Hi - thanks for the detailed post.
I have had the machine (I guess actually the control box) trip out a few times. This causes it to stop dead, though the router of course still runs.
With a bit of care in placing my X/Y zero point to a known reference (i.e. home the machine, move to a specific point, then zero X & Y) I can get back to that exact spot and restart the job should it trip out. It will of course cut air until it gets to the point where the previous run halted, but I've had reasonable success with that.
Fortunately I've never had it plunge into a workpiece like you. Bit scary that.
My long axis is a bit noisy under rapids, and it causes the gantry to vibrate, though it doesn't appear to have caused any issues when cutting.
Interesting point about the grub screws. I should probably check them on my machine.
Deflection - yea, I get that too. Not bad, but I do notice minor 'tide marks' on jobs with multiple passes. They did advise me to slightly undercut shapes, then finish with a full depth pass at a slow speed. I do use this on occasion, but it's not always practical. I guess there are plenty of machines where the cutting head weighs more than the entire KG3925, so massive strength can't be expected.
If I had the space, I think I'd have a go at building a MechMate as a next step up, but I guess that would cost a fair whack too.
You're using your machine way more than mine. I don't have the run times to hand, but I suspect it's averaged less than 1 hour per day since I bought it. I have found that regular greasing of the ball screws and rails seems to keep the mechanical parts pretty smooth though.
As you say, you'd buy another one, and I think I would too. There are certainly issues with the machine, but for the price I've been pretty happy with what it produces.
Keep up the cutting!  |