Mach3 2010 Screen set

[cd_edwards]

I was on your website and noticed the m881 replacement auto-zero macro.

[MillworkMike]

Hey Gerry... I have the screenset installed and everything seems to work great so far! This weekend I will setup a fixed plate and start playing with the Auto Zero feature.
I have one question though.... I zero to the top of my table and not the top of the material like everybody else seems to do... Is this going to cause me any problems when using the Auto Zero??
What will I need to do different?? Should I just zero to the table before loading my material and just make sure my clearance plane is high enough to clear my material?? Thanks

[MillworkMike]

Or... can I just add the thickness of the material to the movable plate thickness??

[ger21]

probable best to set the clearance plane higher. So, you use the bottom of your part as Z zero? Are your cuts then positive?

[ger21]

Originally Posted by cd_edwards I was on your website and noticed the m881 replacement auto-zero macro.

There's an explanation there with the download link. If you'll be changing offsets, then download that on and use it.

[MillworkMike]

Originally Posted by ger21 probable best to set the clearance plane higher. So, you use the bottom of your part as Z zero? Are your cuts then positive?

Yes they are positive... I use AlphaCam and everything is figured from the bottom of the material/top of the spoilboard. Basically Alphacam ask how much material do you want to leave and not how deep do you want to cut.
I plan on mounting my fixed plate a little higher then the top of my material which is 3/4 MDF 99.9 percent of the time. So if I set my clearance plane high enough to clear both material and fixed plate... I should be safe??
How should I do my initial z zero?? Moveable plate on the table or to the top of the material?? If I go to the top pf the material do I add the material thickness to the movable plate thickness?? Thanks.

[MillworkMike]

I was just looking at a few things in alphacam. I think can change it and have zero at the top of the material on my machine at home.
What was described in the previous post was how I was taught to use alphacam when running our machine at work.
I think it has to be that way because of the machining parameters and tool settings for the ATC... Idk.
So Ive always ran my home machine the same way... never really thought abt it much until now.

[ger21]

I use AlphaCAM at work as well, but we set Z zero to the top. Or more specifically, we'll set the bottom to -0.75.

If you set Z zero to the bottom, then you zero off the table, and set the clearance plane to AT LEAST the plate thickness + material thickness + some clearance amount, or the fixed plate amount + some clearance amount. Whichever is higher. Be very careful and play around a bit to see what it's doing.

What i do, in ordeer to work similaraly to how i do at work, is set Z zero to the top of my part. But, I zero off the table, and use a material offset of 0.75, which sets Z zero .75" above my table. That way I can cut .745 deep and never cut into my table, regardless off the material thickness. this eliminates issues with thickness variations.

[MillworkMike]

Perfect! It all makes sense now! I guess I was just doing it like I knew how and never thought abt it much.
Do you measure each bit and enter the length on you machine at work or does it have some sort of touch plate that automatically calculates the lenth?? Im assuming it has ATC...??

[ger21]

Measure each tool. It's a Morbidelli with a carousel ATC.

[MillworkMike]

Ok same here... We or I measure each tool! We have a Holzher cosmec conquest 510... 2001 model!!
I thought it was just because it was an old machine that I had to measure each tool.
Anyway... Thank you for your time! Hopefully I will not have to bother you anymore. Thanks.

[rbjem]

Wow, finished reading through the thread, and the posts most pertaining to my question were from yesterday!!! Your previous post answers my main question, but I want to take it a step further.

I currently zero my Z axis the old school method; using a piece of paper. I have made most of my files zero off the top of the stock and then zero off the table to cut it out. I do this because my stock is varying thickness of up to 3mm, so I cannot reliably zero from only 1 surface (unless I want to change sacrificial boards much more often).

Say I measure my stock thickness and enter it into the material offset box, can I add a variable in my code that will read the material offset that is entered and offset automatically without having to remember to enable the material offset button for the few tool changes where I want to zero off the table? Maybe make it act like a tool length offset?


Also, if I want to make modifications to your screen (small changes like add a button or two) will the basic screen set suffice, or will I need the Photoshop files as well?