Having an expensive learning experience tonight, first time using some Kingcolor HDPE. V-Carving driving me nuts. Need some advice on 2 signs I was attempting to make (both used 60 degree v bit).
On the ‘kissing booth’ sign:
My file was showing over 20,000 lines of gcode, seems crazy to me
There was 3 passes to carve the text - the last of which went way deeper than I edited (0.10 is what i wanted)
On the ‘S’ & ‘G’ it did some extra notch thing that jacked them all up - what is this about?
On my AT&T stadium sign:
The first pass on the text was exactly what i wanted, then it did it again and made it thicker and deeper! Why is this?
The stadium part I pocketed with a .250 square end mill, why did it start so deep in the middle?
Belt tension — the Z-axis should be guitar string tight (but careful not to bend the motor shaft): http://docs.carbide3d.com/assembly/shapeoko/xxl/step-5-belting/ on deep cuts it may help to remove one spring from the Z-axis temporarily, esp. if one hasn’t added a spoilboard on top of the wasteboard — it also helps to install the router as low as possible (installing the Makita adapter upside down will help). Some folks have found it helps to remove the M4 Z-axis tension bolt, apply a thin bead of threadlock along the length of the threads, then reinstalling it after it has dried.
V carving is extermely sensitive to how the machine is zero’d in the Z direction. In the first picture, could be the material wasn’t completely flat on the machine. Also could be the material isn’t thick enough for the v-carve you’re trying to do. With that many non-circular curves, I’m not surprised it’s a very large file.
In the stadium one, it looks to be losing steps. Slow down the plunge.