Candle Tool Change with Carbide Create Pro 7 and Z-Probe TTC450 TT

Software Carbide Create
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Hello, good evening everyone,

I’ve just recently gotten into the subject of CNC and bought a TwoTrees TTC450. The software I use is Carbide Create Pro 7. I use Candle to control the machine, which is where I come to my problem. I created a design with multiple tool paths and corresponding tool changes. I chose Shapeoko as the post processor.

I load the files into Candle, it works quite well so far. I move the machine to the starting point where I want to start milling and set the coordinates as the zero (xy) point in Candle. Until then everything goes well. Now I start the job and it stops immediately for a tool change, everything is fine. When it stops, it raises the Z-axis, I change the milling cutter and then I run the Z-probe. I then continue the assignment. I didn’t set the Z-axis to 0 after the z-probe, otherwise it would crash directly into the template when continuing the job. Well, I continue the job and it does the first work path properly with tool One. After the first work path there is another tool change, it moves up the Z axis and I change the tool, then z-probe again and now this happens: When I continue, the milling cutter crashes directly into the workpiece, so something is no longer right with the Z axis and I don’t know what to do next. I’ve tried so many things, but I can´t find a solution.

I took the coin holder from the Carbide video tutorial as example project.
Does anyone perhaps know a solution?

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Hi there.

Can you upload the g-code file that you outputted from Carbide Create Pro (and if you saved it, the .c3d file too)? It’s a lot easier for us to see what’s going on there with the code open.

Kevin.

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I believe the Shapeoko post processor is specific to Carbide Motion and Shapeoko machines. I’d try the GBRL post. If that doesn’t work maybe contact Candle and TT.

1 Like
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Good morning from Germany,

thank you for your fast response. I uploaded the G-Code-File here. I also tried GRBL as Post Processor but then it doesn´t work at all. I described the problem with it in my answer to Ed.E.

muenzhalter_toolpaths_v7_2.nc (625.5 KB)

GRBL Version
muenzhalter_toolpaths_v7_grbl.nc (624.7 KB)

Which Software do you prefer for my TTC450 instead of candle if the problem could not be solved? Is Carbide Create Pro even usable for me on this machine? I need a working combination which is not to complicated for me as absolutely newbie.

Thank you so much for your help.

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Good morning,
thank you very much for your response. I already tried GRBL as Post Processor but then it is not working at all. It reaches first tool change, implemented as M05 in GRBL GCode and changes to “HOLD” status. For now, because Z-Axis was raised at this moment, I can insert the tool, make Z-Probe and resume the job, but at first real tool change after one toolpath, I can not do it. The Z-Axis goes up some milimeters but not more and the whole interface in candle is blocked, at least the movement interface (right side). I can´t control Z-Axis manually to get it up to change the tool or to make a Z-Probe. It is just possible to resume the job but for what, I was not able to change tool or to make a new Z-Probe. The Z-Axis is way to low to do it. The question is, even when I would be able to raise the Z-Axis and make a Z-Probe, will the same thing happen like in the Shapeoko Post Processor file? (Crashing into workpiece).

I already tried every thinkable way to handle the job (with Setting Z-Axis to Zero before the job, then setting Z_Axis to Zero after first tool change, thats before machine start to work on first toolpath, and so on…I was not able to figure out a working way here and I´m a bit frustrated because I´m not able to help myself out of it.

Overall the documentation for TTC450 is not to good. They say how to download candle, and how to get spinde to start position, thats it.

It looks like it is happening at Line 33850 in GRBL-File.
M0;T112 is written in candle.

CANDLE
CANDLE2560×1080 396 KB

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These are questions I do not have an answer for. There are other CAM solutions available other than Candle they may work for you; a quick internet search should yield several. Other than that I would look to the TT and Candle support community. Maybe someone here could offer other options.

1 Like
7

There is no built-in tool-change command in GRBL, and different post-processors and CAM applications all handle it differently. Using Carbide Create for design and for code creation with Carbide Motion as the CAM makes it seem easy on a C3D machine, but a lot of work went into getting that right with dedicated macros composed of hidden g-codes doing the work in the background.

Files with more than one tool are a hard way to start out on a machine like yours without such tightly integrated software. I’ve been there with several other machines in the past and I still own and use a few of them.

It is easier in many ways to break the job down into separate files, each using a single tool and manually Z-zeroing each time, until you get used to tool changes on your machine and its CAM software (and its foibles). By all means use Carbide Create Pro to design and create the code files. It’s got a lot going for it in terms of balance between ease of use and power. Just be prepared to do a little basic manual post-processing on the output g-code.

Make sure the Z-zero in Carbide Create is where you want it, relative to the waste-board or the material top (I generally prefer to zero on the base of the material = on the waste-board), and the same throughout. Forgetting to do that has tripped more than one of us here, more than once.

Candle is an old program with a Russian developer and no active developer maintenance of the software for almost 4 years. There are forks by other developers. It has issues with tool-changes - at least in the last “official” release. I’ve used it for its height-mapping capabilities for PCB engraving in the past, but other software does it as least as well nowadays and is better maintained.

Universal GCode Sender (UGS) is a lot more friendly and much better maintained and supported (and still open-source). It should also be pretty compatible with that TTC450, which is running on a MKS DLC32 board.

Even it won’t take those files out of the box and handle semi-automated tool changes, however.

Eventually, if you want to get into multi-tool files, you’ll need to be able to look at that G-code, identify the tool-change lines (usually M6 Tnnn) and look carefully at the code around them for how it handles getting the tool out of harm’s way, stopping the spindle to allow a tool change and then allowing you to adjust Z-zero (or set an offset) to allow for the new bit length. Then how it is getting the tool back into the right place and the spindle up to speed before it contacts the workpiece. Then to be able to modify the code to clean that up. Finally, you’ll perhaps want to build the macros to automate the probing and offset handling.

Single-tool files are definitely my preferred way to go in this kind of situation.

4 Likes
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Hello woodworm,
Thank you very much for your detailed and helpful answer. I have already implemented some of this. If I save and load the work paths individually, I’ve managed quite well so far. I have also downloaded and installed Universal GCode Sender, I just have to get to grips with it. Thank you once again for the help.

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You are welcome. Enjoy your new machine!

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