Ok, I’ve done some last minute tinkering in preparation to actually start using the machine to cut something other than parts of itself.
First up, I found that the stiff wire in the vacuum hose support rod (see post #8 & 18) wasn’t holding the weight of the vacuum hose/cables, and that the vacuum hose was sometimes catching on the controller box. So I designed and 3D printed a bracket that attaches to the top of the core with tie-wraps and supports the stiff wire, keeping the hose away from the controller box.
Before:
After:
Next up, I am using my built in vacuum for dust collection. I had to walk over to the vacuum and turn it on or off at the start and finish of every cut (and whenever I paused the cut). I needed a way to have the on/off switch closer, so I connected a length of wire to the vacuum, and placed a switch close to the rest of the CNC controls.
I wanted to have a way to quickly place a sheet of plywood in the correct position for cutting. I also wanted to place the sheet so that I could cut all the way to the edge of the sheet. Starting at X0 Y0 after homing wouldn’t allow the machine to move into negative territory, instead the machine would either hit up against the end stops causing skipped steps, or just not move into negative numbers.
I moved the machine to a position of X10 Y10 after homing with a 1/4" bit, and then placed a sheet of 1/8" MDF and a sheet of plywood on the table. Moving the machine along both the X axis (Y=10) and Y axis (X=10), I aligned the sheets so that they were just making contact with the cutting edge of the bit at all points. I then made a pencil mark along all of the edges so that I could visually verify that the sheets were aligned properly. I also installed some short sections of 3/8" MDF to use as alignment stops so that I could quickly and easily place sheets into the correct position.
Now I simply push the sheets against the stops, and then visually check the sheets against the pencil marks. After homing X & Y, I move to X10 Y10 and then issue a G92 X-3.175 Y-3.175 command, and I’m ready to cut right up to the edge of the sheet.
