Laser + Rotary Settings = OOPS

[dustypilot]

Hello All,

I ended up mounting the rotary in the upper right corner of my machine and it works great. That allows me to use the left side (the HOME side) for most machining without having to takeoff/reset rotary each time. 

One of the settings in the hand controller is to set a delay for rotary machining so the spindle comes up to speed before engaging the wood. I believe the instructions call for 4000 ms. That works fine.

BUT THEN, IF you happen to also have the laser attachment, it turns on the laser a full 4 seconds in a single location before starting the tool path. Wow! I didn't know my Jtech could cut that deep. 

So just a word of caution for those that have both and switch between: my checklist now calls for resetting the Spindle Delay under Machine Setup to 0 when switching to laser mode to avoid pitting your material (and of course setting it back when going to rotary)

Live and learn. Still love it and would buy it again.

Tim

[johnb]

That spindle delay is unrelated to the rotary axis. I believe it's initially programmed into the machine that way for all spindles, and changing it is a "routine" part of setting up for the laser each time you use it.

That's covered in the Jtech manual (the one I have is Version 1.1, dated 11/16/17...it's on page 10), which I consult each time I do anything with the laser.

On another (happy) note, since you have the laser, you now have a handy method of ensuring that you don't engage spindle rotation when doing something like using a diamond drag bit, a drag knife, or drawing with a Sharpie (in the collet)...just flip the switch on the laser controller module from "Spindle" to "Laser".