Carnation Lowrider Build

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Figured i need to move this to the right thread. So i have been making progress and tonight i finally was able to cut the crown. Now i am still not 100% sure i am doing everything right, so bare with me as i lay it out for you.

  • first bring my router to the corner i am setting as home, but i have to do this from the LCD, Repiter host would not go all the way, it would stop at what it thought was home.
  • I did set my table size in the settings, so not sure what is going on there. (See link)
  • then i would drop my Z till it was touching my sacrificial board, to make sure it cut through my wood (.25" plywood)
  • after that i would hit my script in Repiter host "G92 X0 Y0 Z0" to set my home
  • Next i would load my plywood and he hit play.
  • instead of traveling to the starting point it would drop down and cut its way there (see link)
  • also i realize now that some of settings in my tool setup are not whats on the site. not sure how to select the correct one.
  • https://photos.app.goo.gl/YzdqoPyZAuzobUYj8
Sry for the long post any advice please throw it at me!
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There are a lot of “standard” ways to do the coordinates, but the one that makes the most sense to me (and Ryan’s tutorials follow this logic, probably because I learned here) is to have Z=0 be the top of your workpiece (the thing you’re cutting) and have it cut deep enough to cut through.

The work starts in the CAM. I hope you’re using the EstlCAM basics tutorial to get that all configured. EstlCAM needs to be configured so that when it’s not cutting it’s up above the work (at Z=5 or something) and when it is cutting, the depth that it is cutting is in the negative. So if you are cutting at a depth of 6mm, it will be at Z=-6.

The other part is X and Y. You can have the origin (X=0, Y=0) at the lower left corner of the design, or right in the center. Putting it in the lower left is easy amd great for saving material. Putting it in the center is great if you’re carving something on an existing thing and you wamt it centered (I carved a design into a cabinet door once). You need to choose the origin in the CAM and then set up the machine with that origin.

Once you have the CAM doing that (and if you’re using the crown gcode, then that’s done), how do you set up your job? You move the tool to the X,Y origin and move the Z until it’s at the top of the workpiece (not the top of the spoil board). Then your reset that to 0,0,0. Then you move the router up a smidge, start the router and then start the job.

Also, the entire surface won’t be flat. Even if you think it is. So if youre cutting through 6mm ply, don’t set your cut depth to 6mm. Add some slop. That’s why you have a spoil board. If you’re cutting a coaster, it will be pretty flat in that small area, so 0.5mm is enough. If you’re cutting a stool, you might need 2mm and if you’re cutting a dresser, you better know what you’re doing :slight_smile: .

Talking about the coaster again. If you want the Z to be accurate, you need to set it where the coaster will be cut. If you set the Z to the right height and then move 1000mm in XY to start cutting, the Z will be off. I messed this up today on my printer carving. I set the Z height 16" or so away from the carving and it cut 3mm too deep.

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I think I understand what you are trying. Lets try it a different way.

  • Starting from powered off.
  • Make sure the machine is touching both z hard stops (all the way down), and both Y hard stops (all the way against your belt holders or end of table).
  • Plug it in.
  • Use the LCD to first lift it above your material.
  • Then use the LCD to drive it to above the Y home position.
  • Use the LCD again to drive it to the above X home position.
  • Again use the LCD to drive the Z axis down to the surface of your material (this should be your Z home in CAM/gcode).
  • You gcode should have "G92 X0 Y0 Z0" as your starting block. this resets the axis and bypasses odd manual g92 quirks.
  • Hit play.
What this does is square the machine and keep it under power and locked in square. It is a good idea to have it trace your design perimeters above the material (clearance plane) for the first path to make sure nothing binds. Make sense? Repetier has nothing to do with it if you have an LCD.
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Jinx…Heffe with those fast fingers and no typos…

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Thanks Jeff and ryan. I will run another cut tomorrow and let you know how it goes.

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I think that is were I am having the issue is in EstlCAM . I am not seeing where to imput the values so it cuts through the material. I am trying to compare the screen shot to my settings, but my version of EstlCAM icons don’t match.

 

But everthever else you guys said for setting my zero works . I will keep you updated .thanks.

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Depth of cut, you have to know how thick your material is. Toolpath depth or depth of cut. You can set this per path or for all paths.

Here is an over complicated view of this, I need to update this, it is much easier now. https://www.v1engineering.com/estlcam-2-5d-routing-intermediate/

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Ryan,

i used your setup to create my latest crown, but it only makes one pass and doesn’t cut through the plywood (.25"). i am sure its in my CAM setting, just not sure which ones i need to increase. see attached. also on the crown image ignore the line that shoots off, from a previous cut.

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It is called “Toolpath depth or depth of cut”. There are two ways to set it.

This picture, well actually most of them, show it. https://www.v1engineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/I12.jpg

That is from the page I linked above, https://www.v1engineering.com/estlcam-2-5d-routing-intermediate/

 

That whole page talks about depth of cutting, that is the depth tutorial.

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so i figured out what the problem was, i didnt understand what “Tool PAth Depth” meant and once i set it to that depth of my plywood it worked perfectly.

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High five!!!

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Just made a 3D puzzle of plane for my son

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Thats fun! Where did you find the plans?

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Jeff i got the plans for the plan here.

https://www.zenziwerken.de/Toys

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Ah, yeah. Those designs are great. I should do some of those.

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i am going to start a project for my sons birthday, one of the reasons why i wanted a CNC, making these trucks that he loves. my question is cuting MDF (1/4 and 1/2") will the bit i have work or do i need to get other bits?

  • 1/8" 2 Flute Carbide DownCut EndMill
  • 1/8" 45 Degree Carbide V-Bit

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Your best bet is almost always a single flute upcut, https://vicious1-com.myshopify.com/collections/sharp-stuff/products/1-8-single-flute

The down cut will work but you will need to carefully dial it in and run the router as slow as possible.

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Ty Ryan!

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so i am getting rdy to cut out logo from my company and it is 25 x 25". with the setting in the images, it is saying it will take 1 hour and 37 min. is that typical for cuts like this? are there ways i can speed up the process.

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Get good complete clean cuts first. Worry about speed later.

25x25 doesn’t really tell us anything could be a tiny outline or a deep relief. The time sounds about normal but that is a wild guess.