Proper locations for shape charges

[crash5050]

Does anyone know the proper locations to place the shape charges to exploxivley eliminate a 48x96 in one attempt?!!!!

I am done!, 6 months I have had this thing and not one part, just a broken 1 inch straight bit.........

[srwtlc]

Chillax David, have some turkey, take a nap, watch some football, and come back at it refreshed tomorrow . ;)

[crash5050]

I'm done with it, should have went ahead and bought the Cammaster, delivered fully set up and running.

[MogulTx]

I can't imagine not getting good parts out of one of these machines. I was a dufus when I first got mine (now I am a dufus+)... and I get wonderful results.

If I had some time over the next couple weeks, I'd drive up there and help you out. It would be wrong to not help another botter to get this squared away!

Was this a new machine or one you bought used? What kind? What is the major issue? Surely this is a simple little problem that you can get figured out! Really! Literally 1.5 years ago I knew NOTHING. I am still not the expert that a lot of these guys ( Like Brady) are., but this machine ROCKS!

Tell us what the issue is and let's get you "on track". If you don't allow yourself to fail- you will be a big proponent very quickly!

Best Regards,

MGM

[jerry_stanek]

What makes you think that a Camaster wouldn't break a bit. You can always put it up for sale and go your separate way or ask for some help from us on the forum

[myxpykalix]

Listen David when i bought mine i knew NOTHING about cnc. After I got it, it took me 2 days to put it together because i had a custom table with an indexer and other stuff so if i can do it, you can do it.

describe what your problem is and someone will help you....we've all gone thru what you're going thru so like my grandkids say "take a chill pill dude!":D

[crash5050]

What makes you think that a Camaster wouldn't break a bit. You can always put it up for sale and go your separate way or ask for some help from us on the forum

The bit is the least of my worries! although it was a 1 inch amana bit.

[gene]

What's the problem? lets see if we can help. I am like Jack. when i purchased mine i broke several bits , almost all that came with the set , then i hooked the clamp to the bit , turned on the spindle (Never did find that clamp) then i asked for advise. one guy blamed shopbot for selling a cnc to a retard but then i figured out how to set up the cut files for jobs. when i get fusterated i have to step back , take a deep breath and ask myself where did i put that jack daniels . usually that means that work will resume tomorrow if my head doesnt hurt too bad. all kidding aside , we are here to help

[crash5050]

Ok, one problem at a time

k for keyboard
c2 for Z Zero with Zero Plate
Hook Clamp to bit, touch plate to bit, light blinks, lay plate on table hit ok at the prompt

Proximity switch hit, nudge quit etc....

No Proximity switch on the Z axis

[crash5050]

Problem 2

X prox switch will not disengage, once hit I have to unplug it to reset it

I did take an ax and chop the spoilboard off the table, that made me feel better, but I had to clean the shop afterwards, and that made me feel better that the shop was clean.

[crash5050]

Problem 3

Why the heck wont a 4 inch pipe go into a 4 inch HOSE?

[gene]

See you are making progress, already. prob 1 when you use the c2 command thhe bit touches the z zero plate , goes up and comes back down touches the plate again and moves up to 1 " above the table?

[gene]

I would disconnect the prox switches and work out 1 prob at a time. When i bought mine years ago i disconnected the e stop , prox switches and just never hooked them back up. when the router goes down and makes contact with the plate it should light the light , go up , come down touch the plate again and go up to the safe height you have set in the software. . I dont use prox switches but it sounds like that something is too close to the sensor to let it clear . I am sure that someone who uses them will chime in.
Prob 3 you must have some clearance . a 4"pipe will not go in a 4" hole. I learned in the software that if you want to do that you must add some clearance even if it is super small or an error message will apear

[crash5050]

See you are making progress, already. prob 1 when you use the c2 command thhe bit touches the z zero plate , goes up and comes back down touches the plate again and moves up to 1 " above the table?

No, it don't, it tells me that a stop switch has been hit, I hit resume, then is says zero failed. Then it goes up and up and up and up till it grinds and I have to hit the spacebar to stop it.

[crash5050]

I would disconnect the prox switches and work out 1 prob at a time. When i bought mine years ago i disconnected the e stop , prox switches and just never hooked them back up. when the router goes down and makes contact with the plate it should light the light , go up , come down touch the plate again and go up to the safe height you have set in the software. . I dont use prox switches but it sounds like that something is too close to the sensor to let it clear . I am sure that someone who uses them will chime in.
Prob 3 you must have some clearance . a 4"pipe will not go in a 4" hole. I learned in the software that if you want to do that you must add some clearance even if it is super small or an error message will apear

I am just trying to get my dust collector hose hooked up, shopbot supplies a 3.5 inch hose, so I got a 3 inch to 4 inch adapter, put the 3 inch side in the shopbot hose and used a clamp to secure that, now I need to get the 4 inch hose connected to the other side of the adapter.

