Vcarve Pro and Post Processor

My experience

I tested by running a job in the air, just programmed to circle cuts, with two different end mills.

I test by setting two totally different tool numbers, I told one it was tool #3 and the other tool #7

When I ran it in Carbide Motion, the first prompt tell you to set your spindle at speed X (I guess grabbing from whatever you have set in Vcarve), then its going be ready to run/cut, so its assuming you have set your XYZ.

When change comes, I think it tell you to turn off and told me to get tool 7 (even though when I setup the job, #7 was first and #3 was 2nd)

Also, when job loaded, it told me I had 7 tools (though I only had 2 and one was number 7)

Iā€™m going to play around again tonight, and maybe Iā€™ll make a video, and Iā€™ll try a 3 tool task, and use a piece of foam to see if it goes to same height to run a .5mm cut (still with router off)

Ran a live cut last night. Went pretty well. CM doesnā€™t note the first tool, no biggie, just load it to start.

I get the spindle power prompt at job start, and then at first tool change, no more after that.

Common sense dictates turning off the router before the tool change.

There is no pause after the bitsetter measurement, it returns right to job area to start next cut. I just make sure to add my dust boot and hose back on before the bitsetter check and then flip the router back on when the offset is done checking.

This activity is not going to work if the dust boot is physically interfering with the bit setter at that position. I have to remove my dust boot now to do Z-X-Y on the zero block.

1 Like

Please donā€™t just turn the router off ā€” unplug it so as to be certain of it being safe.

1 Like

ā€œCommon sense dictates turning off the router before the tool change.ā€

Weā€™re supposed to turn off the router before changing the bit? No wonder Iā€™ve been having such a hard time changing bits!! Learn something new everyday. :slight_smile:

3 Likes

Due to my current setup and the thickness of material I was working with for this cut, I was able to leave my Suck it on with the 1" brush and everything cleared for the bitsetter.

I of course remove it when making the tool change, but reinstall it before the offset check.

^THIS^. I had turned the router off and was preparing to change the bit with it turned back on by itself. I was about 20 seconds from changing the bit. I about wet myself. I always unplug the thing now and lay the power cable on the bed of the CNC before starting a bit change. It was a too CLOSE CALL!

3 Likes

Not to trivialize your comment, but that isnā€™t possible. So, can we get some guesses on how a router ā€œturned offā€ can come back on?
PS. We donā€™t want to get into the analogies about all of the other appliances that we leave plugged in while we close our eyes to sleep.

2 Likes

I was thinking the same thing. Maybe the rocker switch on the router was only halfway actuated and it flipped back over to the on position? I know that the DeWalt has that rubber cover over the switch that can make it take more effort to work it.

1 Like

I thought that it would take a click to change the state. Iā€™m away from my machine, but I do have a trim router with me at all times. I was curious, so I just checked. You can turn it off without clicking the rocker switchā€¦a slight bump or shake (anywhere, not just on the switch) will turn it back on.

4 Likes

I use an old remote at outlet, but do my best to flip the router switch too when doing change. Best thing to be doubly safe. And at least in my instance the bitSetter is low enough to be missed by the boot I have. If I have a 1/8" sheet on the table, it might be close, but anything half inch or thicker will have the boot high enough.

1 Like

when a finger or an eye is at stake, a little bit of paranoia is not a bad idea, as far as I am concerned. Unplugged=safestā€¦

2 Likes

Iā€™m guessing this is what happened. But it taught me to never trust a single point of failure. It was the Dewalt router

2 Likes

Which make router did you try that on?

Carbide 3Dā€¦

I guess this is good to know, I am supposed to add a switch to my new enclosure for the router, I guess I will have to put that on the front burner now. I should have realized that this was a possibility since I have a Milwaukee router that has a defective switch where the router is always on and I need to unplug the router to stop it.

Hi, maybe someone here can help me. I installed the .pp file into the post processor section and everything seems to work fine except when a tool change is requested. Carbide Motion brings the router front and center and says to turn off the spindle - OK, I do that and change the tool, I press continue and the router goes over to the Bitsetter and does itā€™s thing and thenā€¦ It immediately goes to cutting - WITHOUT stopping to tell me to turn the router back on! Am I doing something wrong???

This happened to me once, quite a while back. I, too, attribute it to the rocker switch boot on the Dewalt. Fortunately, I was not heading anywhere near the cutter when this occurred. It has long been my habit to unplug before grabbing any blade or bit. This incident reinforced that habit.

Please send the source file, generated G-Code, and the specifics of the post-processor youā€™re using to support@carbide3d.com and weā€™ll do our best to sort this out with you.

I wonder if the post processor does not send a ā€œstart spindleā€ command after a m6 tool changeā€¦ it would be entirely too reasonable for carbide motion to trigger on such start spindle (m3?) command to prompt the user to turn the spindle on

1 Like