I dont think virtual zero is working!
Moderators: al wolford, sbk, Bob, Kayvon
I dont think virtual zero is working!
Hi, I am doing a game board for a client and I was using virtual Z to cut out some pockets. I am using a .25" straight bit to do the clear, and a .125" straight bit after the clear. well you will see in the pictures I am sending with this post that the second pass with the .125" bit the virtual isn't working. With the hexagons, I have it setup to cut .0625" depth. In the left hand corner it is going .0575" depth and in the right corner it is going .1025" depth. The first pass is pretty close all the way around but it is a little short of .0625. You can see from the middle of the board going down on the right side it is cutting deeper, even in the rectangle boxes the second pass is going deeper. I had a post on here a couple of days ago about it digging into the board at startup so I set the depth of the touch plate from .374" to .361" and it worked to stop the bit from diving into the board. I tried a couple cuts but not very far apart and it seemed to be working. I think the touch plate isn't working. Does anyone know what I can do, or if they think its the touch plate or me. I did run the virtual zero again after I changed bits (I very lightly sanded the board with 220 sand paper to take off the torn wood in the cut from the first pass, but just enough to make it flat), and it showed the different heights at all four corners in the virtual setup so I thought it would adjust for the difference and cut it right. It started in the middle cutting the hexagons and was looking good so I went to do a glue up and came back and was so pissed when I seen what happened. Please need some help Thanks Tim
- Attachments
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- left side is not to bad
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- Right side really diving down
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- Stars in the center and goes down and to the right
Re: I dont think virtual zero is working!
I'm a little suspicious that your bit may have been a little loose and was slipping out of the collet as the cut progressed. A spiral upcut bit will tend to pull itself down if it isn't tight.
I don't know what router you are using, but the type with a spindle lock requiring only one wrench to tighten are convenient but are hard to get as tight as when you can use two wrenches to squeeze together with your hands. Hand strength is stronger here than the extended reach of our arms simply pushing or pulling a wrench. I often find my students have left a bit not-tight despite their claims to the opposite. When I tighten a bit in any of the routers we use most can't get it out until I show them my squeeze technique. When I see a cut getting deeper as it progresses it is a loose bit 99% of the time.
You can check for bit slip by making a mark on the bit against the collet when you install it. If that mark moves down after use, then the bit has slipped. If it isn't bit slip then your Z axis may be losing steps or slipping in the connector/coupler between the motor and the threaded shaft. A cut that is very aggressive can lead to both. End mills don't like to plunge and will either push the table down or the router up if they can't remove material fast enough when plunging. I let the bits ramp in cuts when they are 1/4" or larger.
That said, I'm not a pure believer in the virtual zero feature. The latest version may be better, but I quite using it when I would occasionally get some outrageous results I could only blame on math/rounding errors if I had to.
4D
I don't know what router you are using, but the type with a spindle lock requiring only one wrench to tighten are convenient but are hard to get as tight as when you can use two wrenches to squeeze together with your hands. Hand strength is stronger here than the extended reach of our arms simply pushing or pulling a wrench. I often find my students have left a bit not-tight despite their claims to the opposite. When I tighten a bit in any of the routers we use most can't get it out until I show them my squeeze technique. When I see a cut getting deeper as it progresses it is a loose bit 99% of the time.
You can check for bit slip by making a mark on the bit against the collet when you install it. If that mark moves down after use, then the bit has slipped. If it isn't bit slip then your Z axis may be losing steps or slipping in the connector/coupler between the motor and the threaded shaft. A cut that is very aggressive can lead to both. End mills don't like to plunge and will either push the table down or the router up if they can't remove material fast enough when plunging. I let the bits ramp in cuts when they are 1/4" or larger.
That said, I'm not a pure believer in the virtual zero feature. The latest version may be better, but I quite using it when I would occasionally get some outrageous results I could only blame on math/rounding errors if I had to.
4D