The second batch of eShapeOko kits, due to be delivered the week of 22 October, has sold out.  We have already ordered more parts for a larger batch, and they should be here early November.

For the first batch, we got the packaging materials today.  It’s not going to be a fancy box like the Inventables kit, but we hope that doesn’t matter too much.  We’re still waiting for the laser-cut parts, which were supposed to be ready today.

We got the first batch of replacement MXL pulleys today, and they are excellent.  They seem to be exactly the same as the pulleys from buildlog.net, and slightly better than the ones in our batch 3 Inventables ShapeOko kit (although those are very good too).  The grub screws are metric (M3, with 1.5mm hex sockets).

These will go in the kits ordered before 1am on 2 October.  Orders placed after that will have to wait for the next batch, due the week of 22 October.

The fasteners arrived today!  They all look good, particularly the threaded rods.  We spread them on the table to see what kind of baggies we’d need to pack them all.  That’s all the bolts, nuts*, washers and spacers in the base eShapeOko kit, in the correct quantities, as well as all the V-wheels, bearings, eccentric spacers, smooth idlers, precision washers, plus the Z threaded rod, lead nut, bearing and flexible coupler.

* except the T-slot insertion nuts, which aren’t here yet.

We also got really cute M2 socket screws, little washers and tiny nuts for the limit switches.

So, we got a few more orders and we used up all the MXL pulleys from the first delivery (which is due any day now).  Everyone so far got the dual-Y upgrade — a wise choice, but hard on our pulley supply.  The next shipment of MXL pulleys arrives around the 22nd of October, so if you order now, that’s when your kit will ship.  Orders already placed aren’t affected.  Sorry for the delay, but we’d rather make you wait a week than give you any of the crooked pulleys, even though we have plenty of those.

You can now order the eShapeOko with a dual X rail!  All the V-wheels, eccentric spacers, bolts, washers and nylon spacers needed to build either the standard single X or the dual X will be included in the kit, as well as two pieces of MakerSlide for the X axis instead of one.  If you already have some MakerSlide, or if you plan to build a wider machine (so a 375mm piece of MakerSlide would not be useful to you anyway), you can get everything for the dual X except the extra piece of MakerSlide, and save £5.

The two rails can be bolted together, but you need your own fixings for that.  It doesn’t make much of a difference at the stock X length, but it can be useful if you are building a wider machine.

If you have already paid for your eShapeOko kit but you’d like to add the dual X upgrade, please email us (there’s a link at the bottom of every page in the store).

The updated BOM is up.

I’ve managed to order good toothed pulleys.  Unfortunately, the quantity I needed was not in stock.  What they had will be enough for the pre-orders so far, and few more orders after that, so we’re good for now.  Once those run out, any further kits ordered may have to wait until around the 22nd of October.

Finally, the parts list (bill of materials) for the eShapeOko kit is on the wiki.

I ordered the fasteners yesterday.  Everything was in stock, so they will be here on Monday and I can start divvying them up into kits, to get a head start.  I’m not looking forward to counting washers!  Luckily, I have a small set of scales, so I can weigh them instead (and add a couple extras, just to be sure).

There will be two dual-X upgrades.  Both include four extra V-wheels, but they differ in how they keep the distance between the X plates, and what distances they allow between the X rails.  Kit A uses standard bolts and nylon spacers, and works only with the two X rails touching each other, back to back (or bolted together, but no fasteners are included for that).  Kit B needs some M5 threaded rod which I’ll have to cut in pieces.  It is adjustable, and it allows the X rails to be as far as 40mm apart.  Kit B is a little stiffer: the nuts can be tightened more, because there are no nylon spacers to worry about.  It is also more difficult to assemble, and will probably end up costing a little more.

As we approach the day when the eShapeOko kits are ready to ship, I am going to try to keep you up to date.  This is the first of these updates.

Yesterday I received a shipment of 18-tooth MXL pulleys.  Unfortunately, they are utter crap. At least half of them are unusable, and the rest are just awful.  Some are more eccentric than the eccentric spacers, all have the toothed part slanted with respect to the flanges, and none are bored straight.  Most flanges are not parallel, and the distance between the flanges varies between less than 7mm and about 7.5mm.  They’re not anodised (as they should have been), and the tooth profile is inaccurate, with valleys too wide and ridges too thin: they would have lots of backlash.  To add insult to injury, one of them (just one!) has 20 teeth, not 18. I have no choice but to write them off.  (Of course, I will try to get a refund, but I’m not holding my breath.)

Fortunately, I know where to buy good pulleys, so the kits won’t be delayed because of this setback.  They won’t be cheap, but I won’t increase the price of the kit.  The dual-Y upgrade also includes one pulley — I won’t change the price of that either.  However, I have to give up my plan to sell extra pulleys in the store, because I can’t offer them at a reasonable price.

I am ordering the fasteners and Z threaded rod today, all in nice shiny stainless steel, from a UK-based supplier I trust.