Material Setup section of Toopath Tab - HOME/START Position

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Ton80
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Material Setup section of Toopath Tab - HOME/START Position

Post by Ton80 »

Hi,

I was running a test for a box today and my pockets were carving at about .409 down when the tool paths called for .125. I went through double/triple checked JOB SET up, Z reference point and made sure I zeroed out my machine correctly. It just kept pocketing that deeply.

Someone on a Facebook group for Shapeoko looked at the code and spotted the HOME START position for Z Gap was set to 1.5.

I learned something new today it seems. SO the number that is in that box will tell my machine to raise the tip of the bit that far just before starting the job, correct? How is that number determined? I don't know why on a few jobs it was set to .8 and now all new jobs I am creating have it set to 1.5. The combination of my waste board, material and the bit length only allow for about 1" above the material. I changed that to .75 and all my tool paths were re-saved and then my job ran correctly.

HOW does that number get set initially? I don't see anything in the program settings where I enter that info during the JOB SETUP and I couldn't find a place in the options where a default of any number is assigned there. What is the default, if there is one?

Ton80
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Re: Material Setup section of Toopath Tab - HOME/START Posit

Post by Ton80 »

VCP seems to be remembering the .75 now. The only thing I can assume is I somehow managed to change that number to 1.5. I can't imagine how but it seems to be the only logical explanation.

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martin54
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Re: Material Setup section of Toopath Tab - HOME/START Posit

Post by martin54 »

I believe 1.5" above material surface it the setting in the software when it is first installed, the reason for this may have something to do with ensuring clamps are cleared when the machine moves to that start position but I don't know for sure. Maybe one of the experts will give you a better explanation, there are those that don't use it & edit this from the post processor.
If you have a very low gantry like I do then it is always the first thing you check when working with thick(ish) materials :lol: :lol:

My gantry height is only 55mm (2.2") above the table so I am quite limited on how thick my stock material can be :oops:

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Adrian
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Re: Material Setup section of Toopath Tab - HOME/START Posit

Post by Adrian »

If you create a file in VCarve with a clearance of 0.8, save it and start a new job that will also have a clearance of 0.8.

It's very easy to set that value (and others) to different values without realising it for future jobs by loading a file from the forum etc.

Ton80
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Re: Material Setup section of Toopath Tab - HOME/START Posit

Post by Ton80 »

Very interesting... I bet that is what happened along the way. I probably loaded up a tutorial file which changed that setting on me.

Is there a wishlist someplace... My wish would be to have a DEFAULT setting for that which over rides any changes an individual file might make.

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IslaWW
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Re: Material Setup section of Toopath Tab - HOME/START Posit

Post by IslaWW »

As you go forward with your CNC journey, the design and toolpath in particular, you will find about 30 or 40 check or fill-in boxes. You might as well make a conscious effort to look at each and every one of them as they all affect the finished product to one degree or another.
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Adrian
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Re: Material Setup section of Toopath Tab - HOME/START Posit

Post by Adrian »

It's one of the reasons why I make extensive use of both template job files and toolpath templates themselves. These days I never start a job from scratch. I load one of my pre-defined templates which has all the correct settings, layers etc in it and then load in the various toolpaths etc that is needed for whatever that job is. I also have my post processor setup to create a display of all the crucial settings in the output file so when I load it into my control software they are displayed to me before I press the Start button as a final sanity check.

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