I have a Onefinity X50 Woodworker CNC, Masso G3 controller, and Jianken ATC spindle.
I recently finished a few modifications, and thought it a good time to calibrate my X and Y axes for travel distance and perpendicularity.
This short video slideshow describes one method to do this using a USB camera, phone app with crosshair overlay, and a precision ruler.
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Thanks for doing this! Iāve been searching for some real world accuracy/repeatability tests on 1F machines. I gotta say, .5mm is pretty disappointing. Iāll see if I get similar resultsā¦IF they ever send me a #$&*ing machine!
I am not sure I understand your statement of disappointment.
Once calibration adjustments are made, which I believe are commonly needed for all CNCs (though not always done) regardless of cost, my Woodworker has been more than able to achieve the tolerances I am looking to achieve. Especially welcomed results given that machines in this price range use generic linear motion components.
I mill mostly aluminum, and aim for +/- a few hundredths of a mm for the work I do. Not bad when compared to ISO tolerance classes and the fact that this is a CNC router. Homing, tool setter, probing etc repeatability is likewise excellent, and falls in the range of microns (the stated limits of the various components I use).
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In almost 3 months of research, you are the only one Iāve come across who has taken the time, and used the methods that I would have liked to have seen before purchasing this machine. Iāve seen your content on youtube, and have read your contributions on the Masso forum. Iām confident that you are a true tinkerer and are as thorough as I am when it comes to the little things. If you attest that these machines can reliably hold +/-.05mmā¦Iāll take your word.
I am indeed a tinkerer, and definitely value quantitative data over qualitative statements.
I am still very new to CNCs and machining, but from what I have learned, machines in this class just donāt have the rigidity to hold tight tolerances at āproduction likeā MRRs.
So for me whatever success I have achieved has been helped by careful work holding, toolpath creation, machining parameters, etcā¦ (like always using a spring pass).
Back to the calibrationā¦~ 0.3 mm cumulative over 500 mm is ~ 0.0006. For the typical < 100 mm length aluminum parts I may need to make, the potentially realized precision on that is not too bad. I also occasionally remind myself as well that standard (non precision) machining tolerances are typically considered to be +/- 0.13 mm (+/- 0.005").
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YESā¦THIS
These are by far the #1 issues that I see folks having here. Especially workholding. Iām not new to cnc but I am new to āhobbyā cnc. So I while I donāt expect the accuracy of my machines at work, itās been nearly impossible to find info on the REAL capabilities of a 1F machine. Kinda hard to discuss tolerances in a community that primarily makes cutting boards and puzzles. Thanks again for your demo.
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Hey Tom, hey @John, hey all,
just as a side note, a human hair is 0.1 mm in diameter. A human red blood cell is 0.006 ā 0.008 in mm diameter.
Hey John,
I think you wonāt find any, and there is a big difference between hobbyist and professional CNC machines. Thanks Tom we know more.
While this may apply to the average Now-I-am-retired-what-technical-toy-can-I-spend-my-money-for buyer, please no prejudices. There are professional luthiers and and 3D parts designers here.
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