I have tried searching the forum for this problem and didn’t find anything so please forgive me if is this is the 1000th time someone has asked this question.
I am trying to run my first carve on my X50 Journeyman. I am attempting to carve the default Team Onefinity sign using a 1/4" down cut bit. I am following these steps:
Power on the machine
Select the Team Onefinity.ngc file
Home the machine
Secure the workpiece
Probe for X,Y,Z using the flat side of the probe on the bottom left corner of the work piece
Press the play button
Probe for Z using the cut-out side of the probe
What I would expect to happen after step 6 is the carve begins successfully. What is actually happening is that the carve begins but the z-depth is about 1/4" above the workpiece.
What is really throwing me off is that after I initially probe for z in step 4, if I z-zero the machine, the z-dept is correct. It seems to get messed up after I probe the 2nd time even though I have not changed the bit.
I am trying to remove as many variables as possible and just do the default carve with a default bit. Can anyone provide direction to help triage things?
I should mention that the machine is used so it’s possible that the previous owner adjusted a setting or something, but given the fact that probing for x,y,z works correctly, I don’t suspect that that is the problem.
Ok - can you help me understand that in the context of this video?
I’ve been following it and he appears to be using a waste board. Is there a step that gets skipped/glossed over in the video? My stock is 3/4" thick pine and my waste board is 3/4" MDF.
A simple test to do after probing Z is to manually move to the zero position on the Z axis. If it’s not just barely touching the surface when reading zero then try to rezero the Z axis. It’s not going to answer your question of “what did I do wrong” but it will tell you if it’s a G code problem or a set up problem. It’ll also identify issues if you do it after the cut as well. For example if the bit is moving in the collet.
As for that list step 2 is too high up on the list. I always home after the controller boots up. Loading the file I want to cut is one of the last things I do.
Thanks. If I press Z0 on the display after initially probing for X,Y,Z the machine does what’s expected. It sits just above the stock in the bottom left corner.
When I press Play to start the carve and probe for Z a second time things seem to go awry. When I stop my cut and press Z0 again, the bit rests about 1/4" above the stock.
Based on that do you think it’s a setup or G-code problem?
I was incorrect, the zero point is intended to be the top of the workpiece for that file. It appears it is calling M6 which is the tool probe routine. I would suggest you remove the “M6 T1” command from the file to simplify the operation - you can click the ‘download’ button (to the right of the ‘play’ button), open the file in any text editor, save it and then click the ‘upload’ button (to the right of the ‘play’ button).
If this resolves the issue then you would need to troubleshoot why the M6 routine is causing an issue - however it’s unlikely as a beginner you would every use M6 in your CNC programs so this can come later.
Removing that command seemed to work! Im assuming you realized that it wasn’t going to ask me to probe for Z before starting the cut. It threw me for a loop haha.
Yes, the M6 command is used for a tool change operation, in this case since you had already probed for x,y,z with the correct tool installed, there was no real reason to call for the z to be probed a second time. This step would normally occur if you were to have a single program with multiple tools in it, you would change the tool and then probe the new z height.
The M6 tool change is controlled by the g-code on the settings page called “tool-change”. In that block of code there is a line that will have something like “G92 Z15.45” - the 15.45 is the thickness of your probe block in MM, if this is not the case for your probe block then you should update this value to reflect the actual dimension - but again using the M6 command in a program has additional challenges. You can’t manually move the machine during the M6 operation so raising the Z to change the tool or relocating the bit to where you previously probed the first tool is not possible. There are a few versions of the code you can put in the tool-change routine to help with these items but for now I’d stick to the one tool per g code file rule until you get more familiar with operating the machine.
