3018 CNC - Installing fully supported SBR16 rails on X axis - smooth aluminum milling

grabcad

After my last upgrade, including a 400W spindle boost, my 3018 CNC still struggled to cut Aluminum cleanly. Excessive vibrations plagued the machine, and my bit ultimately broke apart. After conducting a thorough analysis of the machine, I pinpointed the root cause: the linear shafts on the X axis were mainly responsible for the issue. These small-diameter (10mm) shafts, measuring 400mm in length, lacked full support and bent easily under stress. This caused the entire machine to shake violently while milling. To rectify this problem, I decided to replace the two linear shafts on the X axis with fully supported type rails. Initially, I aimed to acquire MGN15 rails, which are known for their ease of installation on 2020 aluminum extrusion bars (requiring only m3 drop-in nuts and m3 bolts). However, as the Corona virus spread rapidly across China, I couldn't afford to wait for delivery. Ultimately, I secured two SBR16 rails and a set of four linear bearing blocks (SBR16UU) for a total of 30USD. In my video, I demonstrated the process of installing these new rails on the 3018 CNC. By the end, I successfully cut aluminum smoothly with reasonable parameters in place.