Reset switch?

[nwflycaster]

Is there a reset switch someplace. I'm not sure if there is something wrong with my control box or if there is another underlying problem somewhere. I have finally got my Shark Pro Plus operational after a month of struggling, very greatful to another local Shark owner. I have only run a few projects so far but have seen some strange things, mostly always when doing a profile cut for cutting out.
I have had a few times where it is cutting out the profile just fine, then suddenly it just starts boaring down while cutting the profile still. I have checked my files and it is just as it was supposed to be. In these cases using a 1/4" endmill takeng 1/4" cuts in depth then following with another 1/4" until the cut has gone full depth. Now this last project I was doing was finished with the exception of the profile cut. It was a 15" dia circular frofile cut, it went around once at the 1/4" depth dropped down one more 1/4" after the first pass and after about three or four inches boared down through the wood and into the aluminum table top before I could hit the e-stop. At the same time it did this it put a binding pressure on the router and bit. I loosened up the bit and raised the router up by hand since the control box is not powering up again. Now I cannot figure out why the power will not come back on to the control box, and just as importantly why does it keep digging deeper while cutting when it doesn't show up on the preview or thetooling setup for the depth of cuts?


Jeff

[nwflycaster]

Well, after finding and reading the "wierd cuts, now have no power" post I have changed the blown fuse and have the power back to my machine. This does not however explain why this keeps happening in the first place. This still needs to be addressed, there is no point in having to stand there at the ready waiting for it to go wrong and quickly hit the e-stop before ruining the project or more damage to the tabletop.

Jeff

[theremin]

Are you cutting in really hard wood? I've had a similar thing happen with that kind of cutting depth in very hard materials--in particular, cutting phenolic "Garolite" material that I use for making jigs. I had to reduce the depth of cut and all was well. Deep cuts in hard materials is where the Shark will show the flexibility of its frame and rails. Most of the work that I do on the Shark is in very hard materials--hard maple is about the softest thing that I machine. So, I take shallower cuts than the "default" tool settings. With a 1/4" end mill, I typically take 1/8" cuts max, and depending on the material, I might slow the feed rate down quite a bit from the default 100 ipm. It works fine that way. It's not a heavy duty machine, but if you take it slow, it can do a fine job even on pretty big jobs. I keep a sacrificial layer of MDF on top of the table all of the time though, just as insurance.

Dave

[nwflycaster]

For this project I was using some 3/4" oak. I had a 1/4" thick piece MDF under the oak but when the shark decided to go askew it did it in a matter of a couple of seconds and buy the time I went the 5 or 6 feet to the e-stop it had gone through the oak, the MDF, and into the aluminum tabletop. I will try using shallower cuts, but right now I have no faith in leaving the Shark to do its thing while I do something else.

[theremin]

I don't stray too far when I'm running the machine, but since I've gone to shallower cuts and slower feed rates, I could have left it on "autopilot" without harm. My sacrificial MDF layer is 3/4" thick, and that's what has saved my aluminum top from harm in the past. Oak is pretty hard wood--once the machine exceeds the torque that the stepper motors can provide, it will lose steps, the zero points go astray and everything from that point on is going to be based on new, incorrect, zero points. No telling what will happen then. The little Colt can only do so much, and the same for the stepper motors. I imagine that the oak is really putting the Shark to the test with deep cuts and the default feed rate. Finding and working within the machine's limits seem to be the key from my experience.

Dave