You are certainly welcome....As mentioned several times in the video my demonstration works from the center of part. Also note that my CAM program allows me to cut either inside or outside of the vector and compensates for the cutter diameter. If your program will not perform this function you will need to take 1/2 of the cutter diameter into consideration.
Thank you for your explanation, I personally like to use the movement method close to the full length of the machine instead of a small cut file as you did because, the longer the movement, the more accurate your calibration would be. Using a small file like 5 inches, divided by 2 as in your case of the center being the reference point means, the small error is doubled every 2.5 inches of straight movement, by using the full length of the machine, this small error is divided or reduced for smaller file than the full machine length resulting in far greater accuracy.
You are correct, using a larger number (measurement) for the calibration process will reduce the error for smaller and mid sized projects. The majority of woodworkers using a CNC router rarely use their machines to maximum cutting area, and my video simply illustrates the calibration process. Please note that dimensions for organic materials change size with time and atmospheric conditions. Thank you for your comment.
@@pngcustomwoodworks3499 Yes, concerning variation in materiasl. This is why a reduce error approach as i mentioned is even more important when performing calibration.
I like the scale method when setting up a new machine but your method when fine tuning... Also, where are you from? I noticed that you used "Zed" to start the video and "Z" towards the end... LOL The reason this is funny to me is I'm an American living in Canada and i do the same... LOL
Use the K.I.S.S. Method. Us tech guys always overthink things. Anchor your caliper, Hook it to the tool, zero out the caliper then tell the CNC machine to move.
Good thought, I guess I'm old school and this simple test gives me feedback on all 3 axis for review and corrections. Going from X0Y0 in the lower left corner eliminates working from the center and removes the possibilities of math errors. Again working from the center is just my preference and one that I am comfortable with. Thank you for your feedback....Paul
I know, I just got my CNC and Im too scared to run it on anything yet because I have zero experience and im certain it's not dialed in completely. Mine also tends to torque lock the closer I dial it in. I have it so if I tell it to move 100mm it will move 99.9949 but if I try to dial it in any closer it locks up like Im running the X axis into the side of something even though I have a good 300mm to go. Nothing in the way, just a clean move from point A to point B along the X axis any ideas?
If you have it dialed in at .9949 you are within .0051 mm which is pretty darn close. And my guess is that you are asking your machine to move a distance it's not capable of.
I thank the basics of your tutorial for that .9949 and you are exactly right about my machine acting like I want it to go somewhere it can't! Except Im 20mm off the left side of the x axis so I have a whole 370mm to go to the right before I hit the limit switch (390mm total to be exact) Brand new machine, haven't even had the chance to wreck it yet.
If you can manually drive the machine to the limit switches and all moves as expected, your machine is probably OK. This leads to how you have Mach3 setup i.e.; home position, soft limits, etc, these settings can be confusing at first to a new user.
Seems to me this calibration - at least for X and Y - is specific to the diameter of your tool. If you ask for X travel of 5", and you've told your software you're using a 1/4" bit, but in reality that bit measures .245" - if your x axis actually moves exactly 5.250 as it should, your square will be oversize by .005". I prefer to calibrate my axes with actual movement of the head to eliminate this variable.
Thank you for viewing the video. True if you make a mistake inputting the cutter diameter you are inducing an error. I make it a practice to measure my tooling before chucking it into the collet giving cutter compensation accurate dimensions to work with. If my tool measures 0.245" that is the dimension I would enter. Remember you have geometry of known dimensions and asked your program to cut outside of the line.
This reply might get a little long. I'm not sure just what you are intending to use your 'A' Axis for and I hope this will give you some guidance. 1. Select the configuration tab 2. Select 'ports and pins' and check the enable button next to the 'A' axis - double check that the STEP and DIR pins are set correctly. Also check the STEP and DIR ports. 3. Click the OK button this takes you back to the Mach3 main screen page. 4. Click the 'RESET' button to unlock the screen 5. Select the configuration tab again. 6. Select System Hotkeys-you will allocate any unused key for A/U++ and A/U--. Make sure the keys you use are not allocated for another function. 7. Click on A/U++ and press the action key of your choice. Repeat for a/U--. ie; press #4 for A/u++ and #6 for A/u--. These keys should now move the "A" axis either in a positive or negative direction. If you are using the axis for a knife you may have to edit some GCode, G1 % G3 are sometimes a problem and arcs need to be changed to line segments.
Connor you are correct with your statement about including 1/2 of the cutter. I should have noted that my example was being driven around the outside of the vectors as defined by my CAM software which compensates for the tooling being used. Had I driven it entirely from the controller software (Mach3) I most certainly would have had to account for the cutter.
The short answer is no. However there is a simple work around for this problem. Create a simple pocket file the size of your cutting area and re-surface the spoil board with the largest cutter your machine will safely handle. I would suggest a 40% stepover and a feed rate adjusted for the cutter size. If you check the height at the 4 extreme corners of your machine travel the difference High-to-low determines the depth of cut.
