Problems with Zero Plate

[vicente]

I could not perform routine using the zero plate, not turn the light on the panel and it seems that does not recognize it, I can only manually adjust the Z axis. Thank a lot who can guide me.
Thanks for helping.

[myxpykalix]

are you sure you are clipping on the alligator clip to the router to complete the circuit?

[mikeacg]

Does the program load or do you get an error when you try to run the routine? I had that problem when I first started with my Bot and it turned out that the program was in the wrong folder. I moved it over and everything was fine.

Mike

[rcnewcomb]

Has it ever worked for you?

If yes, then the same advice as Jack: we had the connection to the alligator clip come loose. We fixed the connection and it resumed working.

[michael_schwartz]

check the continuity of all electrical connections from the wire ends to the plate. Then check, and re-check your connections to the control box and make sure that you have it wired correctly

Test the input by making a connection between the alligator clip and the plate.

[jerry_stanek]

you may have to reload your firmware on your control box

[eaglesplsh]

If you're using a Porter Cable router with the ShopBot mounting bracket, check that your router housing/collet are getting ground.

The SB mounting bracket includes a plastic sleeve that electrically isolates the router from the Z-axis. There is a tapped hole/bolt in the side of the mounting bracket that contacts the router housing, connecting the router with ground.

Vibrations caused my bolt to come loose and fall out of the hole. Luckily, I found the bolt before it got cut up during machining. Unluckily, at the time I didn't realize that the bolt was necessary for grounding/Z-zeroing. I didn't put it back in right away, thinking it would just fall out again. The next time I ran my Z-zeroing routine I trashed a $75 cutter!

After I stopped swearing it didn't take long to figure out what the bolt was for. Alas, several members of my family received their X-mas presents a week late, as I didn't have a replacement bit on hand.

[chipster]

I've been afraid of ruining a $75 (or whatever dollar) bit because of things like this. I've gotten in the habit of touching my plate to the bit to see if the light on the panel comes on. If it does, I'm good to go. It take 0.5 seconds and saves me money and frustration!

[chipster]

Talk about irony. Last night I went to run a small PVC sign job. I went to check my ZZero as I mentioned above, and the light did not come on. I got the job done by manually zeroing it, but now I get to track down the source of the problem.

[blackhawk]

Just last week, I could not get my table surfacing bit to zero to the plate. I couldn't find anything wrong with the wires, then I noticed that the bit had some pitch build up on it. I scraped off the pitch and that fixed it. The pitch was acting as an insulator.

[widgetworks_unlimited]

Dust in the brushes can also cause a problem with the electrical connection for Z-zero plates.

We had a smaller machine that ran in an enclosed cabinet to contain the dust - didn't use a dust shoe/collector. Ran into a lot of problems with the Z-zero conduction until we figured this out.
We started blowing air into the vents at the top of the router after machining MDF - fixed the conduction problem every time.

[chipster]

very interesting. The last thing I did before last night was to resurface my spoilboard = Lots of mdf dust. Different bit was used for the PVC job though.

I will check tonight (after shoveling snow).