Im still new to cnc with my LR3 and im trying to learn to use the touchplate from V1E. I honestly do not know how to use it. I bought everything from V1E preloaded. When i go to start a cut i jog the endmill to the starting point and do G92 X0 Y0 Z0 after manually setting the tip to the top of the workpiece. I tried to use the touchplate after selecting it in the fusion PP and the z just raises up and homes. The LCD says pause and resume…no message saying whats going on or to tell me what to do. Is there a video explaining how to use it or what to do?
Ryan just put out a video on his standard work flow: Workflow of a CNC project - LowRider CNC v3 - - YouTube
If you go to about 3:50 in the video (as listed in the description) he shows how to use the touch plate.
Though it will likely work either way, it is best to wire up your touch plate so that the signal pin on your control board is connected to the plate, and the ground pin is connected to the clip. You need the plate under the bit before homing. On the Lowrider, you must use probing to use the touch plate. Here is some code to be executed to do the probe. I don’t have a Lowrider, so I cannot test this code:
G38.2 Z0 F120 ; Probe Z down G92 Z0.5 ; Set current offset to 0.5 (thickness of touch plate) G0 Z5 F480 ; Lift Z to allow touch plate to be removed
Where to “link” this code so that it can be executed will depend on how you execute your jobs. It can be added to a custom button in Repetier-Host. It can be put in a file and placed on the SD card. It can be added as a custom menu on the V1 custom menu used in Marlin mode.
So if i use the sd card or custom menu ( i need to look i to this) i would perform the probe first then start the cut and it will start the cut from where it probed? Meaning it will remember the last operation before the cut?
That depends, and it is a bit tricky. If your code includes a G92 X0 Y0 Z0 at the top (or you want your code to include this code) then the above code needs a bit more work. Most people using a Lowrider reset the origin relative to the stock. The problem is that the G92 will lock in the current position of the router as (0,0,0), when the router is left at (0,0,5) by the above code. To solve that problem, you can either not set the Z axis with the G92 (G92 X0 Y0) or expand the probing code to the following:
G38.2 Z0 F120 ; Probe Z down G92 Z0.5 ; Set current offset to 0.5 (thickness of touch plate) G0 Z5 F480 ; Lift Z to allow touch plate to be removed M0 Remove the touch plate and press to continue G0 Z0 F120
Now this is also tricky because the M0 above will only work if you are in Marlin mode with the display. If not, there is yet more work to be done. Sorry, there is not an easy answer here. Some of this stuff depends on how you run your jobs, and what display you use (and in what mode).
Doing dry runs (router off) is recommended when figure out some of this stuff.
I have the preloaded TFT35 SKR pro from V1E. Whats marlin mode?
If you have all three cables connected between your TFT and SKR Pro board, your display will have two modes. In touch mode, the firmware on the TFT controls what is displayed, and it uses g-code to “control” Marlin. In Marlin mode, there is no touch interface, and Marlin is managing the display directly. In Marlin mode, you make selections using the knob. You can switch between the two modes by holding down the knob for about 3 seconds.
The Marlin mode, the display has a V1 custom menu. You can make changes and additions to this menu. Making changes does require you to modify the firmware, recompile, and re-flash the board.
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I completely forgot about that other mode. I have mine tmset to touch screen but went to check marlin mode and it worked great. I guess its time to read up on how to set custom menus for it.