How to Calibrate the JCUT machines?

[cityguru]

Does anyone know how to Calibrate the JCUT Machines? We are having real problems and NCSTUDIO manual isnt helpful.

When we press the Calibrate button, the spindle just goes down the Z-Axis indefinitely, it hits the end of the table and just tries to keep pushing and pushing, so i end up stopping the machine before it causes any damage.

The other thing is that on the JCUT 1325B on the aluminum is approx a 1/4" of black rubber like substance. I am curious, is this considered to be a spoil board, or should i be placing an additional 1/4" MDF on top of this?

How do you take into account the black rubber or additional MDF in doing a calibration?

Also in NCSTUDIO there is something called a Mobile Calibrator, what is this?

I thought i figured out the solution when you go to the Refrence positiion setting in NCSTUDIO, but when you reset Z axis, it goes all the way up, and then the machine coordinate says something like 50 or -50mm.

Anyway very confused and just trying to figure out a good method for calibration when i change my bits.

Any help would be really really appreciated.

[wizzardworks]

I just calabrated a Jcut6090A yesterday. There is a video on youtube by sale CNC. Click your manual tab and then the parameter tab. On the left side of the screen choose "manufactory" This will present a box to enter the password which is ncstudio and a list of things to set will appear. Scroll down near the bottom of the list to motor parameters. It will probably be showing .0050 per full step in milimeters. I have the NEMA34 motors so I changed the valuse on all three axis to .00625 and clicked apply. Some machines use a NEMA23 motor with a different ballscrew and use .003125 for the three axis. To check the result look to the right of the manual jog buttons for for a list of incremental move distances. Select 10mm at the bottom of the list. Put a block up against the back of the gantry upright hanging off the edge of the table. Click the 10mm travel 10 times and then measure the gap between the upright and the block. It should be 100mm or if useing inches 3.938"
If the measurement is off change the motor parameter again. An increase in the number makes a smaller travel and a decrease in the number produces a larger travel.
wizzardworks

[wizzardworks]

cityguru, I think I answered a different question, sorry. If you are setting the top of stock you need to find the thickness of guage block you are useing and enter it in the settings of NCstudio. This is the offset distance from the top of the stock. When you lower the spindle to the guage block stop just as it gets to it then click top of stock. Ideally you will have an unmachined spot somewhere where the material is fastened down or just a small piece of stock to set the guage block on. Since the Gcode is refferenced off the defined stock all depths are relative to this point.
wizzardworks

[aarggh]

Originally Posted by cityguru Does anyone know how to Calibrate the JCUT Machines? We are having real problems and NCSTUDIO manual isnt helpful.

Not helpful is an understatement most definately!

I too tried the calibrate button, only to see the z axis try to bore down through to China, limit switch or not by the look! I had the further joy of not being able to stop it either so had to end up powering the pc and machine off. The function keys F8-F12 are supposed to pause, stop, etc, but seemed to be ignored during a calibration as they had no effect whatsoever.

Did you ever get a resolution to your question as i'm also now curious!

cheers,
Ian

[wizzardworks]

Originally Posted by cityguru Does anyone know how to Calibrate the JCUT Machines? We are having real problems and NCSTUDIO manual isnt helpful. When we press the Calibrate button, the spindle just goes down the Z-Axis indefinitely, it hits the end of the table and just tries to keep pushing and pushing, so i end up stopping the machine before it causes any damage. The other thing is that on the JCUT 1325B on the aluminum is approx a 1/4" of black rubber like substance. I am curious, is this considered to be a spoil board, or should i be placing an additional 1/4" MDF on top of this? How do you take into account the black rubber or additional MDF in doing a calibration? Also in NCSTUDIO there is something called a Mobile Calibrator, what is this? I thought i figured out the solution when you go to the Refrence positiion setting in NCSTUDIO, but when you reset Z axis, it goes all the way up, and then the machine coordinate says something like 50 or -50mm. Anyway very confused and just trying to figure out a good method for calibration when i change my bits. Any help would be really really appreciated.

cityguru, Initially you have to "calirate" the travel distance per step of the motors which is outlined in my post above. As for changing bits I use the set workpiece origon to set the position for bit changes and save the result. Both of these are in the operate menu. I have the clear of stock set to 10MM and the tool lifts and goes to the next position to start cutting when I select operateion/advanced start.
To use a calibration block I think you first select an axis usually the Z so that you are editing the Z position of the origon. If you have machined away your origion as would happen if you are useing the center of stock as the workpiece origon you would need to calibrate the tool Z position on an unmachined waste area. When you get close to the setpoint with the jog button change to an incremental jog such as .05MM to get to the final distance, then choose the set Z origon. If you have made (or bought) an electrical calibration block there is an entry in the preferences to offset for it's thickness.
wizzardworks
I downloaded the NC studio manual from salecnc.com which is in english and then clicked around on all the menu items and made notes. If things are grayed out click operation/stop to get into manual mode

[g29cc]

Sorry I can't help much with NC studios ( the pirated version they give you ). I went right to a legit licensed version of Mach3.

