part of me is thinking about taking my counter sink bit and counter sinkin the other side. i am so picky that having separate screws on each side will bug me. but that is a me problem.
same time my 3d printer decided to break so it’s been a double punch of a day for me.
Hi, I’m cnc machinist if You give me that pic I would do exactly same as They did. The plate are just like the dxf now 
One of those things I just can’t win at. If I did not include the counter bore specs, then I would have the same problem and people would be asking me what size should the counter bore be… I added a picture with the holes highlighted. What would you suggest I do differently?
Technically these are Non-commercial licensed and in sticking with the spirit of me giving it all away for free you should not have submitted them to another company (which is producing my parts for a profit) you should have just bought them from me. Then there would have been no issue.
I suppose that it is easier to drill/countersink/whatever if people get thicker plates, or else you need it specified in boldface caps or int he DXF title that it’s for 6mm material only. 
Or else people are going to need different length M3 screws for thicker plates…
My suggestion is to offer two versions of the DXF file: one with the outer holes for countersinking, and one without, with a large alert notice on the differences between them so folks have to make an educated choice at the time of download. Also mention that if they are doing thick and needing to countersink to be careful to stress, that mirroring is needed.
@vicious1 hey there. i am not attacking you. i really appreciate what you do here and i have actually spent a lot of money in your store already. i had the YZ plates made in aluminum and sent these to the machinist at the same time, that is why I didn’t buy from your store for this specific item. Also, it looks like yours are steel in the store photos and I wanted to stay with aluminum.
My suggestion:
Option 1: On the document page where you have in the table the “XZ Plate Left” and “XZ Plate Right” links … make them go to an actual left and right version of the plate. That way if someone counter sinks, cool, no harm, just use counter sink screws.
Option 2: Replace your link with just the standard plate w/o the counter sinks. Add another link below that with “here is the dxf with counter sink holes, be sure to specify the dept of the counter sink to the machinist as well as mirror it so you have a left and a right version”
Thank you for doing this and building this community. I hope not to be a bother. I am not blaming you. Your documentation maybe 
But not you. Stuff happens.
I think that just ends up with confusion either way. The description is one sentence stating the needed thickness, and if outside that, what to do. I really feel that a simple one sentence solution is ideal here. Adding more files and details just adds more things to go wrong. I think in the end it would be the same effect, the instructions would need to be read and followed carefully.
The part was specifically made to be universal, there is no left or right, so making new parts means I also need to change the instructions to reflect that. When the parts are bought from me, they are identical, so saying “left, right” in the instructions means I will get questions since there would be no difference.
If you were making them yourself the mistake would not happen which is the intended audience. Machine shops charge extra for couterboring and countersinking , I am surprised it was done without asking or a charge. Counterboring leaves room for some misalignment and the same screws as the kit, countersinking would require more expensive parts and extra screws, counterboring is specified if the thickness exceeds the specs.
We have had two different machine shops make different choices here, so I might add something but I am not clear what to add or if I even should.
I agree with you Ryan. It is tricky. No one wants to make this mistake.
My only critique or suggestion is to put the sentence in a warning box. And maybe add something like, “The dxf includes the counter bore. So make sure you only cut the smaller hole all the way through”. Or something like that.
It is one thing if a machine shop does it. The NC license prohibits that. But I could see myself needing that help if I was cutting it myself. Honestly, I bet these dxfs are used more often in wood than in Al. Most people who want metal will just buy from you.
It may just be one of those things that catches 1% of people and any other solution would confuse 2%.
can a mod change the thread title to contain XZ plates so when users search they can see this thread.
thanks again ryan for chatting with me via email too.
I like it, I’ll try to do that now.
I love it. That would have stopped me from just blindly sending the file without putting those instructions in.
So just an update. I opted to counter sink the other side of the plate. It actually worked out every well. I used counter sink screws and that forced everything to be centered. So maybe on V4 those should come countersunk 
Since this is a 1/4 plate there is plenty of meat left to keep everything rigid.
On a side note, on my YZ plates I used M3x20 screws and put nuts on the back. I also threaded the holes with an M3 tap. I am known for over kill. I thought it looked cool and those rails aint gonna budge. Thought I would share.
You could also check the forums there is plenty of info there
Just saying
You could also read up and see that the problem was solved
Thanks for making this clear Ryan, I was wondering about the rights and wrongs of getting a set made myself so I appreciate the clarification that sending your DXF files out to a shop to get made is a breach of the licence they are released under. 
it’s actually not unless the shop sells them to users other than the requestor for a profit.
The shop using the file to a make a set of plates to sell to you is a breach of the non commercial licence. That’s my interpretation of what the person who shared the files is saying.
The basic idea is you can make them yourself, or buy them from me. If money is moving any other way that is a bummer. So I do not agree with your statement.
To clarify, as this topic can get complicated really quickly.
If a shop takes a CC-NC design and makes it an sells it to you (by request or otherwise) it’s similar to a printshop printing a pdf of a copyrighted book.
It’s exactly what @vicious1 (the licensor) said, the Licensor is the only one able to make money in any way with the licensed work (the design).
I’m not sure if the person at fault is the requestor or the shop, If you didn’t specify the file you provided is licensed and you knew the work was licensed then It’s probably you.
These are the sources I’ve consulted on this:
https://creativecommons.org/faq/#does-my-use-violate-the-noncommercial-clause-of-the-licenses
https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/NonCommercial_interpretation
https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Defining_Noncommercial
Yes, about this topic i was hearing yesterday from a youtuber… Open source isn’t just as open, but also not a sustainable way.
This exact thing happens with Openbuilds designs of the workbee/sphinx/ox cnc. You can see various plates made by wome Chinese companies that are just copying the originals v1-v2 and v.2.1 designs. They dont release the drawings for the v3 plate set for obvious reasons. (Nothing stops those companies from buying a set and just making the copies but its at least something!!!)
Don’t get me wrong. Ryan have a point (and a pair of XZ plates in aluminum is really cheap from the shop) i wish he could sell some YZ in aluminum too
