I am new to CNC and have a few questions about getting the machine fully dialed in, and I don’t see answers in the assembly or calibration sections (although the instructions were really great overall).
Regarding the homing switch actuators, I have them installed and working great but I see no guidance on where exactly to set them. I decided to set the actuators to a point at the front left most corner of the wasteboard that does not cause any contact between the carriage/router and the rails, but the x/y coordinates do not read zero at this spot. Should they read zero or is there a way to make those coordinates read zero from that point going forward?
In terms of squaring the machine, I intend to make some juice grooves on a large cutting board. It would be critical that the board would be exactly square to what the machine considers the X and Y axis, or the grooves could drift from the edges. I don’t see much guidance on this. How do I know if my board is perfectly square?
Thank you in advance.
The home switches need to be placed in a position where when they are tripped, the machine can back out the amount you decide in the machine settings, and open up again. You can put them where you like within the travel of the axes. Most people want the most work area as possible.
As far as squaring it up, you can measure diagonally across the axes and adjust the extrusion until the measurement is the same length.
I’ve seen some guys make a pair of equal length sticks to ensure the x axis is the same distance from the front extrusion. You can slightly adjust the axes before the machine is powered up as the motors will then lock into that position.
How to Square the XCarve Easy (No Math and No Complicated Tools) (youtube.com)
When you home the machine the end result should be work 0,0,0. The machine zero is based on what is flashed on the arduino. In some cases it could be negative. When that bugs me, I disconnect the controller and turn it back on without homing again. Then it should read all zeros.
Thanks for the help. That same you tuber had a video on a washboard grid also that was helpful.
When you say disconnect the controller are you saying to turn it off?
Yes, power off. If you turn it back on, machine zero should be where it is without homing again. Work zero can be reset to zero. It is all zeros then. My x controller circuit board was flashed to show the old standard of home on an older cnc machine. It showed -27 or something like that which annoyed me. The option was to reflash the board which I didn’t want to do, or just home, and restart again.
Homing Vs Work Zero Negative space - Easel / Easel Pro - Inventables Community Forum
