XY issues :)

[thomo78]

Alright, I'm working on my first project right now with my AR8. It's a basic placard with pocket paths and a profile path to cut it out. The pocket path is being done with a clearing path. The clearing path goes perfectly. About half way through the next path with the finer tool, something happens and the XY axis deviates by an inch or so in both directions. This has happened on two attempts now. Some research has revealed that shuttle speed might be the culprit. If it is, how do I change that and do you have any suggestions about what I should change it too? Thank you!

[hotsticker]

My machine is an AR6 Pro and is doing the same exact thing yours is doing. I slowed the shuttle speed down to .2 and it still deviates off the x y path about half way through operation. I have tried everything I can think of and it still has a mind of its own it seems like.

[hotsticker]

You can change the shuttle speed during operation by the Y+/- keys.

[thomo78]

Let's wait and see what answers the forum yields. I have a feeling that we're making a newb mistake. Are you able to get anything done with your device? Mine does the clearing part like a champ, but then loses the XY axis around the same time in the fine-tuning path. It would make total sense that the tool is getting caught on the lip of the project and then losing it's calibration. I'm going to try and reduce the shuttle speed and see what happens. What is your initials shuttle speed at the beginning of the project?

[thomo78]

In the software, if you go into Toolpaths and then material set-up, there is a setting called Rapid Z-gaps. The answer might be hidden here.

[thomo78]

So, Y+/- alters the feed rate. The shuttle speed can be altered in the parameters screen before the job begins. It is referred to as fast speed. Mine was set at 1700.I've seen recommendations here for 1500-2000.I just adjusted mine to 1300. We'll see how it goes.

[thomo78]

Adjusting the "Fastspeed" setting to 1300 in parameters resolved my issue. It may work at a higher level, but I was using caution to not botch another attempt.

[johnb]

On my HUST controller, you can set the speeds high in the software and then lower them with the knobs, but you can't go higher than the software parameters. 100% is 100% of the speed/feed set in the software, and 50% is half of that. This basically means that you program in the speed you "think" you might be able to attain and then crank it down before cutting begins, "ooching" it up from there.

[weaverzinger]

XY issues.

I have the I2R and I too ran into a problem "hogging" out too much material making a lithophane. The problem is now that I slowed down my feed and speed I cannot get the spindle to follow the path. I hit "home" then "origin" and then set the X & Y to correspond with the bottom left corner of the material as I did in Vcarve Pro, however, as soon as I run the program it moves off the material and starts to run the program. Any advise? The problem first appeared while cutting the corian, it started to drift off the surface of the material.

[johnb]

Are you sure that you haven't somehow "homed" the machine to the work origin (rather than having "home" be the minimum-X and minimum-Y points to which the machine will travel?

"Home" should show X=0 and Y=0. The work origin (which will be the bottom left corner of your material) is an offset of those two numbers (in mm)...for instance X=200, Y=300 (in which case the machine "thinks" the material corner is 200 millimeters to the right and 300 millimeters "up" toward the other end of the table from the "bottom left" corner*.

After you've set the work origin (and likewise your Z-origin), when you "home" the machine, it should return from that position and stop at X-0, Y-0
When you run the file, it will start up and travel back to the point (on the workpiece) where the toolpath tells it to start cutting.

Using the example above, if your "home" is set to the bottom left corner of the work, then when you start the file, the machine will move to the right 200 mm and then away from you 300 mm before it starts cutting. If the work piece is smaller than 200mm x 300mm, what you'll be cutting is "air"

*(This assumes you are standing at the end of the machine perpendicular to the X axis and looking at the gantry from the side that the spindle/router is mounted on).

BTW - it's generally a lot easier to locate the work origin in the center of the workpiece than on a corner. Draw a small "cross" rather than a dot and line up the tip of the bit with the center of it. If it's a large flat ended bit, you might even want to temporarily replace that with a "pointy" one...but be sure you set your Z AFTER you put the "working" bit back in.

[weaverzinger]

Thank you JohnB...I was homing it correctly but I have been setting the work origin to the lower-left corner of the material...I will try centering it. As for the drifting, it turns out that the coupling on the lead screw was slipping badly, you could stop the x axis movement with just gentle finger pressure. I simply tightened the set-screw and it is working now but I will now center my origin. Thanks for the tip.

[gerry]

Big Horn 19081 Router Bit Centering Gauge

This is a great deal for a centering bit, it's both 1/4" & 1/2". It's about $10.