Hi everyone,
First time poster. I recently got a shapeoko 4 XXL. Does the bitsetter zero out my Z axis? Before the bitsetter, I was zeroing X,Y on the item i wanted to cut, and then did the paper trick for Z. Now that I have a bitsetter, I know I still need to do X and Y. But do I also still need to do the Paper Trick for Z or does the bitsetter do that for me now.
Sorry for the simple question.
Thanks,
Matt
You’ll still want to set zero for projects, but changing tools the z axis position will be offset. So you won’t need to set zero for your second or third bits of your job has them.
OK. So zeroing the z-axis is required and really the Bitsetter if for subsequent tool changes. Got it. Thanks
The BitSetter compares the current bit in the router to the last time you set the Z Zero. The BitSetter does not measure the bit it only makes an internal offset to the new bit from the previously set Z zero. You can do an X Y and Z zero at the prescribed locations which is mostly set at the lower left corner. You can still set with the paper method but the BitZero can set all three and after they are set the positions are held in memory even after power cycles of the Shapeoko. The most important thing is to never manually change the bit. Always wait for prompts from the job or use the change bit command from the software interface. If you manually change a bit without a software prompt the offset will be off when using the BitSetter. The BitSetter and BitZero work together as long as you do not get them out of sync by manually changing the bit. So the BitSetter never sets the Z zero it only uses the Z zero last set by either paper method or the BitZero Z Zero to maintain the Z zero last set.
When the machine initializes and you are prompted for a bit that is still setting an offset from the last time you set Z Zero. So if you put a new bit in during initialization the bit is being set to the last Z zero that was set before initialization. So if after power cycling your Shapeoko the Z zero from the last job you ran is still remembered. So if your new project is thicker or thinner you must set a new Z zero with either the BitZero or the manual paper method. The Shapeoko has no ability to know your material thickness has changed with a new job. However if you are running the same job multiple times there is no reason to change the zeros as long as the new material is the same as the previous job you set up and ran.
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