Hi, I have been looking for a simple and fast way to calibrate the x and y axis for a little while, and today I figured it out.
I have had a Wixey digital measurement device for some time, planning to use it with my table saw, but I’ve not needed it because the rack and pinion system on it has turned out to be extremely accurate. So, I thought I would make a simple bracket and try using it to calibrate the x-carve.
The Wixey device needs to be filed down on the inside so that it moves with minimal friction, but once I’d done that it worked beautifully. I was concerned about backlash but I didn’t need to be.
The linear encoder strip along the aluminium extrusion allows up to 650mm of travel. I had already calibrated the machine using 300mm digital vernier calipers so was confident it would be close to spot-on. The first run, specifying 500mm delivered 499.9mm on the Wixey. I changed the steps and ran the test again, and 500mm bang-on!
The spindle pushes against the Wixey, and pushes it along the linear encoder. Here are a few snaps of the tool in place.
The yellow bracket I made to hold the extrusion/linear encoder allows me to calibrate the x axis, then rotate it around to calibrate the y axis, nice and easy.
