Maslow 4.1 Calibration Help – Distorted First Test Cut

Troubleshooting
,
1

Hi everyone,

I’m a new owner of a Maslow 4.1 and I’m having some trouble with calibration. The machine is mounted to a concrete floor, and I’m not sure if I’m missing a step in the calibration process.

From what I understand, the basic calibration sequence is:

1. Retract all arms

2. Lower the Z-axis all the way down

3. Start calibration

4. Extend the arms and attach them to the anchors

5. Tension the system

6. Complete the calibration routine

Everything seemed to be working correctly during calibration, but when I made my first test cut, the results were way off. The cut was supposed to be a square pocket, 1/4" deep. The depth came out correctly at 1/4", but the shape is clearly not a square.

My main questions are:

* What is the correct step-by-step calibration procedure for the Maslow 4.1?

* Should calibration be performed with the spoilboard and material installed, or should it be done without them?

* Are there any common calibration mistakes that could cause a square to come out distorted while still cutting to the correct depth?

* Is there anything specific I should check since the machine is mounted to a concrete floor?

I’ve attached a photo of the test cut for reference.

Sorry if this has already been covered elsewhere. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

PXL_20260617_170607289
PXL_20260617_1706072891920×1446 382 KB

Thanks!

2

Jacob Holcombe wrote:

I’m a new owner of a Maslow 4.1 and I’m having some trouble with calibration. The machine is mounted to a concrete floor, and I’m not sure if I’m missing a step in the calibration process.

From what I understand, the basic calibration sequence is:

1. Retract all arms

2. Lower the Z-axis all the way down

3. Start calibration

4. Extend the arms and attach them to the anchors

5. Tension the system

6. Complete the calibration routine

this is correct, but not complete. When your anchors are not at the same height
as the bottom of your sled, you need to set the spoilboardthickness or
workpiecethickness values to tell the machine how much the bottom of the sled
differs from the anchor height (there is also a way to handle the anchors being
at different heights)

Everything seemed to be working correctly during calibration, but when I made
my first test cut, the results were way off. The cut was supposed to be a
square pocket, 1/4" deep. The depth came out correctly at 1/4", but the shape
is clearly not a square.

My main questions are:

* What is the correct step-by-step calibration procedure for the Maslow 4.1?

the steps are correct, you just need to set the thicknesses

* Should calibration be performed with the spoilboard and material installed, or should it be done without them?

usually it’s done on the spoilboard (you don’t want the bottom of the sled to
get scratched up by concrete. What you do doesn’t matter, as long as the machine
knows about it.

* Are there any common calibration mistakes that could cause a square to come out distorted while still cutting to the correct depth?

lots, depth and x/y coordinates are completely separate

I’ve attached a photo of the test cut for reference.

Sorry if this has already been covered elsewhere. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

PXL_20260617_170607289
PXL_20260617_1706072891920×1446 382 KB

from this, I would guess that the belts are very loose.

set the thicknesses and re-do the find anchors routine. save the log after you
do this and post it.

David Lang

3

Thank you so much!

Just to confirm when I do the find anchors calabration I should have it on the spoil board, set the spoil board thickness and leave work piece thickness at 0?

4

Jacob Holcombe wrote:

Just to confirm when I do the find anchors calabration I should have it on the
spoil board, set the spoil board thickness and leave work piece thickness at
0?

short answer yes

long answer

there is no technical difference between spoilboad thickness and workpiece
thickness and changing the Z offsets directly. the Z portion of the calculation
is zoffset + spoilboard thickness + workpiece thickness

but it’s a lot easier (and less error prone) to enter one number for the
spoilboad than to change the 4 z offsets, and you typically don’t change your
spoilboard thickness much while you will change your workpiece thickenss, so we
have three different numbers rather than just the z offsets to make it easier to
enter the right thing accurately

David Lang

5

Correct sequence after lowering Z all the way down is:

  1. Click Setup
  2. Click Retract All
  3. Click Extend All
  4. Attach belts to Anchors
  5. Click Find Anchors
  6. On successful run, Adjust Z Home
  7. Load GCode file and run without a bit so you can see how it works

What version are you running?
Please attach the Serial log so we can see what is happening.
Can we please stop talking about Calibration. That terminology is obsolete.

1 Like