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Compact 1000 Cutting Cars - z plunging

Posted: Tue 20 May , 2008 15:18 pm
by Benny
Customer writes in….

After designing several cars in ProDekstop and going through QC3D, sometimes the Z goes too deep into the block when manufacturing on the Compact 1000. I reset the offsets, but it seems like the offsets are not being saved in the software. I uninstalled and reinstalled VR CNC Milling then reset offsets. All appeared ok. A little while later I am having same problem again on about half of the cars being manufactured – the Z was plunging into the balsa block. The Z brake , pclip, and wiring appear intact. Please help!

Compact 1000 Cutting Cars - z plunging

Posted: Tue 20 May , 2008 15:23 pm
by Benny
Asked customer to send in his stl and fnc and we found that customer was skipping a step in the QC3D tutorial, the step where you “Set Cut Depth”, the “Z Cut Depth” needs to be set to “Centre”. Customer was setting to “Bottom” and that is why he was experiencing the Z plunging into the balsa block.

In the ProDekstop - F1 Car Tutorial in the QC3D Help section (page 23 of 42 or if you print it out, it is page 2.3). In QuickCAM 3D after the stl file is Opened and Orientated, the next step is “Set Cut Depth”. First you click on “Bottom” to record the “Maximum Width” of the model. Then you need to click on the “Centre” button and add 4mm to the number. This step, the “Z Cut Depth” you MUST select “Centre” or your Z will try to cut through the block and not just half and it will "plunge" through the entire balsa blank.

Posted: Tue 20 May , 2008 15:27 pm
by Benny
Customer writes back .....
Thanks a lot again for your help. I found that I need to watch a little better when transferring files to the Quick CAM. I have ran 3 cars this morning. Everything is up and running fine right now. (knock on wood)