[MogulTx]

David,

What if the wiring for the Z zero was not correct? What if the prox switch wiring for the X was crossed into the Z zero wiring?

I had somewhat similar trouble with my Z Zero recently.... and mine was because of a lightning strike. Power spikes can kill IC's on the board ( which is what happened to me)... I paid shopbot to diagnose and replace a couple of chips. It was a costly repair, but is not something I could ever blame on ShopBot. Any chance yours has seen a power surge or something?

If you are telling us that you chipped the spoilboard off the machine, and you don't yet have it running, then I take it that you bought a used machine. Was it running properly when it was purchased? You went to the old owner- they ran it for you... they helped you get it taken apart and prepped for moving... right? If so, did you personally take the wiring apart and label it all for the reinstall? Any chance the wiring is not correct ?(loose, broken wire or pinched wire or maybe installed to the wrong connection?) Do your limit switch lights light up when the system is powered up? Do you get two red lights ( one on X and one on y)?

Which machine is this? (PRT, PRS, PRS Alpha?) And what controller?

[myxpykalix]

David,
Problem 1
Ok, one problem at a time

k for keyboard
c2 for Z Zero with Zero Plate
Hook Clamp to bit, touch plate to bit, light blinks, lay plate on table hit ok at the prompt
Proximity switch hit, nudge quit etc....

No Proximity switch on the Z axis

Not sure i understand your last 2 lines there but if you are saying it goes all the way up and "tops out" then defaults, then i'd do a VL (Values/Limits for table) and see what it says in the "Low Z Limit (mine says -2), High Z Limit" (mine says 8.0)

Clarify your last 2 lines so i can understand better what your problem is.

problem 2
X prox switch will not disengage, once hit I have to unplug it to reset it

When you hit a prox switch and it defaults then you have to go to the control box and hit the reset button on the side. You should hear the controllers for the steppers make a "clunk" sound. Also if you are stopping the machine with the E stop you have to reset the big red button by turning it a bit so that it pops back up.

Bottom line to all of this is that it is probably operator error and once we figure out what the problem is you will learn what not to do.....

[crash5050]

It is a brand new PRS Standard, with the newest control software. Strange thing is that when I use the z zero plate just to touch the bit to check the connection it lights up and looks like it is going to work correctly. I may have the proximity switches too close to the rails and they are staying open. I will loosen them off tomorrow.

The machine is just 3 months old, it should have the latest firmware already loaded on it, I will check and post what it is running tomorrow.

I use a laptop, Dell XPX i5 core 3.4 with 16gb ram to run the bot, that should be more than enough power to run the software, but get a runtime error on occasion, I will try and capture thqat tomorrow as well.

When I do a C3 it finds the Y and X proximity switches and zero's those then I have to manually zero the Z with the plate.

My breakdown today was caused by my not being able to cut my plenum. I laid down a 3/4 inch birch, drilled and countersunk the carriage bolts, spread titebond glue across the entire sheet and added a 3/4 MDF sheet for the plenum. The machine was not ready to start cutting I guess, it cut 1/4 of the plenum board, then went crazy on 1/4 of it then the computer screen just said stopping... No nothing just stopping. I am not new to CNC, I have buit a phlatprinter to cut my foam airplanes and an FLA 200 8020 router, both work exceptionally well, but the 24x48 was just not large enough. I had to choose between the 13K shopbot or the 35K cammaster. I heard good things about support from shopbot. But troubleshooting a CNC router is a lot like troubleshooting a windows machine, you gotta lay eyes and hands on it so you can see what it is doing.

I think my table is a bit out of square although the rails are even all the way down, I think it is missing steps on the Y axis, mayb that I do not have the rollers tight enough, but any tighter and it binds. Who knows, there a re 10K things that could be wrong, will make some adjustments tomorrow.

I appreciate all the help folks are providing on the forum, and I did take a chill pill, actually 2 of them, so I am not as frustrated as I was before. and the shop is clean.

David

[crash5050]

Not sure i understand your last 2 lines there but if you are saying it goes all the way up and "tops out" then defaults, then i'd do a VL (Values/Limits for table) and see what it says in the "Low Z Limit (mine says -2), High Z Limit" (mine says 8.0)

Clarify your last 2 lines so i can understand better what your problem is.

problem 2
X prox switch will not disengage, once hit I have to unplug it to reset it

When you hit a prox switch and it defaults then you have to go to the control box and hit the reset button on the side. You should hear the controllers for the steppers make a "clunk" sound. Also if you are stopping the machine with the E stop you have to reset the big red button by turning it a bit so that it pops back up.

