My first post here. My machine will be here any day now.
I’ve seen posts about making sure that your table is stable and absolutely level. My table is a 64x64 Kreg woerlk bench and the top will be 72x70. It is very stable and I used 1-1/2" Birch butcher block. I plan on using the stationary leveling legs to support it. That will make it easy to level the top. I have several other Kreg tables with Kreg casters that work very well. If it’s stable enough on casters, it might be nice to be able to move the machine around, but it would be harder to level. My main question is why does it have to be absolutely level? You can get a kit to
mount the machine vertically. So why would it matter if your machine is stable but not perfectly level? Just curious.
a gantry-type CNC machine can be twisted. This is usually the case after setting it up. In this case all your workpieces, including the flattened wasteboard will be twisted. Therefore such a machine needs to be adjusted for coplanarity. The QCW frame offers the Any Surface Leveling Feet. But you can also use heigt-adjusted feet or casters. In this case if you move the table around, it is necessary to repeat the check and adjustment of coplanarity each time you moved it. The fishing line test is useful for checking coplanarity.
Also a CNC machine needs to be adjusted for rectangularity (“squaring”). In the case rectangularity is not adjusted, the machine is no rectangle but a parallelogram. As the result all your workpieces intended to come out as rectangles will be parallelograms, i.e. will have no right angles. Also tiling (working on a larger workpiece part by part) or double side milling (reversing the workpiece to mill the underside) will not allow to get matching results.
Furthermore, on a machine with no accurately adjusted coplanarity and rectangularity, the Y movement can block, or have “hiccups” or loose its position reference coordinates.
I would consider a machine ready to use only if you first checked and ensured that it is
This is usually done after a first surfacing of the wasteboard. The Mitz Pellicciotta method, which is a method that works the better the larger the bit diameter is, because it looks at the direction of the patterns such a bit makes when it is not perpendicular to wasteboard surface, is to see as third step and not in all cases mandatory.
The more I think about it, I’m pretty sure that I’m going to make the machine stationary. The Kreg tables come with nice heavy-duty adjustable feet for the legs. Making sure that the table is absolutely level is not a problem. I was thinking that if it’s on wheels and you move it, it may not be level. I have plenty of room in my shop to set it up stationary. Once my table is in place and leveled, I’ll get started with assembly, adjustments, and calibration.
The table being “level” doesn’t really matter. As long as it is as Aiph5u says, co-planar, rectangular and trammed. The problem comes when you try to level the work-piece on a non-level work surface, you will see problems that you didn’t expect to see.
There are Onefinities that are mounted to walls, these CNC’s cant be leveled but the must be rectangular, co-planar and trammed.
You can put it on casters and roll it around the shop. Each time you go to use it you’ll need to relevel it. If you always use it in the same place and just roll it out of the way you can mark he floor where the legs go and you’ll most likely find that it returns to being level.
