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Manual Adjustment of Router Depth

#1

Have just finished building and installing my Maslow, have the Z axis motor but am not going to fit it yet until a new router arrives. Itching to try it out and play around see how it all works and getting to know the software.

My question is, how do you go about doing maybe 4 passes without having the Z axis motor automatically doing it for you?

Do you have to 1st plunge the router to required depth and then hit start on Ground Control to run the 1st pass? When the 1st pass is done do you then plunge the router a little deeper and then run the 2nd pass and repeat for pass 3 and 4?

Hope that makes sense.

Thanks

#2

if you have the z axis disabled in groundcontrol or webcontrol, every time there is a gcode z move, it will stop and tell you to change it and then you have to press a button to continue.

1 Like
#3

Thanks for the reply.

So I just put the z axis changes into the gcode and disable the z axis in ground control?

So for example, if I wanted 4 passes I would put maybe a 3mm z axis drop for each pass in the g code but disable the z axis in ground control? After the 1st pass it would stop and I would plunge the router myself the 3mm and press start for the 2nd pass and do the same for the 3rd and 4th pass?

#4

Hmmm… From the start I have had a Z axis motor, so do not have experience with your issue…

Seems like you could cut simple paths (circles, rectangles, shapes made with a single line) without all the machine stops. If 4 passes are needed to get through the workpiece, turn off the Z axis, set the file for a single pass depth, and after each pass, lower the bit to the next step and run the file again. The part you are cutting will need to be secured to the backboard, unless you are using tabs. With tabs you would need a separate file with tabs for the last cut, and change the router depth at the beginning and end of each tab. Sounds like a PITA to me.

Cutting circles is an informative exercise to see how well the machine is calibrated, with only one shallow cut pass needed. Do this on waste board, and try different sizes at different places on the board. If you are really lucky, they will be round!

Best of luck!