We’ve been working steadily on the build.  A quick trip to Home Depot and Nuts & Bolts netted us most of the hardware needed to finish the y-cart and (almost) finish the mechanical build.  Still waiting on the missing x-axis roller chains!  But we should be able to begin testing the motion electronics while we wait. Check our Flickr page for more pics of the ongoing build.

We noticed a few things during the build that you should look out for if you decide to get one of these kits.

• The y-rails support piece is routed backwards from the images in the instructions.  This means that if you assemble it as depicted, the counter-sinks for the bolts will face inward toward the gantry body.  No worries, the offset from the v-groove bearings is large enough that the y-cart still clears the bolt heads when moving along the rails.
• The instructions call for 3/8″ x 3″ bolts for securing some v-groove bearings when 2.5″ bolts will suffice.  Use the shorter bolts and reserve the 3″ bolts for where they are truly needed (mounting the y motor).