I find my X axis gets off ever so slightly when doing large cuts and I try changing cutters so I want to do a long distance auto setup of the X axis using the "Set Steps Per Axis" button on the Settings screen but I'm having trouble figuring out a good way to do this. I did it when I first got my machine but with only 6" or so. My machine is 11' long so I have a lot of distance I can play with. Does anyone have pictures or even a good explanation of what they used for a jig etc to accomplish this?

You can set the steps per unit on a short 1" move. Setting them over a 12" run will do no good as you could be missing steps along the way AND it will throw the accuracy OUT the window (make it wrong). EVEN if you set it over a long run it will STILL get off over time as it does NOW.

 Your problem seems to be missing steps. FIX the missing steps problem and the rest fixes itself.

Just a thought, (;-) TP

Sounds good but as a newbie what do I do to figure out what is causing the missing steps?

There is a ton of info on this site alone. Crank up the search engine and get to reading.

Just a thought, (;-) TP

I have somewhat but have you ever searched this site for "missing steps"?

Using the “Steps Per Axis” will result in an approximate value that is only as accurate as the measuring device. The exact value is determined by the hardware.  You should be able to use this calculator to determine the exact value. If your inputs are correct the result should be very close to your known good approximate values.  If not try other suspect inputs.
Al


http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,16315.0.html

Thanks alenz I'll give that a shot.