Anthony,
The Z stops should be at the top. It will register as 200mm and then you can drive the router bit down to the work surface and set the working zero for the cut.
Mike
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Yes change it. The LR3 is a bit different. I will have to change the testing phrasing for it.
Ok, that’s good, I will change z motors back around, then z+ will be up and homing will be up to stops?
Then all should be working right.
Thanks again, everyone for your contributions.
All the fun things to do now
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Everything works great so far, but…my Z2 side drops when powered down-is this a problem that can be solved, or at least helped with an anti backlash spring and nut? or is it just due to the weight of the control box? it seems to do it with the box suspended as well, and i am wondering if the anti backlash spring and nut added will at least help when cutting, althougth the gantry will normally be in a lower position anyway?
Anti backlash will not really help.
I do not power down the motors on my LR unless the machine is “parked” and there is no material under it. The machine gantry falling is a known issue.
You can put a brace under the gantry at the home position to hold it up. This can also help make sure the machine starts off level, too.
You can substitute 1 start lead screws for the 4 start ones used by default. This will reduce the maximum speed that you can have Z travel some, but does seem to resolve the dropping issue. You have to change the steps/mm from 400 to 1600 for this.
Or you can leave the motors powered on at the end of the job unt you are ready to let it down.
Usually it is the weight of the router that causes it to drop, so if you left the router at the other end of the gantry, the other Z motor would probably drop instead.
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Dan wrapped that up nicely.
I end my jobs with either parking the machine, gcode in the instructions, and that homes the machine and then sets it down before power off. OR, I end my jobs in the air, leave the steppers powered up so I can remove the project from the table before parking it. (i do this with a job called “park”, so two clicks and it parks while I sweep up the table and put things away.
Changing the Z screws decreases your max speed by a factor of 4, so for me that is not an option.
I understand how at first it might seem like a big deal but in day to day use, you will be near the machine while it is running so either end your job parked or in the air. Not really much different then ending it and expecting it to stay up.
I use these to hold the gantry up when it’s off:
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I use these parking blocks with my machine, they work very well.
After the job is done, I home the Z axis and put the block in before I power down.
I haven’t done it yet, but you could home the the Z with an “ending code” in you CAM software.
Mike
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Thanks everyone, great suggestions.
I didn’t think the anti backlash things would help, so I won’t worry.
I figured that I would need to park down at the end of a job, so I think that’s how I may do it, the supports are a great idea too.
I would probably use them so I don’t do something stupid, likely in my case.
I love the forum, but wanted to know if it is best to create a new topic, or just keep it in the same thread for my build. Most questions are in relation to this build, so it seems logical to keep together.
I will run some more photos soon, as I get closer to first cuts. Almost there.
Cheers,
Anthony0281
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Regarding the leads on Z screws, I thought I got what Ryan uses, but I thought they were supposed to be 2 start ones. I will have to check my order. If they don’t match, then what do I do to change the steps for this?
I noticed my motors for z make humm noises when stopping at certain points in revolutions. I normally babystep slightly so it stops- this sounds like it is probably related, how do I fix this?
Cheers,
Anthony0281.
You can change it from the LCD. Move 20mm and see how far it actually goes.
Normal.
Thanks, I am pretty sure it is about right, I will check tonight.
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On my LR2 I had cut a pocket hole -at 0,0- large enough to fit my bits. My script ended parking there so I wouldn’t need to worry about a drop. Wasn’t beautiful but functional.
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Okay, what cad/ cam software to use and why do you use them?
Trying to find something good for my projects, that just work properly and are not overly complicated to learn.
I plan on using an SD card to bring files to tft, as originally designed.
For CAD you can use any free program as long as it can save your work in DXF format.
For the CAM I suggest ESTLCAM, you can try it for free and then buy the license if you like it.
It’s very simple and practically can do anything you need.
Find setup help here: EstlCAM Setup - V1 Engineering Documentation
Good milling
For CAM you might as well learn Fusion360 or Onshape. They are free for non-business, and anything you learn is easily transferred to other programs. There are some other CAD programs out there but I find them all stray a bit too far off the standard path to easily transfer what you learn.
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+1 for fusion360, it’s easy to learn though exporting dxf on a personal license is made annoying.
I bought the 1/8" end mill variety pack from Ryan- stupid question #1 are the orange and yellow collars supposed to come off, or the end stops for inserting into the collets?
…I told you I am full of dumb questions.
Q#2-has anyone set up a T-slot and spoil board system for their cnc? How many slots would you recommend, and how far apart?- my bench is is 1330 wide, aprox 1240mm between Xmin and Xmax.
Bench is 2470mm long, and 2150mm between Ymin and Ymax.
Half of my projects will be use most of the cutting area, some of my projects i think will be around 250-300mm wide, minimum.
All suggestions appreciated greatly, as I am setting up my spoilboard(s), and then cut my cross braces.
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Q1, take them off to get full depth and chip evacuation.
Q2, I have not, I just screw into the table.