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Very disappointed!

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 1:08 am
by Angelp357
I purchased my shark HD4 last month but didn't have time to set it up until a few days ago. I ran a few small trials on it and everything was going great. The only thing I noticed was that it was cutting a little uneven. No big deal, I was using a 3/4" mdf waste board that I decided to level off by reducing 1/8" off the top.

Half way through the job everything was going great and then the router plunged straight down cutting through the aluminum table causing the cnc to shut off on its own. Now the cnc won't turn back on. I'm sure something fried in the controller.

I'm not sure what would cause it to do this. Any ideas? I'm going to give Rockler a call in the morning but this is very disappointing and very inconvenient, especially since I was planning to have it up and running for a larger project Feb 1st.

Re: Very disappointed!

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 7:40 am
by sharkcutup
I have the same battle scar on my table top too! The same thing happen to me in the early stages (last March) of learning my CNC Shark HD3 Pro. Router Bit (.25" x 3" long x 1" cut depth) plunged down through 3/4" MDF and into aluminum table top. I was alert standing by and shut down the power before any real damage occurred to the CNC Shark.

In my particular instance it was operator error in not understanding certain aspects of the CNC operation! After investigating and reviewing everything I found that my CNC Shark was doing exactly what it was told to do via the V-Carve Pro program I had provided it with. I had the incorrect settings set for depth on the second phase (a pocket) in my program.

So do not feel alone in your disappointment!!!

I also have some battle scars (operator error again not allowing for proper clearance) on some of my clamps which just happened to be in the way!!!

Hope this helps you in knowing that you are not alone!!!

Have a GREAT DAY!!! :)

Be SAFE around those AWESOME machines!!! ;)

Sharkcutup

Re: Very disappointed!

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 10:29 am
by Angelp357
I did double check vcarve to make sure it wasn't something I did wrong. I only had 1 phase set to cut 1/8" so I have no idea why this happened.

Re: Very disappointed!

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 1:38 pm
by Christyk35
My new CNC shark4 HD pro is not cutting even either. Had to try to square it up myself. Very disappointed also. I also had some problems when stopping a cut, it drags across the wood ruining the project.

Re: Very disappointed!

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 2:29 pm
by sharkcutup
Be sure that you set the clearance gaps (Rapid Z Gap above material) and the (home/start position) Z axis at a sufficient amount for clearance of material and clamps within your V-Carve Pro or Desktop program. These programs are usually preset to: Rapid Z Gaps Clearance 0.2 inches Plunge 0.2 and the Home/Start Position x:0, Y:0, Z:0.8 which are rather tight!!!

I have made it a practice when running my CNC Shark to set the Home/Start at the center of the job material (same as my project origin x, y, z) and then manually jog to another clear position after the CNC has completed its tool path or completed the project. I do this even when having to change router bits for another tool path of my project, thereby returning to the same x, y, z each time and avoiding all hold down clamps. This may not be your cup of tea but it has kept me out of trouble. Do not get me wrong --- my clamps do have some battle scars due to operator error early in my learning phase (March/April 2016).

Hope the above helps!

Have a GREAT DAY!!! :)

Be Safe around those AWESOME machines!!! ;)

Sharkcutup

Re: Very disappointed!

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 6:03 pm
by Bob
Half way through the job everything was going great and then the router plunged straight down cutting through the aluminum table causing the cnc to shut off on its own. Now the cnc won't turn back on. I'm sure something fried in the controller.


Did you ever get the controller to turn back on?
If not, check the fuse that is located where the power cord plugs into the controller. There is a spare fuse included in the dinky little storage area where the blown fuse is.
You have to look closely to see the fuse.

Also, Others seem to have good luck using the pendant to run programs. I do this with the one I demo at Rockler.

Bob

Re: Very disappointed!

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 8:01 pm
by Angelp357
Bob wrote:Half way through the job everything was going great and then the router plunged straight down cutting through the aluminum table causing the cnc to shut off on its own. Now the cnc won't turn back on. I'm sure something fried in the controller.


Did you ever get the controller to turn back on?
If not, check the fuse that is located where the power cord plugs into the controller. There is a spare fuse included in the dinky little storage area where the blown fuse is.
You have to look closely to see the fuse.

Also, Others seem to have good luck using the pendant to run programs. I do this with the one I demo at Rockler.

Bob

Bob,

Thank you for that information. Changing the fuse (which I didn't know was there) fixed the issue of getting it started. Now I'm going to look into taking care of those Z gaps as suggested by sharkcutup. Not very familiar with how to set them since I am a newby to CNC but I'll do the research. Thanks everyone for your input.

Re: Very disappointed!

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 8:40 pm
by Kayvon
Angelp357 wrote:I'm not sure what would cause it to do this. Any ideas?
Would you mind posting the vcarve file you used? We can double-check it to rule it out.

Re: Very disappointed!

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 9:10 pm
by Angelp357
Kayvon wrote:
Angelp357 wrote:I'm not sure what would cause it to do this. Any ideas?
Would you mind posting the vcarve file you used? We can double-check it to rule it out.
No problem. Here you go.

Re: Very disappointed!

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 10:41 pm
by SteveM
Are you using the pendant controller or a P.C.?
When I had my pendant problem with my HD4, I was told that I could run the machine with a P.C. if I didn't want to use the pendant. Now after reading several posts, there seems to be problems when the pendant isn't used. I am sure NWA will get this figured out. I just wish there firmware allowed you the option to use either pendant or P.C. The NWA site says they have found a bug in the new control panel 3 firmware and are now suggesting you only use the pendant to run your projects.
I am also new to CNC and hope you don't get discouraged. The machine seems solid and I am looking forward to being able to make many projects with it.

I looked at the file you posted and I hope someone here figures out the problem for you. I couldn't see a problem, but am to new to assist.

When I leveled my spoil board, the router ran almost 2 hours and worked just fine.