Maslow makes tool changes fairly easy. If you run the “MeticulousSled_All” program, it will order each tool as I programmed it. When it gets to a tool change, it will pause the program and tell you which tool number to change to. Once you complete the change, you can move the machine around to touch off your tool height before resuming the program.
In the MeticulousSled program, the tool order is:
T2 = Engrave
T4 = 1/8" Drill (or whatever you want to use for the pilot holes)
T1 = 1/4" single flute end mill
Now, if you don’t have an engraving tool, I broke each of these toolpaths into separate programs to give you more control. You will have to run them according to the order of the main program. So in your case, you would run the “Predrill” program, then the “0250-1FL” program. Run each program on the EXACT SAME home, preferably all at once. Shutting the machine down between programs may cause some shifting between the two programs.
To answer your other tooling question, about the 1.5mm tool, I’m going to point you to @gersus’s post above. He used a piece of clear acrylic, the same thickness of the dust window. The dust window in my design is 1/8". If you use an 1/8" end mill instead of the 1.5mm one, the slot will be cut at the right thickness for the the acrylic.
I will be updating the design to use acrylic like Gersus had done, because that’s much easier for people to make than the really thin one I had drawn originally. That idea had escaped me when I was designing the plywood chute.
Someone commented about potential movement of the ring due to the increased offset required with this setup. I noticed some movement today when putting light pressure in any direction so I made some braces. Solid as a rock now.
I am getting ready to cut the parts for the Meticulous Z-axis. Looking at the files I am not seeing any pre drilled holes for the slide rail mounting blocks. Am I just not seeing them or are they left off on purpose?
That’s no fun. Glad you were able to get a quick fix for that! Can’t say I’ve had the same problem with the linkage system I have, but it’s not a hard fix for the ring.
I’m still working on my next round of revisions that will include those holes in the nc files. I have a few more things I need to fix before I start creating new nc files. Among those changes are the mating holes for the rails and lead screw pillow blocks in the spine.
In the meantime, I have both a PDF template and a DXF file I can share with you so you can lay out the holes for the carriage plate. The template is drawn on a A sized sheet, so you should be able to print it at 100% on a normal printer. I have included dimensions to make it easier to check that it printed to scale.
It is made of Corian solid surface glacier white is the color the whole objective was to get rid of the weights as well as being a hundred percent portable all the electronics are Incorporated into the sled itself I want it to where I can roll it on a job site and be cutting within minutes the sled has been shortened to help the center of gravity and the actual material that is made of is very dense the sled moves and operates great I weighed it last night it weighs in at around 26 to 28 lb
I cut it out with my Original set up. Same tooling As if you were cutting wood But solid service is much harder so will need to slow down feed rate. Yes that was one of my main concerns was to get rid of those bricks and try to keep the weight in the sled that’s why all the electronics were put in those plexiglass boxes cuz that’s where the additional weight would need to be if any needed.
Solid surface is a plastic material, if I remember correctly. Used to cut it on the CNC routers we had in cabinet shops. One of the reasons contractors like it, it’s way easier to work with than stone.
Yes I have fabricated it for about the past 15 years 1 main selling point of solid surfaces if it breaks you can fix it a 100% that this scratches you can buff it right back out to a shine It repairs flawlessly if it breaks a good repair will never be seen. It is a great material for all sorts of projects I’ve done some beautiful walk in showers, Miles and miles of countertops and a lot of custom platting such as hospital operating rooms floor to Ceiling.
@Mike_Thomas: Couldn’t love it more! It’s great stuff. When it comes time to redo the folks kitchen I’m planning on using that for their counter. I’ve used it all the time in similar settings in many different construction projects. One of the last places I worked did University Cafeterias, and that was always really interesting (and often an engineering challenge!)
Hey so I finally have this thing mostly together and I am in the process of mounting the z-axis motor. All looks good and functions smooth when I test the z-axis movement except one problem… Every time I push raise in Ground Control the router carriage lowers and every time I press lower the carriage raises. Any ideas on what I have backwards? Also what are my next steps in calibrating the z-axis once its all together? Thank you all for your help!
