I get that, and that part is pretty straight forward in terms of speed. Just meant like Depth of Cut, and tabs etc. Instead of putting calipers on my stock to figure out the thickness in MM, plus some extra, could i say like… For 3/4" stock, in the Depth of Cut portion of Estlcam, can I just put .80" instead, but leave the movement and marlin requirements at mm/s mm/i? If that makes sense.
For me that breaks down when lumber isn’t the size as advertised I end up with calipers anyway.
I really did end up learning some things in metric and some in imperial. So I understand all that for me it just happens to be a little backwards, and then tenths and ten thou’s and all the other lingo, kinda glad I was introduced in metric to small numbers. I even design in metric for smaller things at about 8" my brain wants inches and feet. So the lowrider side plates I think I did in dual units…hahahah.
HAHA Yea I feel ya man, it gets confusing! And you’re right, I should be putting calipers on my stock anyway as you said, it’s never as advertised from the lumber yard. I do like metric for precision, I’ve always said we shoulda been taught that instead of SAE, but America, gotta be different. haha I think I’ll take on the challenge of doing everything in MM’s, because of the amount of precision you can achieve more easily using the metric system. Who needs decimals anyway? lol
1 Like
I gave up on metric. I tried when I got my 3d printer, I really did, but there just wasn’t enough juice for the squeeze. It’s not like I have any real sense of any number to begin with. Four years of calculus beat that all out of me, and now they’re ALL just numbers, lol. I worked in an automotive machine shop on the side for a couple years when I was younger, and thousandths are just thousandths. I let the software do all the calculation for me, because that part isn’t interesting anymore.
1 Like
That IS the beautiful thing about software and computers, and especially in the case, CNC! Let it do all the heavy lifting lmfao
1 Like
Update: This goes out to @vicious1 …
So back when I first came onto these forums, talking about my plans to build one of these LR2 machines, I was fresh off the Maslow boat, and frustrated that it was marketed as a ‘Full Sheet CNC’ when it clearly IS NOT. If you build a 4x8 Maslow, it’s only really capable of cutting ‘Semi reliably’ 3.5’ x 4’. Not acceptable for my needs.
Ryan expressed interest in my thoughts about his machine vs the Maslow. I haven’t cut alot on my LR2 yet, But I did get her dirty yesterday… As well as the rest of my shop because I still don’t have my Vacuum system set up… MDF really does make a snow storm in your shop, js. lol So, my thoughts so far?
It’s simple. I cut in the VERY left corner of my LR2 yesterday. An accurate cut. A clean cut. And I can do that over and over again if I wanted, or needed to. Thus, making the LR2 10000x better than the Maslow because you can’t even cut in the corners. and I cut 1/2" from the edges in the extreme corner.
Just wanted to give Ryan a huge thank you for his brilliant mind on this machine. It’s Top Notch. PROFESSIONAL… This thing is beyond amazing, and dude, I have a full sheet CNC that actually cuts a FULL SHEET!! And I didn’t pay a mint for it!
And also, a very big thank you to the community here, for the super quick responses to questions. Most of the time, I was at my shop building the machine when I had questions, and I was never left waiting for help. That’s amazing. Thank you all. When I get my first cabinet done, I plan to donate 100% of my profit to V1 Engineering, for further research, and to keep this project fueled!
I think this concludes my Build Thread. And I’m excited to be able to say that, since I ordered my parts from Ryan back in November! Hey 4 months, but who’s counting? haha
7 Likes
That you so much for being a positive and fun part of the crew. People around these parts love to help out when you are in good spirits!
Glad to hear you like it so far.
1 Like
For some reason I can’t create a new topic, so I’ll ask here.
Are we able to use the SD for cutting? I have a super long cut coming up, and I’m kinda a little worried about connection over USB for the duration of the cut. Would be super handy if I could just put the gcode on a SD card, and roll with it.
Any info? Tips? Tricks? Suggestions before trying it?
You can, if you use the LCD. You can choose the file from the LCD to “print” and it will cut it.
How long is long?
Not entirely sure, I’m breaking the job up as per your tips on my other thread. But the side of the cab, and all the pocketed dadoes, I’m assuming at least 6 hours. But I’ve not really made my toolpaths yet, so I am not sure.
I do use the LCD, so I’d just put the tool head where I wanted it to start, custom commands, reset position (i forget the exact lingo but you get what I’m saying) then back out, and start from SD? Or am I missing a step?
Sounds right to me. You can put G92 X0 Y0 Z0 in your gcode file and skip the reset position step.
You could also consider jogging to the max X,Y of your gcode to make sure the machine will move without trouble, and you have your stock in the right place.
I hate to sound like a complete noob, but would you explain that? What exactly is that? And do I put that as my ‘start code’ in estlcam? or is that something I do in repetier?
Gcode is just a text file, with a bunch of commands one by one. More info here:
https://docs.v1engineering.com/learn/gcode/
G92 is the command to reset the coordinates. More info here:
You can open the file after saving it from estlcam and just add it to the top. Or you can put it in the starting gcode in estlcam and all the files you save will have that.
Just beware that if you have that in the file, it will always set the zero to where you start it.
1 Like
Thank you for that read! I guess I’m not following the site correctly, I have never seen that page before. BUT! I will add it to my code on a cut by cut basis, vs just putting it in start code for everything. That way I can still have my repeatability if I need it!
Thank you @jeffeb3
What’s the longest cut you’ve ever done on your machine?
About 2 hours. I have spent way more time here than on my machine though. I have two little kids, so I can check in here in between tantrums, but I don’t have much free time for cnc work. Especially because the time I get to myself, they are sleeping.
2 Likes
Ah yea, I don’t have kids, but I totally get where you’re coming from. Well, I can’t speak for every one, but I’m glad you’re here! Helping us newbies!
4 Likes
Ok ONE last question… I SWEAR! haha
So Ryan has said ‘full depth finishing pass’ And I ‘think’ I know why that tiny stool (Which my wife has now re-purposed as a ‘Plant Stand’) took almost 2 hours to cut out. I had my finishing pass set to like 3mm DOC. So it actually made like 6 passes lol…
It was left ‘blank’ so estlcam did it’s own thing. But I had the allowance set to .03 for a 1/4" bit.
So when Ryan says ‘Full Depth finishing pass’ I should set that in estlcam to the thickness of my stock on each cut? (JUST the part pertaining to finishing passes) Or am I understanding that wrong? Should speeds stay the same for the finishing pass? Can I move faster? Should I slow down? And do you guys do finishing passes on pockets too?
I notice estlcam has another update, and I’ll have to redo all my tools again. And while I’m in there, I wanna set that up right for my next job. Also… I love that Christian is so actively improving his already amazing software.
Anyway, thanks again guys! And I promise y’all can lock this thread after this question hahaha
Yes, really really try to get the full depth of the item you are working on. I recommend experimentation for the rest. All that sort of depends, super thin finishing pass, maybe faster. In your example it would have cut more than 6x (less travel moves as well) faster just doing it in one full depth pass… I usually just do it all the same speeds but make it deeper, if anything slower trying to get a perfect surface finish.
2 Likes
That is a horrible thing to say. We all learn from questions, as long as you tried to find the answer yourself and couldn’t find one, that means there are others in the same boat. I knew so very little about all of this when I started, each day I take in a little more. Now I just know a little.
2 Likes
Sorry man, didn’t mean any offense, was just being funny. I know this won’t be my last question honestly. Sorry if that came off crappy in anyway.
2 Likes