Mach 3 is a lot better setup to use. And had MAJOR support that can help you out in a hurry usually.

Todd

[wizzardworks]

Originally Posted by g29cc Sorry I can't help much with NC studios ( the pirated version they give you ). I went right to a legit licensed version of Mach3. Mach 3 is a lot better setup to use. And had MAJOR support that can help you out in a hurry usually. Todd

Todd, I have a Jcut 6090A with 460 hours on the control system. My wentai adapter card for NC-studio failed it's self test last time I started it up so I am broke down. I was wondering if your card might be for sale and how much it would cost. I can be contacted at my yahoo e-mail george_grimes7@yahoo.com My card has an identification/part number of emc-3D-v91 which is a 3 axis card with the 15 pin D-sub cable connection. The 6090A was bought in 2007 but took three years before I got it running, so the revision number would probably be higher. If anyone else has one of these cards and gave up on trying to get NC-studio working I would be interested in also having a spare card.
wizzardworks

[aarggh]

Originally Posted by wizzardworks Todd, I have a Jcut 6090A with 460 hours on the control system. My wentai adapter card for NC-studio failed it's self test last time I started it up so I am broke down. I was wondering if your card might be for sale and how much it would cost. I can be contacted at my yahoo e-mail george_grimes7@yahoo.com My card has an identification/part number of emc-3D-v91 which is a 3 axis card with the 15 pin D-sub cable connection. The 6090A was bought in 2007 but took three years before I got it running, so the revision number would probably be higher. If anyone else has one of these cards and gave up on trying to get NC-studio working I would be interested in also having a spare card. wizzardworks

Hi,
I actually ordered an extra card and cable for $100 when I got the machine, as the idea of relying on a PCI card was scary to me! Have you tried contacting JCut to see if they will do a decent deal for you?

cheers,
Ian

[g29cc]

Originally Posted by wizzardworks Todd, I have a Jcut 6090A with 460 hours on the control system. My wentai adapter card for NC-studio failed it's self test last time I started it up so I am broke down. I was wondering if your card might be for sale and how much it would cost. I can be contacted at my yahoo e-mail george_grimes7@yahoo.com My card has an identification/part number of emc-3D-v91 which is a 3 axis card with the 15 pin D-sub cable connection. The 6090A was bought in 2007 but took three years before I got it running, so the revision number would probably be higher. If anyone else has one of these cards and gave up on trying to get NC-studio working I would be interested in also having a spare card. wizzardworks

I ll probably be replacing mine with something from pc4cnc not to long down the road. But the machine is sitting right now. As soon as I get a new card setup for it, I will let you know. I can't promise anything soon though.

Todd

[wizzardworks]

Originally Posted by g29cc I ll probably be replacing mine with something from pc4cnc not to long down the road. But the machine is sitting right now. As soon as I get a new card setup for it, I will let you know. I can't promise anything soon though. Todd

Todd, While I was struggling to get my machine to operate I bought Mach3 which runs off a parallel port. I bought a PCI expansion card with a parallel port. The paralel port is a 25 pin and the J-cut cable is a 15 pin. AS best as I could determine it is possible to adapt the 15 pin cable to the 25 pin plug. A "breakout board" with a 25 pin D-sub male connector and a terminal strip on the other edge looks to be the easiest way to do it. I didn't like the idea of the board hanging off the back of the computer so I bought a stepper motor driver board with opto isolaters and 10 amp mosfets, and also a power supply. This set of parts makes an entire control system from off the shelf parts any one of which is available from multiple vendors on e-bay. About the time I got these parts there was some progress on the supplied parts so I decided to use the new parts to convert my 7-1/2 HP cincinatti milling machine to CNC.
My problem with the machine originally was how to get it wired up. The stepper motors and limit switsh cables were clearly labeled, however the 3 phase inverter , a plug terminal strip and the water circulating pump were not. Everything was furthur complicated by me ordering a 110 volt machine when it is manufactured as a 220 volt machine. A very nice 110 to 220 volt transformer was provided at no charge by J-cut that is connected with plugs like the power plug on a computer. None of the plugs fit a recepticle available in the states. Eventually I ran 220 volt power to the machine, put standard 220 volt plugs on all the cords except the one labeled 110 volt on the driver cabinet. Lacking confidence in the power connections I was concerned about turning it on. Then there was trouble getting the software operating on my computer which I eventually figured out and posted here. Setting up the NC-studio was by watching youtube videos by sale cnc who also had a downloadable manual in english for operating the NC-studio software. Once runing the machine runs very well and is extremely accurate. We are having a heat wave with temperatires from 94 to 102 degrees for the last three weeks so at 460 hours the NC-studio PCI card failed the self test at startup.
Today as Ian suggested I will e-mail my salesperson at J-cut and see if I can get a card thru them.
wizzardworks

[Butterknife]

Wizzardworks,

Email me at butrnife@gmail.com. I might be able to help you with the card. I never used mine.

[mfisher]

Hi ,
Did you ever find a solutiuon. I am wondering about the same thing....i.e. how to calibrate for Z after a bit change.

Cheers
Mark