Working On A Drag Knife for Vinyl! #117 - Bassett, VA

[ger21]

You just jog the machine to get the laser crosshair to where you want 0,0 to be. There's a button in the 2010 Screenset that sets the DRO's so that 0,0 is where the laser is pointing. You need to enter the X and Y distances between the center of the spindle and the center of the crosshair.

Not sure what you mean about "compensate for tooling". All the laser does it set your XY zeroes where the laser is pointing.

[Tom Ayres]

Not really, I haven't played with mach too much at this point, I want all the bells and whistles working first before I tear it up. LOL

[Tom Ayres]

Ger, I guess I was asking about how the tooling offset works with the laser, whether there was something special about it or not. I've been wanting to get the 2010 screenset anyway.

[darren salyer]

Best money you will spend, in my opinion.

[Tom Ayres]

Its only money...right? Anyone? anyone? (Ben Stein quote)

[pblackburn]

You can use a webcam and make a webcam center finder. Fairly accurate and can be used as an edge finder. More accurate with the zoom for fine tuning and do all from the Mach screen. A lot of postings out there on how to make one.

[darren salyer]

Pete, does that use an Ethernet cable to connect the webcam, or a USB cable?

[pblackburn]

Most are usb and use Mach3 video plugin or Centrecam

[darren salyer]

that's gotta be close to a 20 foot cable on a 5x12 machine...
I'm guessing you mount to the y-car and use an offset routine?

And Tom.....money you enjoy wasting is not wasted money....
Although in this case, I think the laser-zero, touchpad and Mach2010 have saved me many times more than the cost....

[pblackburn]

Just listing options, a beam width of <1mm still not highly accurate or precise. 0.5mm is still 19 thousandths. All depends on the product and precision you require. I will say most wood work won't not require a tight tolerance but why settle for less.

The projected beam of a laser is always a fascination to people. Always make sure the class of laser is IIIa or lower. Never use it with optics or a material that will reflect the scattered beam to your eye. Laser safety glasses are cheap, most of you got a pair with a tool that came with a laser alignment. Most say they are not needed. I say for the 2 seconds to put it on versus the chance you are going to be the one in a million unlucky person that suffer retina damage (time varies). Put them on, it only takes 2 seconds.

Just my 2 cents

[darren salyer]

Please don't think I was discounting a webcam as an option...I ask the questions because I'm interested in it as an option. Definitely has the cool factor in addition to being useful.

Valid point on the use of eye protection around lasers.

[KenC]

Webcam option has its place. but I'm just too lazy to go through the trouble to install one.
Laser cross-hair is just so easy to implement. have a look at my concoction, its as primitive as I can get & still do what it suppose to do.
Its really a great way to recover a loose step moment; reset you datum position & get back to work in a jiffy. Fix hole method is just too tedious with too little accuracy benefit.

[Tom Ayres]

How 'bout I start with the 2010 screen set, THEN, worry about the other options as I find needs. Too many things to think about.

[KenC]

Look like a good plan.
You will find out what else you really need in no time.

[Tom Ayres]

I think its better to learn one or two things first then build from there. I do appreciate the input though, food for thought.

[KenC]

1st you gotta get familiar with holding down your work without crashing & other hair pulling accidents.

[Tom Ayres]

What type of hold down are you using Ken? I see a lot of cam type clamps (on the side) and of coarse the screw method. I feel more comfortable with screws but may not be practical in the long run.

[KenC]

Vacuum hold down; simple F-clamps for small pieces; when all others fail, double sided tape.

Just get your hands dirty. Play with MM & you will see the light.

[Tom Ayres]

I love double sided tape for wood carving (by hand), keeps my knives sharp and no nicks in the blades, takes way too long to sharpen. Vacuum hold down is eventually what I'll resort to, but paying for Aspire first is a biggie.

[KenC]

Aspire is money very well spend.
There are more than a few ways to hold-down, don't take my word for it, u gotta find whats best for your particular needs & wants.

[ger21]

My 2 cents based on almost 20 years of using big industrial routers in high production situations.

Set up your machine to use pop up locating pins (pneumatic cylinders) or fixed fences for locating parts.

Home the machine, place your parts against the pins or fence and go. I almost never need to zero my X and Y axis. I'm basically running in machine coordinates.

For one off jobs that require something different, you can quickly cut a locating fixture.

[Tom Ayres]

I fully agree Ken.

Gerry, the pop-ups sound good but the basic fence will probably do to start or at least a fixture of some sort. I've got a job that will require several offsets because of the quantity and the cut out part has to be flipped. This may end up being a continuous run of several thousand a year. I'm assuming the same would apply.

Aren't the pop-ups used for indexing then drop back down after vacuum hold-down takes over?

[pblackburn]

Tom, sorry for such a long post.

I used nothing more than tee nuts with a drill pattern throughout the spoilboard to make the a quick holddown grid. I recommend only aluminum clamps as your cutters may survive the impact and no sparking. I have never screwed into my spoilboard. This was fast and inexpensive. I am still seeking the end solution for my own holddown needs.

The pointers everyone here will give are good (great is something relative to an individual situation but not suited to every one process). If you try to implement every idea or even just some of them, you will never cut or use the machine enough to get a true feel of the direction you need your completed build to venture.

Your view right now may not be the same as the one in the future. Blindly following the creations of others does not create a great thing. Studying it, reverse engineering it, learning its weaknesses and strengths then mold it, form it and combine it and then you have something great. That is DIY to me. I have worked maintenance for many years but it was an older friend that once told me to listen to everyone and form my own conclusion. I find my best information from the person who has never touched that machine before and not always the most experienced. Ignorant does not mean stupid and lazy does not mean worthless, a lazy person will find the fastest way to complete a job so they have more time all while retaining there job. These people tend to make us mad. But we should be mad at ourselves because they figured it out before we did.

In conclusion, button up the remaining open items you have but cut stuff in the process and enjoy your new machine that you made. That is something no one can take away from you.

[Tom Ayres]

Amen!

[racedirector]

If we had Likes on this forum, you would be getting one Pete, brilliant post!

[Tom Ayres]

I am a bit Lazy though.

[darren salyer]

As would you. Bruce.
Profound.

[KenC]

Great post Pete, that can only be the works of someone who had been there.
#ps,
I still have no idea why limit switches is needed on the machine other than for safety regulation compliance...

[darren salyer]

Kind of agree, Ken.
I have them, ran almost a year before I hooked them up, Never ran off the table prior to or since hooking them up.
HOWEVER, some guys building a MM have never ran a CNC before, and some crazy things can happen when you hit start for the first time....

[Tom Ayres]

Personally, I don't trust myself enough to do without them. I operate on little sleep and when at my worst I get sloppy. Later on I may have a different view. I also look at it as another ability it should have, the same with z plate zeroing and probing, all of which I can operate without. But why should I? The more it does for me, the less I'm required to think when I can't, right or wrong. We all have different reasons for what we put on our machine.

I want it all...