I decided to cut the working desk in the community garden to test my maslow’s accuracy.
I had the fairly common lower corner issues where the long chain stretching corner to corner went slack. This caused the most noticeable errors.
What are the steps to improve this? I am thinking to re-sand my sled base to reduce friction and check the weight of the sled. I am already using a 12’ top beam. Bottom Right Bottom Left
Another issue I am seeing is that in pockets (this cut and another file i tried to cut) the end of the pockets have a hook to them.
Last thing is that all of the pockets in the file are drawn to .5". when I measured mine with calipers it comes out to .37 this is even in parts that are pretty close to the center of the sheet.
What kit are you using and what hardware and software (versions)? A Mega or Arduino Due?
Where did you buy kit and when? Without important information, this will take longer then it should.
Please feel welcomed ! This nice group of people will get you forward as long there is information to work with.
So after doing a bunch more reading, on the software side it sounds like I will want to switch to Web Control and use Holey Calibration. I will measure my motor distance, y distance, and sled weight tomorrow as well.
Actually it has been a year since I set up my machine so my memory is a little fuzzy, but my motor distance should be listed in ground control as measured during the initial calibration(setting chain on both motors and pulling it tight). Correct?
For the videos, I would say you need more weight, but add carefully, like replacing the hollow bricks with solid ones.
Is the frame angled at 15°?
Did you change to a 12 foot top beam?
What about the bottom of the sled, a little rub with candle wax can help, or thin UHMW to get less friction on the sled.
A change to
will sure help with the wrong measurements, specially if the calibration is done 2 or 3 times.
There is a new software around the corner, but not sure when it will be ready for production.
If you want to join in in testing, the post is here:
Kind regards, Gero
Edit: I’ve abused my admin rights to correct the link in your first post to the ‘left’ video, as both links pointed to the ‘right’.
the Right Video looks fine, the LEFT video the sled is jerking around as it goes down because the force of gravity is less then the force of the router cutting against wood.
easiest way is to cut less wood per pass. if you are doing 1/4" deep try 1/8" or less.
smaller bit might help that has single flute. and make sure bit it sharp
I also recommend cutting pockets in both directions to help with the bit walk.
Find which direction makes the hole smaller (climb for me) and cut that with your normal passes. Do a final pass in the opposite direction. I run a single pass for the cleanup.
The two to the left were done in in one direction trying different pass depths. The one to the right was done using both directions.
I switched out bricks for solid ones which increased sled weight 2 pounds to 22lbs
I sanded the bottom with 220 and it seemed to move better.
I installed web control on a chrome book
updated to Holey firmware
Ran the Holey calibration twice. First time I got 4.5 second time I got 4.9…
I then loaded the same working desk NC file from the community garden and tested the pockets and far left on foam. Pockets are correct width, not much hooking to them. Jumped ahead in the Gcode and cut the lower left corner and it cut great. Here is a video of that
I then loaded another sheet of 1/2 plywood and ran the cut. First 2 pockets are too narrow and very hooked. Instead of .5” they were .36”.
It seems as if the machine just can’t compete with the resistance from the plywood. What can be done to compensate for this as much as possible? this was a 1/4” 2 flute up spiral Maslow bit that had only been used 1 or 2 times
More weight?
Shallower passes?
Slower cut?
I was hoping to just load the file from the community garden and cut away but not sure that this file actually work in reality. Anyone else successfully used the .nc file in this download to successfully cut? If so any tips?
What is the diameter of your bit? Shallower, yes, to figure out what is going on. ‘Ready’ ,nc files do never have the speed nor the Z depth for your specific machine and material and have a diameter for the tool that might not match yours. The CAD/CAM workflow is not easy, but not that difficult, but an important.
if it cut fine in foam, but then messed up on plywood then your depth of cut is too much for the machine to handle. IMHO an ideal sled weight is around 27-28 lbs with a 12’ 30" rise frame. it will change if you change your sled.
Your sled is probably around 23 so another 5 lbs wouldn’t hurt
You can put UMHW on the bottom, that is the most slippery substance I know of
decreasing the angle from 18 to 15 might help too.
when the wood gets “hard to cut” or your router pitch changes and says “I’m loaded”, does your top beam flex at all? My top beam was flexing and had to be reinforced. You may want to check that as well.
I can change the angle without too much headache,
Changing the weight shouldn’t be bad either.
I have ordered a sheet of 3/16” UHMW so that should add another pound also.
Changing motor height would be more of a challenge. (Right now the machine just fits through a garage door in case I need to change location)
