Forgetting to finish

[foamcarver]

We're trying to cut out a sign, with an area clear in the middle and for some reason in the middle of the piece, it says it hits a limit switch (theres no switch anywhere near it), then it like raises itself a bit and cuts the rest of the material higher. I've tried just re going over what it didnt' cut. But it's like it doesn't see it. I can take a pic of it and also send the artcam file.

Thanks
Nikki
nicole@foamcarver.com (mailto:nicole@foamcarver.com)

[harryball]

Not saying this is it, but check for an unexpected jog off your table. I somehow ended up with a jog to something way off the table in the middle of a series of files I was calling. It had to do with how I did my offsets and accidentally had a drill path that should not have been offset running as such. Fortunately I found it before running when I did a simulation. I wondered what the blue line going off my table and out to my driveway was doing. I thought perhaps Mr. Bot was going to make a run for it :-)

I suspect with limit checking perhaps the bot would have shutdown before moving.

Robert

[richards]

Assuming that the code is correct, it sounds like you're experiencing electrical noise. There is a lot of information on the forum about grounding your machine. Search terms such as 'grounding', 'electical noise', and 'static' will help you narrow your search.

I changed my factory sensor cables to shielded cables that are grounded at a common point on the outside of the control box to eliminate the problem that I had.

[foamcarver]

R ball It doesn't jog anywhere. It's in the middle of the area clear. It's supposed to say polar junction like an outline. So it's in the middle of the area clear where the material should be cut away 1/4 inch. Mike our machine is grounded, we had some problems with that awhile ago and we got everything grounded. Haven't had any problems with it until now when the job needs to be done like tomorrow. I tried re making the toolpath, but it still misses an area (too big of an area to try and sand down)

Thanks
Nikki
nicole@foamcarver.com (mailto:nicole@foamcarver.com)

[zeykr]

Does the file look right in artcam simulation?

Does it always give the limit switch message at the same point in the file? Do you maybe have limit checking turned on in VL and table base coord's are off?

If you look at the file at the line where the problem occurs, are you z depths the same before and after this line?

[foamcarver]

Ken Yes the file looks right in artcam. It only gives the message the first time (when I run the whole file) When I take off most the area clear so that it just goes over what it missed the limit switch don't turn on. I haven't looked at the sb file, but on the board it's not the same depth as the rest of the cuts. I'll send a pic in a couple minutes

[zeykr]

What z depth does the shopbot say it's cutting on the low and high portions - is it the same?

[foamcarver]

it's supposed to be .3125 in the middle of the whole thing. Don't know but I just tried to cut it again. This time I went back into artcam deleted the cutfile, then I redid the exact lines I had selected before, and it cut. Don't know what happened. Any ideas. The whole time in the file on the sb it said a depth of .3125.

Thanks
Nikki
nicole@foamcarver.com (mailto:nicole@foamcarver.com)

[zeykr]

If it said .3125 on the shopbot during both the good area and the bad, it's about got to be a problem on the shopbot side and not the artcam side.

Probably a gremlin in the system someplace.

[paco]

Tip

whenever such "mal-positioning" occur, before you do anything, remember the XYZ reference (home; in this case only the Z seem to be involved) and check if goes back where it should just from command. In this case, say you Z zero at the material top, move away a few inches (XY) then carefully (K mode) move down to say -1 inches (assuming the material is 1 inch thick). If it's right on, well it's not off positioning (the machine didn't loose position, it's somewhere else). If it is off, then start searching for problem. It can be related to mechanical, toolpath files(s), control software...
Same is true for X Y.

Just that step can save yourself an afternoon or even the complete day.

If you're like me, you may have to go outside first to get calmer and try to forget about the ruined material part...

[foamcarver]

Thanks Ken and Paco. I really appreciate the quick responses. I'll have to try the tip next time Paco. And I'm sure I'll be going outside also. Luckily the machine was to heavy for me to move myself or it would have been sitting outside! Thanks again for all your guys help

Thanks
Nikki
nicole@foamcarver.com (mailto:nicole@foamcarver.com)