Leveling the gantry

[wfby]

When my machine moves along the y axis, it is about 1/8 inch lower on the right side. Is there an easy way to level it.

Bill

[Consultingwoodworker]

Easier to level the bed in my opinion.

I have been programming/operating CNC's in industry for a lot of years. Typically, the head is used to "plane" the working surface to insure that they two are parallel. You can't really plane the entire Shark factory table since the bit cannot reach all points.

I cut a 24" square piece of MDF and bolted it to the factory table using nylon bolts. I positioned it so that it was inside the work envelope of the machine, then wrote a program that uses a 1/2 flat router bit to plane down the top. I also milled t-slots into the MDF every 4 inches to increase my hold-down options.

I try not to cut into this board too much, but it happens. I can just plane it down as needed, and when it gets too thin, it is easy to replace. It makes the Z axis depth control much more accurate.

Hope this helps,

Ralph

[jeb2cav]

Hi Ralph - can you post a pic of your table? Another great idea amongst many discussed for table setup.

[Consultingwoodworker]

Here is the overview of the Work Table


The T-Slots are every 4 inches or so on center. I cut the slots with a 3/8" dado blade, then used Rockler's T-Slot bit to under cut. http://bit.ly/eVsq0N



I used 5/16" nylon bolts to bolt it to the factory table using the existing slots. The nylon bolts mean that if the bit hits one by accident, the bit won't be damaged.



Hope this is clear,

Ralph

[jeb2cav]

Very nice and well thought out. Experience of use...

Thanks for sharing the pics and the details.

[acxsasx]

On my Pro Plus, the right side of the X axis was a bit lower.

I didn't have the wood at the time, but I had read where another person had used metal tape. So I removed the metal sections of the table and got it fairly close. I foresee doing what Ralph has done at some point.

[SimRacn]

Here's the problem i am having. the Y axis on the bit is flat, but the X axis is cocked, leaving a step when surfacing. Raising the bed may work, but was also thinking should be able to shim the clamp that holds the router in place. But it appears to be glued to the base sigh. figured would be better to ask before going further. Have already raised the gantry on the left side as much as i could then retightened the bolts. Am going to be cutting 1" thick matl, so need to have it as true as possible.

Thank you for any help and suggestions.

[saramos]

To me, it looks like the x axis is parallel to the top, but the z axis is not perpendicular in the x plane to the table top. To see that much of a step, I would say it's way off. It would take careful looking to determine if the router is cocked to one side in the mount, or if the mount itself is out of alignment.

Scott

[miguelito]

It does appear that the head (the router) is way off.
To straighten it up, here is what you do:
Take an “L” shape metal arm. (I use the Allen wrench appropriate size)
Short end put into the collet, or chuck, and set the indicator at the end of the long one.
Turning the Z screw, gently touch the surface of the table, set your indicator to zero and start rotating the arm slowly. That will give you an idea how much is the head off and in witch direction.
Keep in mind though, no matter how perfect the head is set, you’ll never make a perfectly straight surfaces with the tool as small as ½”
Hope it’ll help, good luck.

[SimRacn]

Yes, the head is WAY off.... I get about .040 across the bottom and top of the main bracket. Had about .015 - .-20 on a 2" piece of drill rod in the collet. Also0 stuck one of my Spi 0-15-0 indicators in the collet, and had about the same thing, about .020 run out as moving across it. I have shimmed up the existing clamp .032 to get it closer to level. Dont see much of any other way to level the main mounting bracket that the clamp mounts to.

Went and bought a DeWalt router and am making a clamp for it out of 1" plex. Will be a bit more rigid and sized to fit the dewalt vs the bosch.

Will keep everyone posted on the results.