I have been playing with a simple SVG file and then moving it to estlcam. Here are some mistake I made.
make sure you have enough clearance on the side if you will be removing material (I power the thing off just in time...)
the material might not be at the same height so maybe add more Z clearance for the moves.
Now I got those two, im a little confused by the finish on this rectangle. It was border line OK to let it ride but wanted to see what the end result would be.
[attachment file=72655]
I added my estlcam project file and gcode compressed if anyone wouldn’t mind looking at it. Im using a 2" ⅛ flute bit with the lowrider 2. Everything set to Ryan’s basic setup in estlcam.
Board, driver settings, stepper ratings? Picture of your machine.
Hmmm, everything looks pretty good. I am not sure why you are skipping steps so perfectly. All I can say is maybe start slower. You are cutting at 15mm/s start with 8-10, and once you prove that cut deeper instead of faster.
The skips are not common and you seem to be skipping perfectly, even less common I would bet you are skipping teeth, You look to be exactly 2mm off per cut. A picture of your machine would help and I bet your belts are loose. On a side note on the other side you are cutting full depth perfectly.
Hmm, the skips are along the table axis. The other option is the belts are too tight, and try another cut much slower. You have a giant build with extra steel (an aluminum channel would be better for your wire on a giant build) so 15mm/s might not be the best Idea for you, slower and deeper.
I have a small build and have never cut that fast.
You can also try cutting foam, to see if it’s the material/CAM speeds or just the mechanics of the machine. Foam is better than air cuts just because it leaves tracks.
Its big, 5.5 by 10… its too big but eh, a learning experience.
I slow it down to 8m/s and took everything on top of the gantry off. Sounds much better. I tested with a shape to see how it did and look pretty good. The hexagon is 9mm deep and the circle is 3mm deep.
That looks more like a software (GCode) error then anything else to me since every 19 pass after that was dead on. (18mm down minus the first pass)… could that be?
Yes, but not likely, you can visualize it in repetier. Your last one looked fine. Another option is your rapids are at 35mm/s maybe slow them down to 25-30.
FYI, all of this is now fixed. My shop floor wasn’t perfectly leveled and my table was a tiny bit off square. I got everything squared away and it runs perfectly smooth now.
Now that I know how to make the lowrider, taking everything apart and rebuilding it, Im starting to wonder about bits/speed/size and such depending on material. What is a good book or website for that?
I read most of you website about a few times so I got that part down. I’m looking for additional sources to learn more about CNC geared towards non engineer. Im coming from a theatre background and planning on using for scenery and such. Anything would help. Thanks.
