Calibrating your CNC axis and steps - Beginners guide 

Wow! Really cool that you watched my video, thank you. It will pin this to the top as it is useful information.

Thanks 🙏

Wow thanks this is a lifesaver I really struggled b4 I came across this information

Thank you very much 🙏

Glad to help

I love finding out information like that. Thanks for sharing 👍

Glad it was helpful!

Excellent, that is always good to hear. I hope you get on well with it

Glad its helped 👍

Thank you for the support 👍

run at different accelerations till it skips steps then you know how fast you can go

Thank you :)

Thank you. Always nice to hear. Easiest thing with Candle is it requires no installation. Technically UGS doesn't either but it does require Java being installed in order to run (although I think they released a bundled version of UGS and Java). That is about where the advantages for Candle end. UGS has better options and functions, as you will have seen in the video it has a setup wizard which can help solve some basic issues people run into. Its Z probe function does a fast find and then a slow find making it more accurate. The travel measurement for the Z can be controlled separately to the X and Y minimising the risk of burying your bit into the material by mistake. these are just some of my favourite features but there are more

I had them on my site but I have a feeling I accidentally edited them a while back. Here you go www.techydiy.org/sainsmart-genmitsu-proverxl-4030-grbl-settings/

I'd probably say the other way around. Calibrating the steps is about making your machine accurate, tuning your GRBL settings is about making it faster. 99% of the time I would pick accuracy over speed but not everyone will.

Thanks

No code used. Just use the jog controls in the software

This talks you through the different options 👍 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EMI97Rcb0bQ.html

Hi, Check you GRBL settings particularly $10. It should be set to $10=3

It can be multiple things such as bad wiring, too much resistance on one side. This article briefly cover some of the issues openbuilds.com/threads/y-axis-operating-at-different-speeds.17135/

That is a fairly simple cut that you could do in the free version of Easel as opposed to getting someone to make it for you

What software? Usually you have to get your bit within about 10mm of the probe, but within UGS you can control this distance to be greater or smaller

Check your gcode. Should look something like: G38.2 Z-15 F50 G38.2 is the probe command, Z-15 says "go down by as much as 15mm or until you hit the probe", F50 says "move the probe at 50mm/minute.

You can either adjust the height of the router in the holder to compensate or in your design software you will have a safe height, sometimes this can be as much as 1 inch. If you reduce this value down to something like 0.25in then it should work better

@@JamesDeanDesigns I will check it out, thanks

No, it wasn't there. I've just added it but its winder.github.io/ugs_website/

They can be any distance and the calculations should still work

Thank you James

Thank you 👍

Happy to help 😁

You can but more factors come into things then such as backlash in the axis, run out on the spindle and diameter of the bits (most of my 3.175 bits are actually closer to 3mm for example) so yes, you should find your cuts will be more accurate but may not be perfect because of the other things I just mentioned

@@JamesDeanDesigns if you do an outside path on a box should this not then match, regardless of the bit size?

@@derekjenkinson8014 in theory yes, but as I say backlash can account a couple of 10ths or a millimeter, your bit may be oversized or undersized, again accounting for a 10th or two of a millimeter, then spindle runout can make the bit cut wider than its diameter. I'm just telling you this because I've known people try and spend hour getting this 100% perfect but there are other factor to consider

The software I use is called UGS which is short for Universal G-code Sender

If they have the same size lead screw or belts/cogs then usually they will be very close but not necessary exactly the same

@@JamesDeanDesigns I was wondering about that. Presumably they're using the same motors, drive electronics, and leadscrews, so why would they be different?

@@Roy_Tellason it's just tolerances to be honest. Every component used will have a tolerances and therefore can just be a fraction different, plus wear and tear. You might find one axis wears more than the other. The X and Y will be very close but chances are they will have a slight difference

@@JamesDeanDesigns If wear is a factor does that mean that you should repeat this calibration periodicall.y?

@@Roy_Tellason yes, depending how much you use your machine maybe look to do it every 4-6months. Obviously keeping things well lubricated will prolong this as well

Multiple reasons for this video and process. Everything made will have a tolerance. This is about tuning your machine work with the tolerance of the components. Also let's say you've wiped your GRBL settings and don't know your step settings, this process will give you the value needed. In my experience, newer machines with ball screws do seem to be more accurate but I've still had to dial mime in a little