[svanommen]

Howdy,

I'm mid phase of my 8'x4' 8020 CNC router, based on Jsantos's excellent build. I just freaked out after prepping and painting my 8'x4" CRS rails when I noticed they are warped and in the worst way/axis.

Pictures are better than my words, see attached.

So my questions to the CNCzone gods:

Are these rails toast?

Or can I just tweak Mach 3 to account for the warp [assuming the warps match up " )) "] ?

I've gone to great lengths to square the base frame (pics later) so these noticeably tweaked CRS rails worry me. =(

[jscavitto]

my 10' csr was a little off but not as much as yours... can you clamp the gap shut?

Really so long as you can drill the mounting holes in a straight line you should be able to bend it in. The steel is flexible and once bolted you shouldn't have any problems.

[svanommen]

Yeah, I considered just trying to 'massage' them into place when I bolt them to the 3030 extrusions. But considering the width and thickness of this steel I expect it would take a high level of force to pull them inline enough.

After my first post I flipped one rail around so their warps matched " ala )) " and discovered the warp is identical with little to no gap along the length of the touching edges. This was a small triumph as the distance between the rails if situated )) should be constant thus not cause undo strain on the carriages + gantry. But they would still not run in a straight line over the length of my X-axis.

I've heard Mach3 can be configured to account for inconsistencies like this but I have yet to confirm or know if it works well.

[svanommen]

Phew!

So I took jscavitto's advice and tried again clamping the CRS rails together with better clamps and each apex facing out. Much to my surprise the rails pulled together and straightened out. Now we're back in business!

Thanks jscavitto I owe you a beer. :cheers:

Funny how panic + doubt will really throw one's logic off. Now I'm off to rig up some jigs so I can drill the rails.