Cutting progressively deeper

[gp]

Anyone experienced a problem whereby the cutting bit gets progressively deeper throughout a job.
I am trying to create a 3D diorama which involves a very detailed lizard. The tool stick length stayed the same but somehow the z depth of travel increased.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Gary Campbell]

The 2 most common causes are:


1) Bit loose in collet  (Sharpie mark shows if that is true


2) Dust collection induced static adds steps (up or down)   And this will usually fix that:  

[kelz23]

I experienced the same thing on a 14 hour wildlife carving. Two hours in, I noticed progressively deeper cuts. I noticed that the coupler between the z axis step motor and the ball screw had come loose and was separating. After closing up the separation and re
tightening the coupler on the shaft, I was able to finish over 12 hours of consecutive cutting with no loss of z depth. However, I haven't tried anything since, so I am not sure if that has completely resolved the issue. I hope this helps.

[gp]

Thanks for the input guys. I’ve tried quite a few things including your suggestions, however I’ve narrowed it down to simply clearing the cache on the RichAuto B18 controller. Seems to work every time so it could be I need to upgrade the software / firmware? Anyone know what the latest versions are and where I can download them? Not easy to find.

[dusty]

Something else to check. I had a similar problem with mine and ruined a few jobs. What caused my problems was too high of a feed speed (150). Talked with Chad and he said to lower the feed speed to a maximum of 100. I keep it at a max of 80 and have not had that problem again. Apparently with the rapid Z axis movement the router head slips. Whodathunk?

[rcastrap]

I was having the same problem with my brand new machine. I tried all of the suggestions above, to no avail. Since I had installed the z-axis stepper motor during assembly, I had to figure the problem was likely there - even though I had already cranked down the allen nut to the point I was afraid any more would warp the aluminum collar.

I disassembled the stepper motor from the ball screw. Then I could see it: As the collar/stepper motor was shipped from the factory, the collar was all the way down on the stepper motor shaft. I had left it that way. But that does not allow sufficient purchase for the collar on the ball screw. I centered the collar between the stepper motor and the ball screw, tightened it down. Problem solved!

[Deleted]

Do remember to take your collet apart and clean it regularly as dust will get in there and the bit will start to slip over time. I also clean my bits regularly with:

smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036F7EX2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Axiom Tool Group]

GP, if you are wanting to update the firmware on your controller....just email us at [e-mail]

Let us know what controller you are using, machine model and size etc. We can provide those files and any needed restore files for the controllers.

While the update files are not machine size specific, they are controller specific (A11 vs B18) and any restore files will be table size specific (AR4 vs AR6 etc.)