Touch plate use

Software / Firmware EstlCAM
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Is the Z axis touch plate controlled by the Marlin controller or do you need to add G-code to a design for it to function? Having difficulty understanding how the touch plate functions and where you mount your work surface in relation to the XY home in lower left corner of frame.

Have the SKR PRO V1.2 board, the USB does not seem to operate. Tried a USB 3.0 cable with no luck, just received a USB 2.o cable, code in the flash has I remember is -1 active. Does the SKR PRO board support a laptop connecting to it or is everything done by SD card?

Thanks! Feel I’m on the cusp of breaking through understanding the CNC logic, but not quite there yet.

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where you mount your work surface in relation to the XY home in lower left corner of frame

For the vast majority of us, our stock is arbitrarily placed on the spoil board, and a G92 is executed to set the origin point for the cutting to a point relative to the stock. Homing the machine is almost always done to square the machine, not to establish particular coordinates. There are exceptions.

Have the SKR PRO V1.2 board, the USB does not seem to operate

You need to give specifics about what software you are trying to use for your USB communications. Having the wrong baud rate is the most common reason for USB communication problems. It needs to be 250000 for Marlin.

Is the Z axis touch plate controlled by the Marlin controller or do you need to add G-code to a design for it to function?

How the touch plate is handled varies between the Primo and the Lowrider. In both cases, Marlin will descend until the bit touches the metal plate, but the Primo uses homing while the Lowrider uses probing (since the Z axis homes up for squaring on the Lowrider). You have to decide whether to use the top of your stock as a reference, or the spoil board and place the metal plate accordingly (and set your up CAM accordingly). Personally, I tend to use the spoil board as reference for contour cutting, but the top of the stock for other kinds of cutting like V carving and pocketing.

There is a built-in homing menu item in the V1 custom menu in Marlin mode as well as a homing control in the TFT firmware. But there is a significant problem using built-in menus for homing… they don’t account for the thickness of the touch plate. Personally, I use the following g-code on my Primo:

G28 Z ; Home Z
G92 Z0.5 ; Account for touch plate thickness
G0 Z5 F480 ; Lift the bit off the touch plate

I have it attached to a custom button in Repetier-Host, in a file on the SD card, and attached to a button on my custom pendant, so I have three different places I can use to run my Z homing code.

FYI: If you are comfortable compiling the firmware for your board, it is easy to change the V1 custom menu to take the touch plate thickness into account.

2 Likes
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Going to add to this…I am using Estlcam to create the G-code. I am then copying the file to a laptop, connecting the laptop to the Marlin controller and using Repetier host to print. Do I need Repetier-host to print or should I just be copying the file to a micro card and inserting it into the Marlin and print directly from Marlin? Thinking I’m making things more difficult than they need to be.

Thanks for the assistance, keeping hope that I will enjoy a break-through shortly.

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Do I need Repetier-host to print or should I just be copying the file to a micro card and inserting it into the Marlin and print directly from Marlin?

There is no right answer to this question. You don’t “need” Repetier-host, but there are some reasons you might want to use it.

Personally, until recently, I’ve kept my laptop out of my lightly secured, and dirty shop area, so I run from an SD card. Most of the time, ultimate squareness is not an issue with my projects, so I set up the job manually. I push my axes against the stops, pull the router from the middle of the tubing to position it, and set the Z height manually using a piece of paper. In this workflow, running from an SD card works well since all I’m doing is running a file.

But for more complex jobs requiring electronic movmenet, Repetier-Host might be helpful. I run a Rambo with a Marlin-driven display. I find the menu system cumbersome to set up a job electronically. I ended up creating a pendant to make setting up jobs easier, but that was a lot of work just to avoid having my laptop in my shop.

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Be very careful how you use your touch plate. The videos HR makes you watch when you use it wrong are really boring.

Wait, wrong forum…

1 Like
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Thanks. Today I inserted a SD card in and manually set the all the axis, set z to just touching the material (foam insulation board), went into terminal mode on Marlin and did G92 commands to zero out x, y, and z. I then started the print with the selected file. All seemed to work well.

Just have find a font and the setting in Estlcam to support a 1/4" upcut bit. I built a “podium” on my CNC table to accommodate the laptop when it is needed. Out of the way and easily accessible as are the power cords to force an emergency stop.

Appreciate the info

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LOL…still figuring that out but doing manual is no big deal.