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I have an older CNCRP 4896 that has served me well, but I'd like to make some upgrades. It has the cartridge bearing/CRS rails on all axes I would like to change that over to profile linear rails and eliminate the CRS/ bearing setup. Anyone done this? Also any recommendations for a source for profile linear rails that would be good but affordable? Thanks for any suggestions!
Have you checked with the folks at Avid (formerly CNC Router Parts)? They're usually very supportive of conversions/upgrades to their machines.
Hi Marv, thanks for the reply. I did contact Avid , but it's been a while, sometime last year. At that time they suggested that it might be best to sell my machine and put that money toward buying a new one. I can see the logic in that to some extent, but I think my chances of selling my locale is rather small. Just would like to explore other possibilities before trying that.
Just did a quick look at the assembly instructions for a standard router and the pro version as well (your machine may be different altogether). It looks like there are different profiles used in the table rails between the std and pro machines. That alone may throw a wrench into the works regarding retro fitting the pro guide rails to the std profiles. Presuming you would also be replacing most of the gantry and motion control mechanisms as well, I'm guessing you would have a lot of orphaned parts left over when you were done, not to mention the cost of all those new parts.
You might consider listing your machine locally (or on the Zone) at say 3/4 of what you paid for it to test the market. Keep in mind, assembling these things is nothing trivial to begin with (I bought a Pro 4824 2 years ago). If you can demonstrate that everything on your machine is functioning well, that alone is worth something. The responses you get may surprise you.
Either way, hope it goes well.
My machine is actually quite a bit older (about 2012, I think). Yes, you're right about a lot of left over parts! I guess I will give selling a try. I hope the pool of potential buyers in my little CO mountain town is bigger than I think it is. Thanks for your help Marv.