I have a project that is 16" long (which is the spec cutting limit for this machine). Is there a way to tell how to place the part so I don’t go past the limits on the right or left sides when cutting?
I jogged to the far left and marked the spoil board, same on the right.
See:
As @Ed.E suggested jog and mark the extremes. However that only effects jogging. You can get more if you modify the shapeoko.json file. You can only go to the physical limits and you dont want to slam into the left side. The right is controlled by the homing switch. So only moving your homing switch can effect the right side. I dont recommend that but it is possible.
So jog to the left side and see how much room you have before you hit the wall. You can open CC and then the menu About and then Open Data Directory. Under the CM directory, on my windows it is CM6 directory, you will find the shapeoko.json file. You can modify that file to increase the total movement during jogging. If you change the shapeoko.json file you must restart the CM program and I would power cycle the Shapeoko. The shapeoko.json file is only read when CM starts and is ignored after that.
Just dont get the parameters so close you actually hit the wall (side rail).
When modifying the shapeoko.json file be sure to save it as a text file. CM can only read a plain text file. Word processors try to save in their native format that CM cannot read.
One precaution is running gcode (files) there is no limit to stop the machine from moving and hitting the physical limits. If gcode tells the controller to move a half a mile to the left the machine will try but obviously hits the physical limits of your model Shapeoko. Only limits are when jogging and not running files (gcode).
shapeoko.json file lines to modify:
“travelX”: -880.0,
“travelY”: -850.0,
“travelZ”: -140.0,
The numbers above are for my SO3 XXL and your numbers may be different. the -880.0 is the distance from homing position which is “0” and the -880.0 is millimeters from 0 to the left (X). I would not recommend changing Z because you can move your router/spindle up/down in its mount. You can change Y but it is almost always X that comes up short. Some models like my SO3 can cut off the front of the spoilboard while other models cannot go very far past the front of their spoilboard (Y).
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