My machine will not cut all the way through material. I have even set it like my material is thicker than it actually is and it still doesn’t go all the way through. It hasn’t always done this. I have had a couple successful cuts, but for the last several I am having this problem. I checked belts etc. everything was fine. Any (simple) suggestions?
Did you set your Z zero correctly?
What material?
What feeds and speeds?
What end mill?
Collet tight?
Bed flexing?
Material thickness measured accurately?
You using a dust boot that moves with the Z axis? Brushes fouling?
Those are just a few things that come to mind, there’s probably 10 more things I haven’t thought of.
Dan
Check and see if your Z-axis needs to be calibrated for belt stretch: https://docs.carbide3d.com/shapeoko-faq/how-to-calibrate-the-machine-for-belt-stretch/
Hi. Not sure. I thought I did. lol, could you tell me what is correct? This is making me crazy. I am completely new to this and I am learning as I go. Thanks for any info!
Hi and thank you for your reply. I am new to this machine and I am still learning. Is there a video on this anywhere that you know of? I learn visually. I suck at math and this all sounds foreign to me. Thanks again.
Hi. Material is 0.125 paneling type wood, very thin. 1/8 end mill. Collet is tight, bed is not flexing and everything is square and level. Used caliper to measure material. No dust boot. I’m not sure about feeds and speeds, I don’t change anything, I just go with what ever program sets? Sorry but I am still learning so there is a lot I still don’t get about all of this, so thank you for taking time to try and help.
I don’t have the experience of many on this forum but I have had problem with cutting thin paneling before, panels are flexible and not constant in thickness. The panel may not be sitting on the wasteboard properly if you hold it by the sides only. When you set your Z axis zero on the sides, your panel is tight against the wasteboard while the middle may be raised a bit or it may have a slightly different thickness. As a result, you can get an onion skin.
I have used a pin nailer (23ga) to put a few pins to hold the material or you can use the painters tape and CA glue to hold flat. You can add a few thou to the thickness of the material you are cutting to effectively go through but I think you did that already.
Another possible is that the collet on your router is slipping so measure the length (part of the endmill that is sticking out of the collet) before and after the job to see if it has moved under the milling pressure. You may have a bad or the wrong collet.
I hope this helps.
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Also check to make sure your drive gear for your z-axis is tight. It might be slipping on the plunge.
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