I am finally just getting close to surfacing my spoil board. I’ve only did a quick test cut using one of the test files that was on the Controller. I created a flattening tool path using CarveCo and just set the depth of cut to only .005” right now. Just learning how to use the software.
My question is that I know I will have run the flattening program a few times to get the whole spoil board flatten (I am being conservative until I am more comfortable with running the machine. So after I run the first path which will bring the cutter down .005” then rewind and run it again will it step down another .005” from where it finished the path at. This as opposed to it resetting the starting height that was determined by the depth probe before the first cut?
What Derf said is accurate, until you lower the spindle to a new height and zero it again, you’ll just be cutting air, using the method you describe. Knowing that, especially since you are being conservative and know you’ll need a few passes, you could make 4 cut files, and label them in sequence, so file 1 will go down to Z0 -.005, and file 2 will start at Z0 -.005, and descend to -.01, file 3 starts at -.01 and ends at -.015… You’ll need to program both the starting and finishing depths, but you’ll never need to measure your spoil board again for this job, as the Z0 you took from the very beginning is the reference to everything else.
Thank you 2 for the replies. I did think about doing the jogging Z down .005 option. Also making the different depth files and running each one consecutively if need be is an interesting idea.
Last night when I first was messing around creating the tooling path and loading it up I was going to just do an air carve just to see it how it run. I was having issues with it giving me the error of straying to cut out of bounds by 1 (not the exact wording but something like that). I have been poking around a little on the forums and found some mentions about maybe the XY 0,0 isn’t quite setting right using the probe.
I am not exactly familiar with the MDI input screen and how to exactly use it. I “Think” I saw some sort of suggestion to put a Gcode in of 0,0 for the X,Y but I don’t know if that is supposed to overide what the Probe results? Is there some documentation/videos showing the fundamentals of using the MDI and Gcodes?
It takes some time and practice to wrap your head around it. I recommend loading a piece of MDF on your spoilboard before flattening, and just mess around building an understanding of the logic, especially as it pertains to the z position.
Personally, when I do a facing operation I find it easier to set Z as the same height I want the cut to be, and program the facing to cut at Z=0. Wherever I set Z, will be the plane the cut it made.
0.005” is a very light cut. I rarely skim less than 0.025”, and often skim 0.050” off.