Raw 2.5 Creative Forum - Recent Topics

Where in the USA to get plates for the build?

Kevin kittinger — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 20:52:07 +0000

All US Builders,

I am looking around the USA for who can cut the steel plates (3mm and 6mm) for the build. I have heard good words about SendCutSend.com from friends who use them for personal jobs and their employers uses them extensively. My friends say they deliver the product fast and very high quality cuttings with good prices.

I downloaded the drawing from the Rack & Pinion as a test. I had to move each part into its own dxf file. 16 parts from the R&P download produced a minimum cost of $508.16 (USD) including delivery. Powder coating would add to the cost which I didn't ask for on the initial quote. I will also get 15% off my first order by using a link on a youtube.

Are there other sites that I should look at for cutting my plates?

Rack and Pinion Plates

Kevin kittinger — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 20:35:21 +0000

The Webpage for BOM and Parts for Rack and Pinion has a download button for dxf files but states the plates are only available for Belt systems. When I downloaded from R&P web page and compared to the dxf files from the Belt version, I find that the two downloads are significantly different (and more plates -- 13 parts in 6mm drawing and 3 parts in 3mm drawings for the R&P machine) than what are downloaded from the Belt version on the other web page. Are you still working on the plate drawings for the Rack and Pinion or is the warning statement on the R&P web page inaccurate? In other words, can I use the drawings to cut plates for the R&P build?

Aluminium profiles for Large size table

Gatis Abele — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 10:36:08 +0000

Hi everyone,

I am looking to build a large size RAWcnc machine. My working material is 3000x900mm, so I need the frame with a size of around 4 meters.

Where should I start? As standard shipping couriers in Europe usually don't accept packages over 2 or 2.4 meters, ordering a 4-meter profile online seems to require expensive custom freight delivery.

For those of you who have built large tables:

Where did you source your long extrusions? (I am located in Latvia / the Baltics).
Did you pay for commercial freight, or did you splice shorter 2-meter profiles together to save on shipping?
If you spliced them, how did you ensure the frame remained perfectly rigid and didn't sag in the middle?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

Best regards, Gatis

Issues putting it all together

Steve Sandström — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 11:02:40 +0000

I have a couple of minor issues when putting my machine together.

I ordered the kits, racks and pinions from the website. The only parts I have sourced elsewhere so far are guide rail and steel tubing.

So far I've come across a couple of issues putting this all together, worthy noting and thinking of.

1. When mounting the spring loaded motor mounting plates on their assigned positions, the M8 bolt is too thick for the precut holes.

I considered two different solutions. One was theeading and the other was drilling the hole wider. Thoughts?

2. The rails are to be mounted by m4x12 machine screws and m4 t-nuts. However, those screws are too short. They do not reach all the way down to the theeads.So I need longer screws, and was thinking M4x16 since I'm not sure M4x12 would add much enough extra thread to actually give the strength needed.

If I stumble upon additional hardships, small or large, I will add those here.

Summer break – slower replies

Rawcnc — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 07:55:42 +0000

We are currently on summer break and will be back around mid-August.

We will still try to answer questions when we can, but replies may take longer than usual during this period.

During this time, feel free to help each other in the forum. Many questions can be answered by other builders, and I will jump in when I have the possibility.

Thank you for your patience and for being part of the Raw Creative / RawCNC community.

Square Tube for X-Axis

Kevin kittinger — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 21:29:14 +0000

Having difficulty finding rectangular steel tubing for X-Axis. Could I substitute a slightly undersized Imperial sized steel tubing (size 3"x1.5"x 1/8")? And then fill the void in the width with something that doesn't compress like washers or metal shims. I don't think the undersized vertical dimension is important to be exact as you are looking for strength.

Protective cover between plates

Steve Sandström — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 10:09:34 +0000

In the first builf video, at approximately 57 minutes, after finishing mounting plates eith motors etc, the white cover plate is installed.

In the BOM, only regular distances are mentioned. But in the video you have some kind of cover which given the longevity of the machine and its precision is probably more or less my wish.

Now I bought the hardware kit whicj has the regular spacers. In the video you mentiln some covers, but I don't know whether it's the Valchromat covers for the alu rail on top or if it's this black contoured cover you mention. But I guess it's only theValchronat one you're talking about because it's the only one I find in your store.

I would like to have these covers, how do I get those? Are they 3d-printed plastics or what? Since I bought the finished kit I haven't studied all drawings. Are there .stl files or similar for those in the pack?

Prepared Motedis aluminium frame links added

Rawcnc — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 08:12:04 +0000

We have now added prepared Motedis cart links in the BOM pages for the standard Raw Creative 2.5 frame sizes:

Creative 75
Creative 100
Creative 150
Creative 200

These links include the aluminium profiles needed for each frame size and are intended to make ordering easier.

Please note that only the aluminium frame profiles are included. Always check the cart contents before ordering, as prices, stock and availability are handled directly by Motedis.

If you find anything that looks wrong, missing or unclear in the carts, please let us know so we can check and update the links.

Material questions

Kevin kittinger — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 20:09:29 +0000

Spacer Z 10mm lists HPL or plastic on BOM. Is HPL a high pressure laminate? This is not something that I have experience with. Most US site show MDF like product with a printed laminate. Can we use MDF or a good quality plywood? When you list plastic, are you suggesting a 3D printed product with a strong filament? or some other type plastic

Your plates state they can be cut from steel. What type of steel? a low carbon steel? ASTM has lots of different types of steel.

Calculator Feedback/suggestion

Kevin kittinger — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 20:23:09 +0000

First day in the system and playing with everything. I noticed that the calculator produces 4 rows of numbers with no labels as to what they are. I am assuming they relate to the frame components listed on the picture at the top of the calculator. Low priority for future cleanup of the calculator.

My assumption is that they are X Rails, Y Rails, Gantry Rails, Cross members.

2x 80x20 aluminium profile = 1495 mm
2x 80x20 aluminium profile = 990 mm
2x 60x20 aluminium profile = 934 mm
3x 60x20 aluminium profile = 1455 mm

Another suggestion: being new to the project, it would be helpful to have a picture with parts labeled to help with the learning curve. Such as the difference between an X Rail and a Gantry Rail. I am sure I will eventually stumble across these terms being used in the video or in the instructions.