the rest of the build. I'm looking forward to seeing what it can do.

John

[Brian Tymchak]

Have been attending to a few other things, so I haven't made any progress in setting up my 1F. But I got a notice today of a new 1F video on how to replace a motor on the Elite machines. ...Hmm... I hope that video is just an example of 1F being very proactive in getting info to its users...

Today, 4/17, I get an email from Onefinity indicating that they have become aware of an issue with the on/off switch in their Elite power boxes for units delivered before 4/11/23. Working on resolution and will make replacement switches available to anyone who needs it. Something to look forward to I guess.

Turns out that the motor replacement instructions were needed because of motors being damaged at installation, or in shipment.

[Brian Tymchak]

The homing sensor wiring looks sort of hokey and easy to snag. I would have expected 1F to put a little more thought into that. I guess that goes along with the wiring harness being at the front of the Y rails. That always has seemed rather stupid to me, since the motors are at the back. I ended up putting the harness in a dado in a cover strip screwed to the front of the torsion box.

I thought the very same thoughts for all of the wiring harness. Not only are the sensor wires too long and unconstrained, but the wiring at the top of the router/spindle mount is pretty ungainly too. Seems like a little bit of attention could have gone a long way to tidy up those connections as well.

Like the idea of milling a cover for the wire in front. My first thought was a cable raceway, but I settled on some cheap cable holders to get me thru the install.