I have a bunch of parts that I need to cut. I have semi permanently mounted a jig to my waste-board that will hold my material. Due to the size of the material and the shapes being cut I need the spindle to start at the exact same place every time. I’m using Easel to cut these parts. My question is how would you suggest I achieve this exact starting point every time. The machine is turned off and sits idle for weeks at a time so I can be certain from session to session the gantry will not be where I left it. So I need to have a way of getting it back to the exact starting point again. My plan was to set the machine to zero and then enter an off set in easel to jog the the X, Y and Z with known numbers to the preferred starting point. Is this plausible and is it accurate?
Depends on the level of accuracy, but yes.
Your machine will store the values of your work zero, and Easel will ask you to probe or manually set Z. You shouldn’t need to jog or remember / write down offset values.
What if I bump the gantry when it is powered off? as I said this is a guarantee between the kids and the shop owner setting stuff on the unit it is not going to be reliably located in the same place between power ups. hence my question I need to get it to the exact starting point at the beginning of every session.
If you home, it’ll always go back to the same place.
Oh, sorry for my ignorance I think I understand what you are saying, Is this G-code “G10 L20 P1 X0 Y0” ? can I send plain old G-Code using Easel?
This sets the current X and Y machine position as Work Zero in the G54 co-ordinate space without changing Z.
I’m sorry people feel the need to say that here.
For the most part, through the machine inspector.
To clarify, you shouldn’t need to send the G10 L20 X0 Y0, Easel does that when you zero XY. If you send a $#, you’ll see the work coordinate offsets. Basically, it’ll show you how far away from your “home” your work zero is. That information stays until you change it.
Thanks I appreciate you trying to help but if you don’t want me to apologize for my ignorance again I’ll need a whole lot more detail. When someone says they are ignorant they usually are, your answers appear to be assuming I understand something about these machines beyond the pretty little buttons on the easel interface. I assure you I am rather void in that department.
So If I don’t send G code then what is the meaning of this comment (“A “G10 L20 P1 X0 Y0” will eliminate this step for you”)? what does this do and how do I use it?
OK so when you say “zero XY” isn’t this what the homing does? or are you talking about the X0 Y0 in the code above?
when I power on the machine and want to start a job easel will start the job where ever the spindle is sitting when I hit the carve button. as far as I can tell it just assumes that I put it where I wanted it. I guess I’m missing something. I’m trying to get my bit, lets say for arguments sake at x=1.5" y=1.5" z=1.25".
Sorry for the confusion…that was a link to another thread with a similiar discussion. Relevant, but you can ignore it if you’d like. Like I said, Easel sent that for you.
Homing finds your machine zero. Your work zero can be anywhere you want. You say you have a jig so your workpiece will always be in the same place. Your work zero is set where you want it (usually bottom left corner if desining in Easel). Your work zero is some distance offset from your machine zero (home). Your machine stores that distance in persistent memory.
Do you use a Z probe?
I do not have a probe and since the material thickness is relatively consistent I figured I could drop the Z a set amount from machine zero every time and be good.
This forum software is not what I’m used to. Now that I understand that your original post was a link your comments seem a whole lot less cryptic since the other thread explains it in detail. yup that was an Ah ha moment!
Now I need to research what this bump stop stuff is all about.
When your machine is off you can move it wherever you want (just do it slowly as to not potentially damage the electronics)
When you power it on and run a homing cycle, it will reset the machine zero to the home position (machine zero) which should be the same every time you power on and do it.
Your work zero (or this offset you refer to) will be a relative offset from that home position. It’s not an absolute point in space. So if you home to the same spot, that offset will always be to the same spot.
What Neil is saying is that when carving through Easel and it asks you to set your X, Y, and Z position, it uses a special command that saves that relative position to the memory of the Arduino/Xcontroller. By doing that once, the next time you carve, you just tell Easel to use that saved position and don’t change it.
A bump stop is the same thing as your jig that you’re describing. A bump stop is just a physical means to setup a piece of material to the same coordinate system repeatedly (a jig).
I made a jig (I call it a fixture) for some sign boards I’m going to be making a lot of:
Mine is setup in a much more complex way but that’s just me.
Watching the video on this page might help. At least it will introduce you to some terminology.
Scroll down the page to this video “BUMP STOP, G28, AND G30”
Bump stop along with G28 & G30 have been a life saver for me. Right now I use an “L” shaped bump stop, but I think I will change it to pins as Peter shows in this video.
I highly recommend a Z-probe, whether you buy one or make one (it is a relatively simple device). I bought one with my machine because it was easier to order everything. It is a simple 2-wire connection with a piece of conductive material.
So very glad I asked this question there are a lot of features available to even the most novice X-Carver. I had no idea there even was a machine inspector. the Developers have effectively hidden it really well multiple clicks down through the interface. It’s too bad it looks like an incredible tool.
This video explained everything I didn’t understand my thanks to the video creator and to everyone here who tried to help and all the links. the mental haze has begun to lift.
@PhilJohnson has done a lot of great things to support this forum. Check out his site. http://www.designsbyphil.com
Ctrl-Shift-D
This is the sortcut to the Machine Inspector.
