3D carving first time

Questions/answers/discussion about initial setup of your CNC Shark

Moderators: al wolford, sbk, Bob, Kayvon

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shooter1940
Posts: 17
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2017 11:20 am

3D carving first time

Post by shooter1940 »

OK, so I know I am a noob, but I am also old so getting confused is fairly easy. That being said, I have a question. When making a 3D carve it calls for a tool change....no problem, but when I did the change it asked if I wanted to re-calibrate the Z axis. I had to raise it a bit to get the bit in so I said yes. It worked fine with the touch plate, but when it was running the file it was cutting air in some places all though it was going up and down as if cutting on the board. Am I doing something wrong? I know I have a lot to learn, but I know you people can help, that's why I am here. BTW, thanks for all the help so far! :D

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Kayvon
Posts: 552
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2014 11:46 pm

Re: 3D carving first time

Post by Kayvon »

Every time you manually change bit, you need to realign the Z axis. I prefer to do this by indexing the Z axis to my spoilboard where I'm not cutting, then adding an offset for the thickness of the material. Use whatever consistent system works for you.

High-end CNC machines with automatic bit changers will take care of this automatically, which saves them time but costs them tons of money.

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