bit not touching material

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cromag08
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon May 29, 2017 3:47 pm
Model of CNC Machine: mydiycnc

bit not touching material

Post by cromag08 »

using cnc shark h3d with cut2d. first time using a cnc so i'm not sure if i'm doing this correctly.

material is 1/4" acrylic so i set the material to .250 and cut depth to .253 so i can cut all the way through. i create my design, load it into the next wave software, set the "home" using their touch plate, start the job and the machine will trace out my design but the bit stays about 1" above the material and doesn't touch it.

not sure if this will help, but here's the top part of the gcode:

Code: Select all

( test_250 )
( File created: Sunday August 27 2017 - 10:44 AM)
( for CNC Shark from Vectric )
( Material Size)
( X= 3.500, Y= 3.500, Z= 0.253)
( Z Origin for Material  = Material Surface)
( XY Origin for Material = Top Left Corner)
(      XY Origin Position  = X:0.000, Y:0.000)
( Home Position)
(  X =  X0.0000 Y =  Y0.0000 Z =  Z0.1010)
( Safe Z = 0.100)

4DThinker
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 1701
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2012 12:14 pm
Model of CNC Machine: CNC Shark Pro, Probotix Meteor 25" x 50"

Re: bit not touching material

Post by 4DThinker »

A couple of possibilities...

- Can you jog your bit down so it touches the acrylic? If not then there may be something blocking the Z travel.
- The thickness of the touch plate may be set wrong in your Shark controller software. I know I've seen that setting before, but it has been awhile since I used my Shark.

I also remember that once you have your origin set you can tell the shark controller software to Move to 0,0,0. The first click will move to X=0,Y=0, and the second click will drop Z down to where it thinks Z=0 is. If the bit doesn't drop down to the material top after you've set it using the touch plate then something is wrong with that thickness setting.

cromag08
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon May 29, 2017 3:47 pm
Model of CNC Machine: mydiycnc

Re: bit not touching material

Post by cromag08 »

the z travels just fine with nothing hindering it. i looked in the control panel preferences and saw the touch plate thickness, which was correct. for some reason it's not setting z0 correctly. or i'm not doing it correcly. lol

cromag08
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon May 29, 2017 3:47 pm
Model of CNC Machine: mydiycnc

Re: bit not touching material

Post by cromag08 »

tried to do it with a piece of paper instead. z0 once the bit touches the paper, raise the bit and click z0 just to make sure it goes back down onto the work piece, which it does. raise the bit, start the job and it starts off the work piece again. once it stops i click z0 again and it doesn't move. it's as if it doesn't remember where z0 is once i start the job file.

4DThinker
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 1701
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2012 12:14 pm
Model of CNC Machine: CNC Shark Pro, Probotix Meteor 25" x 50"

Re: bit not touching material

Post by 4DThinker »

I've heard that nextwave has been having trouble with their controller software versions. Check for an update first. If none are available then https://shop.nextwaveautomation.com/shop/contactus.aspx is probably your next step.

Pete Cyr
Vectric Craftsman
Posts: 240
Joined: Sun May 15, 2011 4:19 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Camaster Stinger II

Re: bit not touching material

Post by Pete Cyr »

Assuming you are measuring to the top of your acrylic in cut2d

mount acrylic on shark and secure
place the touch plate on top of the acrylic
run bit down to touch plate

If that does not work you have another issue

cromag08
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon May 29, 2017 3:47 pm
Model of CNC Machine: mydiycnc

Re: bit not touching material

Post by cromag08 »

Controller software issue is what I'm guessing now. Thanks for the help in narrowing it down!

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