(the latter would be best for smaller things or when using Advanced V carving.
The BitZero needs to be used whenever you want to set the origin relative to a given stock position — we have some folks who set zero once, relative to a stop (usually they machine the stop to match the origin after securing it) and never change XY, only Z).
And that kinda makes sense on the BitZero part. I’ll have to do some checking and comparing numbers.
Also, I went ahead and ran the sign. Lost some tiny features, that a couple small slivers can’t fix. However, this was only a test, and all in all, I think it came out alright?
three 2-flute 1/4" straight endmills (such as the #201 endmills from Carbide 3D — one will be included with the machine, a pack of two will fill one out with: 1 for initial experimentation/roughing, 1 for finishing passes, and 1 spare — if cutting wood or plywood a downcut endmill such as the #251 is recommended.
two 2-flute 1/4" ball end endmills (such as the #202 endmills from Carbide 3D) — if one wishes to do 3D modeling or cut parts which have rounded profiles along the bottom (often a good idea in woodworking for increased strength)
two 90 degree V-bits such as the #301 from Carbide 3D — if one wishes to do V-carving or cut joints which use this angle
If you wish to do small-scale or precision work you may want 1/8" precision collet tooling:
five 2-flute 1/8" straight endmills (such as the #102 endmills from Carbide 3D
two 2-flute 1/8" ball end endmills (such as the #101 .125" Ball Cutters from Carbide 3D)
two smaller straight endmills (say 2 mm or so) (such as the #112 0.0625" endmills from Carbide 3D)
Additions:
V-carving bits (say 30 and 60 degrees) — these are excellent if doing text
Could you maybe take a look at this and see if the settings look okay? I resized and edited an original profile to fit my stock, for my kid use as a coin tray.
Looks like you did a great job. If this is actually going to be a cutout shape I would suggest adding Tabs. I threw some in your design just for you to look at. It is up to you how many you want. It is always suggested to place on as straight of an area as possible to make it easy for you to cut and clean.
Thanks, Michael! That looks good to me, as I’d have maybe added too many. I’d edited tab size, and completely forgot to add them lol. Gonna give it a go now!
Also to note, the cutout could’ve been a little deeper, and I should’ve slowed down with the jigsaw, cause it ended up splitting but, nothing some wood glue and clamps won’t have resolved come morning. I’ll paint and epoxy it, and it’ll look like nothing ever happened. LOL
So, this is has also been an error that pops up, every time I to connect to cutter, I’ve just restarted the machine, then it’ll connect. Anyone know why by chance? Also, is it normal to hear a little feedback noise from the router?
Usually it’s loss of connection due to EMI — sometimes it’s a USB connection issue.
Try running an “air job” and jiggling/checking cables and connectors.
Here’s the “10-step plan” from support:
Apparently your machine is experiencing electro-magnetic interference — please try the following things which you feel apply to your situation and which you are comfortable doing (and have not already tried).
Try changing the brushes of your Router following the manufacturer’s instructions.
Start at step 1 and work your way down:
arrange the AC cable for the spindle (trim router) so that it doesn’t cross or be near any of the other cables
if you’re using a laptop, ensure that it is plugged in, preferably to a grounded outlet using a 3 prong plug if possible
if you’re using a USB extension cable or unpowered USB hub, please directly connect the machine using a shorter than 6 foot USB cable — if your cable doesn’t have a toroid (metal cylinder often molded into the end of the cable) and you have a cable which has that feature, try it, if not consider adding one or getting a cable which has that feature
try a different USB port, esp. if you have the option to switch from USB3 to USB2 — if using a laptop try a good-quality powered USB hub — some laptops undervolt the USB ports to save power. Make sure that the cable isn’t being jostled or disturbed.
if your spindle (trim router) power cable doesn’t have a toroid, try adding one (note that what seems to be a toroid on most trim routers is actually an anti-theft device on all the ones I’ve seen). Note that worn carbon brushes or a loose connector on a trim router may cause arcing which results in EMI.
if possible, connect the spindle (trim router) and the machine through a different circuit
if you have a surge protector, please connect the machine through it — a surge protector designed to reduce EMI will help address this, an example is: Amazon.com
check the ambient humidity, if low, consider a humidifier
if using dust collection, ensure that your dust hose does not allow static build-up, or is properly grounded
Connect the machine with a galvanic isolator such as this one: Amazon.com
Please ensure that there aren’t any extraneous wires which create ground loops (the default configuration doesn’t have this problem but folks have introduced it when adding dust collection, or trying to ground things themselves).
Hopefully some combination of one or more of the above will get you cutting reliably — if things still don’t work, let us know and we’ll work with you to resolve this.
Downcut endmills don’t work well in plastics — unless chip extraction is about perfect you risk recutting chips, heat building up, and melting.
The MC Etcher works great in harder materials — I’ve etched acrylic with it with great results:
We don’t have plastic feeds and speeds for V tooling in Carbide Create — I recall using a V endmill to V engrave some acrylic keychains, but that was on my Nomad, so was probably a 1/8" tool.
