Guest
Show Posts
1
General Mach Discussion / Z drive confusion
« on: April 18, 2016, 10:01:16 PM »
Hello All,
First post on this forum. Thank you for looking.
I have been running a 5x10 router for a few years. I bought it off of craigslist for cheap. It took some work to get it going but it was well worth it.
It's a camtech with mdrive steppers all around. I use Mach 3 to control it, and sadly boobcad to create CAD files.
Here is the rub-
I was 3d engraving a skateboard deck for grip (similar to a gun grip) each pass got deeper and deeper.
So checked the tool to make sure it was tight. Check the z drive to see if it got sloppy (newer ball screw installed, still very tight) - all good.
So I checked the steps per unit on the z drive. This is what I found-
I can set the steps perfectly so each time the needle splits the line on my dial indicator. Then I set the z drive back to the physical point from where I started.
Now zero z on mach and my dial indicator. Use the jog function to raise z. I moved z according to mach .100" using the jog function. The dial indicator says it moved
closer to .1125" Repeated multiple times- same deal.
I put the dial indicator on the y axis and it moves exactly as it should. If mach says it moved .500" then we are within .0005". I checked the step per inches on y and it was perfect. The movement
between setting the steps and the jog function is the same.
All that being said I recently swapped motors, ballscrew, bearings......on the z drive. I have cut multiple 3d molds without issue-as far as i know. I'm a bit hesitant to cut a mold until I
figure out what I'm doing wrong at this point. Suffice to say I make a lot of skateboard and longboard molds and spring time isn't a good time for cnc issues. So any help would be much
appreciated. you can see my stuff on instagram if interested pushmorelongboardsLLC
Thanks!
Vince
First post on this forum. Thank you for looking.
I have been running a 5x10 router for a few years. I bought it off of craigslist for cheap. It took some work to get it going but it was well worth it.
It's a camtech with mdrive steppers all around. I use Mach 3 to control it, and sadly boobcad to create CAD files.
Here is the rub-
I was 3d engraving a skateboard deck for grip (similar to a gun grip) each pass got deeper and deeper.
So checked the tool to make sure it was tight. Check the z drive to see if it got sloppy (newer ball screw installed, still very tight) - all good.
So I checked the steps per unit on the z drive. This is what I found-
I can set the steps perfectly so each time the needle splits the line on my dial indicator. Then I set the z drive back to the physical point from where I started.
Now zero z on mach and my dial indicator. Use the jog function to raise z. I moved z according to mach .100" using the jog function. The dial indicator says it moved
closer to .1125" Repeated multiple times- same deal.
I put the dial indicator on the y axis and it moves exactly as it should. If mach says it moved .500" then we are within .0005". I checked the step per inches on y and it was perfect. The movement
between setting the steps and the jog function is the same.
All that being said I recently swapped motors, ballscrew, bearings......on the z drive. I have cut multiple 3d molds without issue-as far as i know. I'm a bit hesitant to cut a mold until I
figure out what I'm doing wrong at this point. Suffice to say I make a lot of skateboard and longboard molds and spring time isn't a good time for cnc issues. So any help would be much
appreciated. you can see my stuff on instagram if interested pushmorelongboardsLLC
Thanks!
Vince