Cutting depth changes during carve

Recently i started having trouble with my xcarve. For some reason the depth started carving deeper than what i have it set at. I normally set my depth at .125 which ive done for the past three years with very minor issues. Now it seems to start cutting much deeper right from the start. Then there are times where its carving fine and all of a sudden it just starts carving deeper. I stop the carve and when it goes back to the xy position it carves the piece on its way back. Can someone please point me in the right dirrection on what i could do. Thank you

Sounds like you have a problem with your z axes. Check to make sure the grub screws are tight on the stepper motor.

If you have pulleys on your Z-Axis with set screws, I would suggest taking a look and making sure the set screws are tight. Blue Loctite (or its generic equivalent) works well to keep things like that in place.

Otherwise, you can inspect the belt and ensure the stepper motor is not loose as well for starters.

Ninja’d by @WayneHall

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Brandon Parker

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I checked all that and one was a bit loose. I squared the x carriage and z axis and ran another carve.It started out fine but then it started to do it again. It just keeps carving well beyond the .125 setting i have on it. Could it be a control board issue?

Hi Lewis,

possibly it doesn’t have anything with your control board maybe it’s just bad communication.
Machine Interface Controller, try another one to see if your issue goes away

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Another option is signal interference if your not grounded properly. DC near an AC circuit. Exciting things.
Or mechanical issue as stated earlier.
Or a $$setting regarding holding torque? Can’t remember if there is one offhand.

The holding torque setting is $1 (Step Idle Delay (msec)) and I would recommend setting that to 255.

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Brandon Parker

I had basically the same issue yesterday. Noticed if i change the wood type but kept all other specs the same, the depth would change.

Hi Luis.
Is this a pre nov 2021 xcarve, or the new version?
If its the older one does it have the new z upgrade?

Also can you go into the machine inspector and grab the settings for $102. (Press ctrl+Shift+D ans then scroll down to the settings)

Here are the settings for the older version along with a link that shows the upgrade settings (these uograde settings are the same settings used for the post nov 2021 version)

I believe i bought this in 2020. I checked all the settings and they are the same as whats on the link you sent me.

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Thanks, i checked it and its what it was to.

Thanks for checking those settings. With the settings verified it soubds like it might be a phtsical issue… possibly the z axis belt tension is too loose :man_shrugging: but im kinda guessing at this point

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:man_facepalming: :person_facepalming:t4: Thats exactly what it was!! thank for all your help.

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Also make sure to tighten down the collet firmly, as the bits can vibrate out over time. Seat the bits as deeply as it can go minus some space for retraction as the collet pulls in. Less stick out is better.

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