I have a newbie question that I need help with. I am working with Aspire and Picsender. I am also doing some 3D stuff using the clipart from Aspire and some from Design and Make. When doing the clipart carves, I use Aspire’s Rough Cut followed by a Finish cut. The preview is great and the rough cut comes out the way I want it to. The question is, to do the finish cut with a different bit (a Jerray tapered bit from Amazon), do I have to rehome, using Charlie Thomas’s Triquetra, with the new bit, or do I maintain the same work zero locations that were set for the rough carve?
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You just use the previous X and Y, and redo Z.
The X and Y zero are the same no matter what bit you use next.
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when changing bits you need to do all 3 axis.
The xcarve will move in x and y. It has done this to me no matter how careful I was.
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If you are going back to the beginning you should just have to go with the previous x-y. The cnc machines I use to work with had auto tool changers and magazines that we had to load and set before the job started. Once the job started the code automatically called for the T6M6 and loaded the right tool in the spindel. then it went back to the start and continued on. My mach 3 set-up has a auto tool change setting that shuts off the spindel, goes to home,then goes to a pre-arranged tool change location, then to a touch plate and finally back to where the code calls for, either to the last point or back to the beginning.
Machine off
Machine on
$H homing cycle
Zero to work X,Y bottom left using manual position 3-2-1 or other homing jig
G28.1 to save this position as offset from $H final position
Zero to work surface using paper, eye, or other homing jig (triquetra?)
run 3d roughing cut g-code
Raise z and change bit
$H homing cycle
G91 G28 X0 Y0
This returns to same X, Y when you ran G28
Zero to work surface using paper, eye, or other homing jig
Run 3d finish g-code
Lather, rinse and repeat
When you use standard collet and wrench it can move. Someone even told me that before.
I had an issue changing bits where tightening the bit caused the X and or Y to shift a small amount.
I was told by another user here that I needed to re-zero all 3 axis again to ensure the carve would be correct.
I am not using default board. I have the TB6600 now.
However if Marc has older system like mine then he could be faced with that as an issue.
Just that someone at one time told me that I had to rezero all 3 axis. I can’t remember who.
I am getting the Gecko 540 and will have better motors later when I can buy them.
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Now, now, children. Play nice. I just asked a simple question. I received an answer which is great. Now it leads to another question. I am using the Triquetra zero block from Charlie Thomas. If I send the machine to the x,y zero point from the original carve, how do I reset Z for the new bit, using Charlie’s probe?
You can probe just Z on its own in Picsender (that’s what I use). This is just using buttons within the program, as I assume using the Triquetra to set X/y/z requires running a bit of code but not sure.
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Yes it does on Dewalt, because there is only one wrench. Makita never changes X and Y using two wrenches.
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I have the standard stepper that came with the machine. (I will buy new ones soon)
Here are the settings I am using:
$0=10 (step pulse, usec)
$1=255 (step idle delay, msec)
$2=0 (step port invert mask:00000000)
$3=4 (dir port invert mask:00000100)
$4=0 (step enable invert, bool)
$5=0 (limit pins invert, bool)
$6=0 (probe pin invert, bool)
$10=115 (status report mask:01110011)
$11=0.020 (junction deviation, mm)
$12=0.002 (arc tolerance, mm)
$13=0 (report inches, bool)
$20=0 (soft limits, bool)
$21=0 (hard limits, bool)
$22=1 (homing cycle, bool)
$23=3 (homing dir invert mask:00000011)
$24=25.000 (homing feed, mm/min)
$25=750.000 (homing seek, mm/min)
$26=250 (homing debounce, msec)
$27=1.000 (homing pull-off, mm)
$30=12000. (rpm max)
$31=0. (rpm min)
$100=40.000 (x, step/mm)
$101=40.000 (y, step/mm)
$102=188.947 (z, step/mm)
$110=8000.000 (x max rate, mm/min)
$111=8000.000 (y max rate, mm/min)
$112=500.000 (z max rate, mm/min)
$120=500.000 (x accel, mm/sec^2)
$121=500.000 (y accel, mm/sec^2)
$122=50.000 (z accel, mm/sec^2)
$130=740.000 (x max travel, mm)
$131=790.000 (y max travel, mm)
$132=100.000 (z max travel, mm)
after next week all of these will not be even considered.
I will have a gecko 540 with the smooth stepper and mach3
Links, por favor?
I have the same problem as Stephen Cook (don’t want you to feel like the loan arranger) but I suspect it’s part of a bigger problem which I will address in a fresh post.
I am currently upgrading my system to a Mach3 using the Gecko G540 and a Smoothstepper (Ethernet) board.
So far all is going well during testing. My next jobs are going to be rewiring and getting a enclosure for all the electronics.
I will not be using Easel anymore after the upgrade. Nor will I have the arduino board controlling my X-carve.
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In very belated reply to MarcCohen: My CNC program, Galaad, at setting origin stage, gives the option of whether using edge of cutter or centre. Obviously, If using centre cutter, the origins, other than Z axis, will remain the same. If using the edge of the cutter, a better memory than mine will have to remember to allow for the differences in the half diameter sizes of the cutters. Hope this helps.