Aspire cutting pockets/inside profiles too small

[killersoundz]

Hi I have been successfully using Aspire 8 for a while. Everything has been fine and then all of a sudden on plywood it left a lip on a rabbet joint I designed for it to cut as a pocket and then profile up against it. I have successfully done this on MDF many times. Upon measuring I realized it was cutting the pockets 1/16" too small, and similar with inside or nested profiles. Outer profiles on this program were spot on like they have always been. I have a very sturdy all welded steel CNC router with linear guides and ballscrews. I have ruled out a machine issue. I did have a similar problem a long while ago and it turned out I had burned the tips off the end mill, which was the problem then, but that's not the case now the end mill is only a few days old and looks new.

Is this a known issue? Are there any settings I should be checking?

[TReischl]

You may have ruled out a machine problem, but that could be a big mistake.

There are connections between components in a cnc machine. For instance, between an axis motor and a ball screw is a coupling. Quite often those small setscrews manage to work themselves loose. Then, and this is the fun part, the coupling can oscillate a bit on the flat the setscrew was contacting. So, everytime you reverse direction, you get some slop. Until the day the screw backs far enough out to let the shaft spin, they you will get really bizzarro results.

Then, and this happened to me, the stepper motor mount screws loosened up after a year or so. Sooo, the motor could turn a bit. Took me a while to find that one!

Here is the deal, if the software did what is happening to you, it would be all over this forum. Literally thousands of programs are written each day.

We all have a tendency to point our fingers at that which we cannot see. . . . software. Just sayin.....

Edit: After 10 years of using this software, when I have a problem I START with the machine. I have yet to find a software issue.

[killersoundz]

Point taken, I will say I used thread locker on all my set screws and couplings and if it was a machine issue I feel like the outside profiles would've been off as well. I don't know I just hope I figure it out

[Adrian]

I very much doubt it's a software issue. The software is much more "static" than the hardware. Try the same cuts again but reverse the cut direction (climb to conventional etc). I bet you'll see the problem move.

[Rcnewcomb]

Everything has been fine and then all of a sudden

It is easy enough to look at the G Code/output to see if there is an error. Typically "has been fine and then all of a sudden" points to a machine/hold-down issue.

[adze_cnc]

If you're dead set on eliminating hardware how about: you told Aspire to use a big bit but are actually using a smaller one...