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  1. #31
    Thanks firetrappe fpr helping to sort this out. I think we've got all our answers now.

    Quote Originally Posted by D-man View Post
    But shouldn't it rise 3 mm. To get the plate out and then drop 19 mm to Z 0 when goto zero is pressed or am I grasping this thing all wrong?

    (16+3=19. Go to zero -19 in the positive direction)
    No, the Clearance Plane is not an offset amount. It's the Z level where all rapids are performed at, in Work Coordinates. The manual explains in a little more detail on what it should be set to (Page 11). It MUST be a larger value than the plate thickness. If your fixed plate is higher than your movable plate, the Clearance plane needs to be higher than that plate as well.

    for starters my plate thickness is not 16mm! i cut a 5mm pocket where it sits on the corner of the workpiece!! so in actual fact it is 11mm!!
    And now we know why the Material Offset was not set correctly.

    Strangely enough that worked!
    Not strange at all had you followed the instructions in the manual.

    however, when i press "go to zero" the tool plunges into the material around 0.2mm
    Because your plate is probably 10.8mm thick. Do you have a caliper or micrometer you can measure it with? Also, with such a large plate, it's important that it's perfectly flat, and is lying on a perfectly flat surface.

    shall i use the "offset" to counter act that?
    NO!!! If your plate thickness value is set correctly, your Z zero will be set correctly. Trust me, this works for thousands of other users.

    Read the manual for an explanation of what the Material Offset can be used for.
    Last edited by Ger21; 02-11-2014 at 12:31 PM.
    Gerry
    ______________________________________________
    UCCNC 2022 Screenset

    Mach3 2010 Screenset

    JointCAM - CAM for Woodworking Joints

  2. The Following User Says Thank You to Ger21 For This Useful Post:


  3. #32
    Thanks Gerry. I DID read the manual, however i think ive just been a little confused as to what some things mean...

    For example:

    I thought that the "clearance" was that above the PLATE not from the bottom of the plate and then some.

    Plus the fact i may have been thinking too much about my steaks lastnight!!

    I appreciate it guys thank you very much! even tho its made me look as thick as pig s***
    Last edited by D-man; 02-11-2014 at 12:40 PM.

  4. #33
    I thought that................
    Thinking always gets people in trouble.
    Gerry
    ______________________________________________
    UCCNC 2022 Screenset

    Mach3 2010 Screenset

    JointCAM - CAM for Woodworking Joints

  5. #34
    Quote Originally Posted by Ger21 View Post
    Thinking always gets people in trouble.
    I have that trouble as well. Glad it is now sorted for you. ..Clive
    Last edited by Clive S; 02-11-2014 at 01:34 PM.

  6. #35
    yeah cheers guys, feel like a pro now when im setting up haha

  7. #36
    Glad to see you've got it working and understand the parameters now.

    Seeing as you're new to probing, here are a few tips that might help you..

    Assuming that your setting your jobs up with z0 being the top of your workpiece :

    When cutting pockets, slots or engraving/v-carving do as you're doing now - put the touchplate on top of the workpiece and zero to top. This means your cuts will be the exact depth that you've programmed.

    When cutting profiles (full depth of your material) then put your touchplate on your spoilboard (probably upside-down in your case as you have a lip on the bottom) and zero to the spoilboard. THEN, click in the Z axis DRO and SUBTRACT the thickness of your workpiece material from whatever the DRO is showing. ie. if the DRO shows 30.000mm and your material thickness is 10mm change the Z DRO to value to 20.000mm.

    The reason for doing this is that your workpiece may not be exactly the thickness you think it is. For example, I recently bought some 18mm thick plywood from B&Q. It turned out that it actually measured 15.5mm thick. I'd programmed my toolpaths based on the material being 18mm. If i'd probed to the top of the material then I would have ended up cutting 2.5mm into my spoilboard - and the 2mm tabs i'd programmed to prevent the part breaking free wouldn't have worked. Probing to the spoilboard meant that my spoilboard wasn't damaged and the tabs worked. It also means that if your material is slightly thicker then you'll still cut all the way through rather than leaving an onion-skin.

    I use a similar method for surfacing my spoilboard too. I have a toolpath created to surface my spoilboard which has a cutting depth of zero. To use the file, i'll probe to my spoilboard as above, then click the Z-DRO and ADD the amount that I wish to take off the spoilboard. ie, if my Z DRO is showing 30.000mm then i'll change it to 30.200mm. This will take 0.2mm off the spoilboard and means I can have one 'surfacing' gcode file which can be changed on-the-fly to remove as much or little material as I want.

    I hope I haven't confused you even more, but these procedures work for me and might help someone else reading this thread.

    Si.

  8. The Following User Says Thank You to firetrappe For This Useful Post:


  9. #37
    When cutting profiles (full depth of your material) then put your touchplate on your spoilboard (probably upside-down in your case as you have a lip on the bottom) and zero to the spoilboard. THEN, click in the Z axis DRO and SUBTRACT the thickness of your workpiece material from whatever the DRO is showing. ie. if the DRO shows 30.000mm and your material thickness is 10mm change the Z DRO to value to 20.000mm.

    The reason for doing this is that your workpiece may not be exactly the thickness you think it is. For example, I recently bought some 18mm thick plywood from B&Q. It turned out that it actually measured 15.5mm thick. I'd programmed my toolpaths based on the material being 18mm. If i'd probed to the top of the material then I would have ended up cutting 2.5mm into my spoilboard - and the 2mm tabs i'd programmed to prevent the part breaking free wouldn't have worked. Probing to the spoilboard meant that my spoilboard wasn't damaged and the tabs worked. It also means that if your material is slightly thicker then you'll still cut all the way through rather than leaving an onion-skin.
    THIS is what the Material Offset was designed to be used for.

    Just set the Material Offset to 18, and zero to the spoilboard, and your Z zero will be set 18mm above the spoilboard. No need to be changing DRO values. The screenset can handle this automatically.



    I use a similar method for surfacing my spoilboard too. I have a toolpath created to surface my spoilboard which has a cutting depth of zero. To use the file, i'll probe to my spoilboard as above, then click the Z-DRO and ADD the amount that I wish to take off the spoilboard. ie, if my Z DRO is showing 30.000mm then i'll change it to 30.200mm. This will take 0.2mm off the spoilboard and means I can have one 'surfacing' gcode file which can be changed on-the-fly to remove as much or little material as I want.
    You can use the Material Offset with a negative value to do this.
    Last edited by Ger21; 02-11-2014 at 03:08 PM.
    Gerry
    ______________________________________________
    UCCNC 2022 Screenset

    Mach3 2010 Screenset

    JointCAM - CAM for Woodworking Joints

  10. The Following User Says Thank You to Ger21 For This Useful Post:


  11. #38
    Gerry, thanks for the clarification of the Material Offset parameter. I did use that originally but found that I sometimes forgot to change it as I always have the 'Run' tab showing. I find it easier to remember to change the DRO but that's just my personal preference.

    Si.

  12. #39
    I almost added the statement that the only problem with the Material Offset, is forgetting that it's on or off.
    Gerry
    ______________________________________________
    UCCNC 2022 Screenset

    Mach3 2010 Screenset

    JointCAM - CAM for Woodworking Joints

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