CNC Shark Forum

hi all you guys,

I purchased cnc machine in march barely use it, have baby on my hands.
first time it cut perfectly, i did three simple projects.
but the last time when i tried to cut, it cut my board through, right in the middle, but the rest of the project it didnt cut at all.
today i tried again. i bought dust boot, thought maybe its gonna help.
but somehow, after i set up virtual zero, and start router it cut three holes, and then it started drill in the air above the board about 1/2 inch higher.
whats the issue it could be?
would be grateful for any respond.
thank you so much in advance.

Dashakasha wrote:i bought dust boot, thought maybe its gonna help.

I would avoid adding accessories while you're still trying to get the basic functionality working.

It sounds like you have a Z zeroing issue. Let's start with the basics, zeroing Z without using the more advanced Virtual Zero and maybe cutting air instead of material while you troubleshoot. Maybe even generate a cutting pattern that's very simple, too. Zero out your X/Y/Z, then load your project file after doing that. Observe the cutting pattern and see if it does what you expect. Be prepared to hit E-Stop if it starts cutting into your spoilboard.

If that works out for you, you've probably ruled out a lot of variables. Try it again with the virtual zero and see if it still works.

If the first experiment didn't work, let's narrow in on what went wrong. Post your project file here and we'll look it over to rule that out.

Good luck!

It may also be helpful to be sure you are not losing the z zero position if the machine hits the axis limits, either up or down.

Hitting the upper travel limit of the z during a job will have the effect of driving subsequent cuts lower.
Hitting the lower limit will have the opposite effect.

It is helpful to mark the machine so that you can see if the z is getting near its limit in either direction.

When the machine hits a travel limit,the driving motor misses steps and the controller gets out of sync with the actual router position.

This can be very hard to notice while the machine is running less you have some kind of a good visual reference.