Bottom line to all of this is that it is probably operator error and once we figure out what the problem is you will learn what not to do.....

I have a standard, no reset button, just a big red on and off switch. I do have a remote stop button but I am not pressing it when all of this stuff happens. What I mean by it going up, is that it goes up, hits the top and keeps clunking like it is trying to go higher, I press the space bar and it says stopping, but it takes a few seconds of the z clunking upwards for it to disengage. I don't have a "E-Stop" per se like you aer talking abut, all I have is the one that comes with the bot, just a little box with a button on it, with a 50 foot cord.

David

[myxpykalix]

Well there's nothing like the adrenaline rush you get when you take an axe or a sledgehammer to something to work out your frustration....as long as it's not the wife, all the rest is just a matter of what it costs to replace it!:eek:

[crash5050]

it was just the spoilboard. Wife came running out yelling at me to stop! Daughter poked her head out of the house and yelled "Daddy's Home"..

[myxpykalix]

What I mean by it going up, is that it goes up, hits the top and keeps clunking like it is trying to go higher, I press the space bar and it says stopping, but it takes a few seconds of the z clunking upwards for it to disengage.

That says to me that it doesn't have a "upper limit" set or it's set higher then the physical limit of the Z. Go back to my description of "VL" and report back what your settings are....:confused:

[crash5050]

Will Do at a reasonable Hour.

Thanks

David

[jerry_stanek]

You said the light comes on what it should be the number 1 input light. I would do a ur command and rerun the setup. After that reload the firmware. Just start with the basics and work through each one. If I was closer I would come by and give you a hand. Once you get it up and running you will be amassed. We have 2 Biesse's where I work and they have problems also mostly sensor errors.

[dana_swift]

David- I am about 4 hours away in Tulsa, if you would like to pick up my expenses, I could drive over.

I dont work for ShopBot, so if you are angry, call them. But I do like the machines, own one, and have used many, and have gotten good results with every one I have set up which is becoming a respectable list now.

D

[Brady Watson]

David,
Dana is a good guy. I'd take him up on the offer. I'm sure he can get you on the right track.

-B

[knight_toolworks]

David- I am about 4 hours away in Tulsa, if you would like to pick up my expenses, I could drive over.

I dont work for ShopBot, so if you are angry, call them. But I do like the machines, own one, and have used many, and have gotten good results with every one I have set up which is becoming a respectable list now.

D

you might need hazard pay and it may be best to call in the bomb squad.

[gene]

Dana ,
Hide all sharp tools first . then procede with caution>

David
That would be money very well spent . When i started i would have done that had anyone offered.

I always concidered it a good day if i broke fewer than 3 bits when i started

[crash5050]

David- I am about 4 hours away in Tulsa, if you would like to pick up my expenses, I could drive over.

I dont work for ShopBot, so if you are angry, call them. But I do like the machines, own one, and have used many, and have gotten good results with every one I have set up which is becoming a respectable list now.

D

Dana,

Any time you want to come over, let me know. I will pick up your expenses, put you up in the finest Motel we have here (I think it is a motel 6), and I will have my wife cook you any dish you request. She is a fine Itialian Cook.

Just let me know I will have a new sheet of Birch and and a couple sheets of MDF and and a piece of UDLF ready. I am not mad, per se, other than at myself for not being able to do this, I thought I was fairly mechanically inclined.

name your price and what day or days you want to come, I desperatley want to become a practicing shopbot owner. I have actually hinged the extra retirement income needed on this project, if it fails, I may actually have to get a job.......

In fact, I was going to call shopbot Monday and see what it would cost to fly someone out, I assume that this would be a bit cheaper.

Dana, thank you so much for your offer.

David

[myxpykalix]

David,
here was one of the very first things i made back in 2006 and i hung it on my wall.
Confucius say: "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."

And since you will have another "Wise Man" there teaching you, this should apply even more...:)
Come to think of it he even looks like Confucius..no wait, i'm thinking of Buddah:D lol

(now that i think of it alot of us do!)

[twelchPTM]

i am a rlativly new botter myself but here's what I would do, first make sure all your sofware and firmwar are up to date, reload them even if they are. second make sure you are running with a usb 2.0 connection (i don't understand it but it does matter), if not upgrade (sometime using a 2.0 hub is all you need). If the problem still persists remove the X prox switch and test it, hook it up to a continuity tester then put in front of the nut, the tester should beep, move it away, the tester should stop. If the switch fails a bench test its bricked replace it and smile. as far as the z prox issue, i ocasiolally have the same problem, usually after a com failure of some type and a quick reset fixes that. good luck and i just realized I went on this whole spiel and there are to more pages in which someone problably already covered all of this.....