Hi, all about to attempt my first project - have a few questions before I light the fuse on the job.
Background - exported to DXF - opened file in KrabzCAM (followed video for setting) - exported to G-code.nc (all ok)
Current:
Loaded NC file via Maslow AP (all ok so far) - although at times I get a low memory notice
XY Home position is pretty much in the dead centre of the spoilboard.
This is a larger project cut that takes up much of the 2440x1220 plywood; the Maslow AP shows home at the bottom-left of the G-code.
Question: Does the mean, based on the current home, indicate that the job will move from the centre to the top right, or will the sled move to the bottom left of the spoilboard and begin?
[My preference is that the centre of the project aligns with the centre of the spoilboard, mostly to avoid corners where the Maslow sled may struggle, given the frame size I have.], and how can I achieve this (best practice)
Question: Setting material thickness - do I set this to an exact match to the material, or should I add 2-3mm to compensate, ensuring a full depth cut?
Question: Feeds and speeds - 15mm marine ply - what cutting speed should be best (experience)
You can move the shapes around in Krabzcam so that the origin of the g code is in the middle if you really want it. Then export that gcode. If you want to keep the xy home in the center. Otherwise the way you have it You should set the xy of Maslow to the corresponding corner Bottom left of the board so that it will move out from there. Also do a dry run with no blade for your first go. Check the z settings when you do put in your blade and I really like the trace outline feature in the maslow interface. It has saved me a few times. Set the material thickness exactly in the maslow interface. Maslow doesn’t change cuts based on that. It is used for location calculations Maslow just follows the g code. . Set the material thickness a couple of mm deeper in Krabzcam if you want that will make it cut deeper with the g code instructions. It will wear down your spoilboard but that is ok. I don’t have experience with marine ply. Try some test cuts. Fast answer. I hope that helps. do find some scrap to test on first. Do dry runs first. Keep us informed. Fun.
Loaded NC file via Maslow AP (all ok so far) - although at times I get a low memory notice
XY Home position is pretty much in the dead centre of the spoilboard.
This is a larger project cut that takes up much of the 2440x1220 plywood; the Maslow AP shows home at the bottom-left of the G-code.
Question: Does the mean, based on the current home, indicate that the
job will move from the centre to the top right, or will the sled move to the
bottom left of the spoilboard and begin?
no, if you have home set to the center, that is where 0,0 is defined. If your
CAM step defined 0,0 to be the bottom left of the cut, running on a machine with
0,0 in the center means all the cutting will be up and to the right.
[My preference is that the centre of the project aligns with the centre of
the spoilboard, mostly to avoid corners where the Maslow sled may struggle,
given the frame size I have.], and how can I achieve this (best practice)
you can set your CAM to make 0,0 be the center of your workspace instead of
the bottom left
you can move to the bottom corner of where you want to cut and hit the ‘set
xy home button’
in any case, once you have the gcode loaded, there is the ‘trace outline’ button
that will look at the gcode and move the sled around the outside edge of it so
you can see where it would cut without having to run the entire job.
but in general, you should be able to trust the maslow display
Question: Setting material thickness - do I set this to an exact match to the material, or should I add 2-3mm to compensate, ensuring a full depth cut?
the material thickness in the maslow setting has nothing to do with how deep it
will cut. that is all done in your CAM step. the material thickness in the
maslow is just telling the machine how far down it is to the anchors so that the
belt tension is correct. Z=0 is the top of the material