Manually change Z zero.

[okietim]

I'm a new user, so these may be dumb questions.  I frequently find the material I am using is slightly different thickness than set in vCarve Pro when I programed the project.  Since I zero to the surface of the material, this is only an issue on the final cut when I want to cut to the bottom of the material.  Is there a way to manually change the Z=0 setting by adding or subtracting a few hundredths of an inch, without going back to the software and running new tool paths?  Maybe with the controller?  I have the newer style controller.  I hope this makes sense.  

Also, is there away to swap the x and y axis?  When I am designing a project in vCarve Pro and the x is larger than 24", it is unhandy to rotate lettering, etc. 90 degrees. If the x and y could be swapped, this wouldn't be necessary.  I love my new AR8.  Thanks.

[chuck26287]

Yes. You can manually position the Z height to read 0.00mm, then raise or lower it in 0.5mm increment jogs, then manually set that as the new Z-zero. Make sure you move off to the side of your material if it's on the table.

How I address this is I set my cutting depth on the toolpath screen to "T+0.03". This will cut through the material thickness I have set by 0.03", which is quite a bit. Then, if my material thickness varies from run to run, as long as the variation doesn't exceed 0.03", I don't have to recalculate toolpaths before each run. Keep in mind this will leave healthy traces in your spoil boards.

[gerry]

You can lower the Z=0 by bringing the bit off your material, lowering it to 0 (that's why it should be off the material), then lowering it more by your new offset. Say you want to cut through 0.78 instead of 0.75: lower the bit by 0.03 which is 0.762mm. Remember though, your pockets will now be 0.03" deeper. After your bit is lowered, hit the ZC->0 button to reset zero. Done.

No need to swap X, Y axis. Rotating your project is very easy. All toolpaths, etc. are rotated.
1. Enter Ctrl+A to select all
2. Hit '9' twice. Rotates 45 degrees each time.
3. Select Job Setup. Swap height and width values.
4. Do a Recalculate All Toolpaths.
5. Done. It took longer to type, than actually do.

If you want extra insurance, do a File/Increment and Save (Ctrl+Alt+S), which saves your current project, then adds increments the name of your current project. You're now working on a new version of your project.

[Deleted]

To answer your question, it's easy to swap the axis so that you can do a predominantly horizontal design that won't fit on the X-axis and cut it by feeding through in the Y direction using tiling. I have two post processor files, one normal and one for rotated machining. The normal places the origin in the near left corner with the design in the first Cartesian quadrant while the rotated version internally swaps the X and Y axis and changes signs appropriately such that the origin is in the near right corner and the design in the second quadrant. This means that if you stand on the right side facing the machine the origin is in the near left corner from your perspective and the design appears to again be in the first quadrant. With the original post processor you would tile with Y feedthrough while the rotated postprocessor you would tile with X feedthrough and you can see your design as intended and machine it like the machine allows, all you have to do is select the appropriate postprocessor, just remember to select the normal one when you're done. I put lots of warning messages at the top of the G-code files to remind you that it is a normal or rotated design and where the origin is located. I have some other posts on rotated postprocessors and tiling if you want to look them up.

[okietim]

Thanks to all for the great info. I will try your suggestions at the next opportunity.
Merry Christmas!
Tim