I am looking getting a M4 after seeing all the things from the kikstarter and one of the materials I would be working with would be sheet aluminum. The sheets come standard 60” wide by 120” long.
I remember on previous model a larger frame could be made by adding to the chain length. With the built in belt cables of the M4, can the new unit work on frame designed for bigger then plywood standard size of 48” by 98”?
see Maslow Chain Geometry diff - Google Sheets
it looks like you would run out of belt, needing 14.4 ft of belt when only 13.5 fits on the spools (you get a few inches more than 13.5 ft, but I’m not sure exactly how much more)
There is work being done to allow fixed-length additions to the belts, that would allow you to reach.
you would need a frame 14’ wide and 10’2" tall (24" off each side, 31" off top and bottom)
I was thinking that at min, the frame would need to be 144" wide by 96". This being that the standard width of frame is 120" for a 96" wide material. That would give a 12" clear area of frame around top and sides of material.
Does the M4 require more free space around the edge then previous models have?
yes, the old one could get within 10 degrees of vertical/horizontal for the
chain angles, the new one is limited to 20 degrees.
we have also found that this can limit you in the othe direction as well, the
two opposite chains can’t be closer than 130 degrees from each other, which may
require an even larger frame.
David Lang
