Hi Jon My 2c here on the Z;
I think using paper, or other material is a common method to get the Z, but it's not precise. Rather set the Z on retract than approach. Use a say, 1/4in ground dowel. Bring the z down to about 3/16th and then gently try to roll the dowel under the bit as you RETRACT the Z. Because of the curve, you get a good idea as to when to the last few steps are. Even if you overshoot upwards, you're pretty close to target when you repeat the operation. It will also accurately take the sharp, lowest point tips of the cutter into account, unlike the paper that is apt to get pierced. I also don't like the paper approach method because; - if you overshoot, you end up resting the entire head on the cutter tips. - unless you get an initial clear view of the gap, it seems to take forever to jog down those last few thou - paper gets wet - less stress about damaging that new cutter or marking the work There is also the issue of backlash, but that affects things through milling or setting the Z. No offence meant if you know all this already. Regards Roland On 27 March 2011 00:38, Jon Elson <[email protected]> wrote: > Kirk Wallace wrote: > > I haven't used a pendant, but I don't see myself using one single > > handed. > For use with an edge finder, two hands are available. What I usually do > for Z is to > slip a piece of paper between the cutter and the work, and when the > paper gets stuck, I know that I am .003" (or whatever the thickness of > the paper is) above the work. This would work better with a one-handed > pendant. > > A number of CNC makers had handheld pendants with an axis selector, a > rate selector and and MPG on it. Many of them had a place on the main > control panel where this could be hung, but you could take it up close > to the spindle when touching off and similar operations. I certainly > love mine, and would not have it any other way. > > Jon > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Enable your software for Intel(R) Active Management Technology to meet the > growing manageability and security demands of your customers. Businesses > are taking advantage of Intel(R) vPro (TM) technology - will your software > be a part of the solution? Download the Intel(R) Manageability Checker > today! http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-dev2devmar > _______________________________________________ > Emc-users mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Enable your software for Intel(R) Active Management Technology to meet the growing manageability and security demands of your customers. Businesses are taking advantage of Intel(R) vPro (TM) technology - will your software be a part of the solution? Download the Intel(R) Manageability Checker today! http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-dev2devmar _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
