4th Axis and Spoilboard leaving 4th axis in place

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ffloyd
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2010 11:53 pm

4th Axis and Spoilboard leaving 4th axis in place

Post by ffloyd »

I have a new 4th Axis on a Shark HD520. My goal is to have the 4th axis on the machine even when doing normal flat work.

My current spoilboard occupies the entire cutting area of the 520. The spoilboard uses T-Nut 1/4-20 in a 2-inch grid as anchors for the work. I have been very happy with the versatility of this grid. The 4th axis is presenting a challenge.
I want to:

Leave the 4th axis along the Y axis and still not give up the versatility of my clamping system.

Have others used the 4th axis without removing it for flat work? Advice please
Fred
Shark HD520, JTech Laser, 4thAxis
Aspire v11.5

BKeith
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2023 1:09 pm

Re: 4th Axis and Spoilboard leaving 4th axis in place

Post by BKeith »

I made my own spoil board cutting 3/4" MDF in 2-3/4 strips about 3" longer than the bed on each end. That lets me mount the 4th Axis rotator so the chuck is short of the possible cutting surface of the machine and never have to worry about an accidental strike and interfering with anything I might want to cut close to the end. Since most of what I do is with the rotator, I never take if off, so I don't have to worry about having to realigning it again. One note, if the mounting holes for the rotator don't match up with one of the slots you left in the mounting board since you are covering every other slot, just cut a slot in the MDF that matches where you need to mount it, just deep enough so you can mount it. I also leave the tailstock on the bed, back beyond the travel path of the router.

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