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So - bit of first timer stuff here with a cbeam, - could use a hand!

Discussion in 'CNC Mills/Routers' started by r3x, Jun 7, 2018.

  1. r3x

    r3x New
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    Hey guys.

    So i basically got a hold of a Cbeam, already assembled - 35x25 approx, with a kress 1050 in it.

    Now, i know some cnc, mainly from having a carvey - but i knew jumping to this, that i need to learn alot of stuff.

    Heres the challenge ive run into:

    1) I tried to fire off the openbuilds logo file, onto a piece of wood. I set the zero by well setting the drill at the spot i want, hit zero, then disconnect, then reconnect, then hit zero again. Then load the file, and hit play. The first letter, the weird O is being carved perfect. But the next letter, it wants to write underneath it ??? I thought it was supposed to write it next to it, aka to the right of it? Im guessing this is an orientation issue, seeing as the machine came all setup for me; but when i compared the setup that is in it, to the jpg file from openbuilds build video, it doesnt all add up. If i do input openbuilds settings, its like the machine does not move. Any ideas?

    2) I tried to fire a meshcam generated STL file into it - however, this file, starts off to the far right - so again, this seems like an orientation issue, and it does sort of seem like it ignores my zeroing.

    Anyone who can assist me a bit here, i would be very grateful!
     
  2. r3x

    r3x New
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    After further examination, i can now see that what its doing in terms of cutting the openbuilds logo is that its cutting it upside down; so first the O, then the piece above the O ( part of the graphic ) - but thats getting cut further OUT towards where i am sitting, meaning that the whole thing needs to be flipped 180 degrees..?
     
  3. ChadRat6458

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    What software are you running to send your gcode to your machine? Can you video what it is doing?
     
    Mark Carew likes this.
  4. r3x

    r3x New
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    Well - i figured it out, it turns out the gbrl / controller kept the info, and the guy that had assembled it, had set it up wrong; so i changed $3 from 6, to 4, and now all cuts perfectly.

    However, now i have a new small issue - but this is probably down to me and not being sure about how to do this.

    I have an 18mm piece of wood - i carved something in it; the way i did the z axis was to bring the machine to rest over the desired starting area, then losen the bit, so it falls down onto the wood, then tighten it.

    It was supposed to cut this piece all out ( i have cut the same piece on a carvey machine, where it all got cut out perfectly ). But, when measuring it had only cut 14.5 mm.

    So after a few tries, and no luck, i took off the piece, and put a small 7mm piece on. I then made a small drawing, a ring, to be cut out of that 7mm, with supports. This, ends at 6.5 mm - so 0.5 mm before actually being cutout. I tried the first method here by dropping the bit, and a second cut, i tried lowering the spindel by 0.1, with the drill running so i could hear when the bit hit the wood; same result.

    What am i missing?
     
  5. Gary Caruso

    Gary Caruso OpenBuilds Volunteer
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    simplest way to zero Z is to use the Jog to get it to the surface, and use a sheet of paper, slowly lower the z when you can just feel the paper drag then that's about 3thou high.. set the z to zero.
    You need to calibrate the z axis, you probably need to calibrate all three axis. in GRBL you do this by adjusting the mm per turn setting.
    Post your grbl settings here.. do a "$$" in the command line to get the settings to list.
     
    Mark Carew likes this.
  6. r3x

    r3x New
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    Hey

    Thanks - i actually figured out what i did wrong..... (again)

    So, i homed in to where i wanted it to be, then hit zero xyz. Then, uhm.. i lifted up the z a bit, and loaded my drawing. My thinking was that i didnt want the cut to start with the spinning bit to be dragged across the board, and since i had hit zero xyz, i didnt think it would take that small lift on z into account.. but it did.

    Doh.

    Learning, learning. :) Thanks for the advices though - the paper is a good idea!

    Ill do a post of my settings tomorrow, - would be great to hear if theyre right on
     
    Mark Carew likes this.
  7. Gary Caruso

    Gary Caruso OpenBuilds Volunteer
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    so with the system on, you should be able to work zero xyz at the start position and jog anywhere you want and then hit start and it will move correctly to the first cut location.. unless you turned it off or did another zero or something
     

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