Bit not recognized

I found i was not getting the proper size of pocket and the dimensions of the cut outs were wrong. I then did a test with two pockets attached by one side. I also had two lines that overlapped but offset by a 1/2 inch. This was to test both the pocket size and the contours and where they were cutting. I set the first two pockets as a group and it cut out everything inbetween the pocket as it should. The size however was not correct. Both pockets were about an 1/8 too small. The other set of pockets told it to cut out separately and there was wood left inbetween the pockets. Why??? The first set the contours where two line that over lapped and the left line i set it to cut outside and the right line inside. The second set was left was to cut inside and the right line was to cut outside contour. The bottom set cut out a 1/2 inch piece where the lines over lapped the way it should. The top two only cut out a .375 inch piece. This does not make any sense to me because the only thing I did was change which one is outside and which one is inside. The cutter did not change in create. It was set to 1/4 at the start. I wonder if it is not knowing the bit size. But it is set the same. I can not get the correct sizes of anything I cut out even though I am choosing a bit. Sometimes it thinks it is using a 1/4 and sometimes it this it is using a 1/8 bit. This is the only thing I can think of that would cause this problem any help?

I ran two new runs with line and squares. I switched out side and inside with the lines and it cut it out perfectly this time. It produced a 1/2 cut using the contour on the top of one line and the bottom of the other. Why it was different last time I will never know. I did two pockets attached on one side. when i used the 1/8 setting with my 1/4 inch bit it cut the boxes, pockets, out to the perfect size however it left a 1/16 inbetween the pockets. When I told the machine it was a 1/4 inch bit the pockets were not even close to the settings. The pocket were 1/4 of an inch too small.

Please post a .c2d file, generated G-Code, step-by-step notes on how you are securing your stock and setting zero relative to it, a photo showing an attempt at cutting w/ relevant measurements and a description of any custom tooling definitions.

I have tried to troubleshoot. I am sending G code with this. I set my bit to 1/4 because that is what it is. I created six squares. The first two on the left are squares imported from a graphics program. the second two squares are four separate lines. The last two squares on the right are from Carbide create. They were one inch squares all of them. I did not choose any offset for the top three. The bottom three they were set to offset outside all of them. As you can tell from the measured results I am getting all sorts of weird measurements. The board was screwed to the wasteboard. The closest one to a square was the lines forming a square with the offset set to outside. The others don’t even come close.

mysquareslinestheirsquares.nc (6.4 KB)

Considering the G-code file itself is fine and does tell the machine to cut squares,

the first order of business is to determine why your squares are not anywhere near square.
Can you go in CM Settings menu, Open Log window, then go to the MDI menu and send $$, and finally inspect the log window to find the values of your $100 and $101 parameters ?

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I ran it again and I captured the Log from the settings menu. The Log icon was on the bottom left side of the Machine settings. I have attached the pdf. If I read what you are asking correctly these are the settings for $100 and $101 40.000 each. image log.pdf (56.9 KB)

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Thank you for collecting the logs. Your $100 and $101 are ok (40 steps per mm), so there is something else going on.

Can you try and check how much the machine moves while jogging it manually from Carbide Motion ? place a ruler on the wasteboard aligned to X axis, lower the bit near that ruler, then jog the machine left or right by 1 inch for example, and check visually on the ruler how far the bit actually moved. Then, do the same along the Y axis…given your test cut I suspect the Y will be off (but I don’t see any reason why, at this point)

I jogged the bit manually. It was set to .1 and after 10 clicks of the mouse it was at 1 inch. I did it for three inches and it was okay. both x and y directions. (Why is it that the middle line square in the above diagram was almost right on. Notice the bottom left square it was cutting on the outside vertically giving me 1 inch. However the quarter inch bit then cut on the line horizontally giving me the .25 inch smaller. This seems to be the case for all of them. )

I think I understand that to troubleshoot, you are trying to cut 1 inch squares in that picture of the MDF. If I got that right, this screams mechanical problem. Are your belts properly tensioned? Are the set screws on all steppers correctly tightened down? When you jog in any direction, does it move smoothly and not bind up? When cutting, did it skip any steps?

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Smart Guy. I checked all the screws. One screw on one of the rails was loose but that did not cause the problem. I don’t think I put the set screws in on the stepping motors but when I checked (needed to go the bottom of my allen key supply) one screw was loose on one of pulleys. I tightened it up and all things are now square. Thanks for the help.

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Glad you got it working

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