I have seen multiple other posts on here with this topic but haven’t seen any answers that make sense for my situation, so I am creating this post in hopes that someone can help!
I always set my Z zero to my spoilboard, but lose the correct Z zero every day when I turn on my machine. I have set user macros to store the Z zero, and when I have to shut down my machine in the middle of a project I save the current zero settings as a macro. When I turn my machine on, the X and Y zero settings are saved and are also correct on the user macro. However the Z zero value from the previous day is never stored correctly, either in the stored settings from the previous day or in the macro. The Z zero always ends up around 3.8 inches too high, but can vary by around 0.1 inch per day.
I don’t have my CNC in an enclosure so no concerns with static, I don’t have a bit zero, I don’t change the tool between shutting down and restarting and I always use the bit setter when changing a tool, no obvious issues with my motors or connectors. I am currently working on a order cutting stock 0.25 inches thick so unlikely that the stock is too thick or retract height too high. I recently had my Z axis assembly replaced by Carbide 3d due to a different issue, so it is only a few months old with no other apparent issues.
Hey Will, yes I have Bit Setter enabled, and I don’t have any Z height issues during runs including changing stock thickness, and no issues with tool changes. The issue only occurs after I power the machine down and then power it back up the next day. Carbide Motion says Build: 636, is that the version? If not, please let me know where to look, thanks!
Hi Katie. I am a relatively new user and I was confused by this and learned something just in the last few days around this. Could be totally unrelated to what you are experiencing but in case its not, i figured I’d share. Been doing a LOT of the exact same job over the past week and same as you, it saved the X, Y overnight when it was shut down but not the Z. I learned i was being mislead by what the UI was saying the Z was. I discovered i had to do a tool measure before it reflected correctly. Case in point, if i booted machine adn very first thing i did was go to Rapid Position screen and chose “Rapid to Current XY” it did it no problem. Went right to there. But if i hit “Rapid to Current Z + 6MM” it didn’t. It said “Dude, how in the hell do you think i could do that if i don’t know if you swapped bits out, you jerk. Let me measure first”. Ok, maybe it said it in a tad more friendly tone but the point is it said it had to do a tool measure first. After it did that the Z reflected correctly in the UI and in fact DID have the correct Z i had set from previous day. It just wouldn’t show or use it until a tool measure. Again, may be totally different than what you are experiencing but when i saw your post i knew i thought the exact same thing.
Hi Stephen, thanks so much for that info! I have not tried measuring the tool before checking the Z height, just assumed it would keep the same settings that it had when I shut it down. I’ll give that a go and hopefully that’s the solution
My SO3 keeps the X Y and Z from the last time I set it. However the SO5 has a different controller and they changed CM to not go and do a Z measurement before you set X Y and Z. So maybe it is t he offset on the SO5 controller is not set properly until the tool is measured again. Just speculation but the change in CM was meant to lessen the amount of times a tool is measured. On my SO3 after power up and initialization if I set new X Y or Z then the tool is measured.
the X Y and Z are set in a file and is persistent over reboots of the C3D machines. If you open CC and About and then Open Data Directory under the CM6 folder there is a Shapeoko.json. this is where the last X Y and Z coordinate offset is stored. Set X Y and Z and check that file and then power off Shapeoko and power off and initialize. check that file and likely it will still be set but because the tool was not checked maybe the SO5 “Forgets” the offset from homing unless the tool is measured. maybe @robgrz can give further guidance on the SO5 behavior.
FWIW the behavior on the SO5, now that i have figured it out, is totally fine. I can just start a job and it measures the tool then anyway and the Z is correct. Was just a tad unsettling having to “trust it” the first time i tried a job after realizing how it was behaving. But yep, it certainly remembers all 3.
Ah, ok, thanks so much for the insight. After over a decade working in manufacturing, I will never trust a machine without verifying. I guess I am doomed to have to take extra steps at startup with my SO5 thanks for your help!!
Interesting, thanks so much for your response! I have been running my CNC for less than a year so have been heavily relying on Carbide Create and Motion to magically make my projects. I’ll look into the json code closer and see what I can find out. Thanks for your help!
When I started up the CNC this morning, I chose “load new tool” before doing anything else and just re-measured the same tool from the day before and the Z zero setpoint was correct after doing that. Thanks so much for your help and for saving me from a massive amount of frustration
Clearly there are trust issues both ways. You don’t trust the machine from doing something wacky overnight, wisely, and the machine doesn’t trust you from doing something wacky overnight, wisely.
thanks for your help!!