Using 1/8” straight bit for outline and 1/4” straight for clearing. Using z plate for xyz the exact same for both bits and setting for cut depth are exact same. Why is the smaller 1/8 not cutting as deep as the 1/4? Even the 1/4” is cutting at different depths depending on the path. Any thoughts on this?
Check for play in your Z axis and the eccentric adjustment on Z and X axes. It looks like tool deflection - does running the toolpath a second time (when there will be a lot less force acting on the bit) produce better results? Alex.
Thanks Alex. I checked and all seems tight. Look at this other run i just did. Seems to me there is something off with the z plate. The depth and the y look off. Even though i kept the plate tight and made sure it was the same. Could there be something off with the plate setup?
Did you re-zero the X and Y when you changed endmills? If so, do not do that. The X an Y zero never change once a job starts. If you did re-zero, but forgot to tell the machine that one endmill was 1/8" in diameter smaller (or Larger) your cut will be off like in your picture. Basically, if you probed with a 1/4" endmill, but forgot to change the diameter in the software, and your previous probe was done with a 1/8" endmill, your cut will be off because the machine thought you used a 1/8" endmill again. Is there an option to zero on the machine bed? That is what I always do. I just flip the plate upside down for the Z zero and tell the software my plate is 9.04mm thick (that is what mine measured with a caliper. The benefit is that if you machined the surface of your work piece, your machine bed Z height never changes where your workpiece might if you did not plan in an allowance to be left of the stock thickness. Another benefit is that you always cut through your material but do not cut into the bed. If this option is available, that is a way to rule out any errors in your Z plate placement, or if your workpiece is too thin and you plate lip was on the spoil board and the plate was angled down on the workpiece. If that was the case, and you probed in two different locations on the plate for your Z, then you would have inaccuracies in your depth of cut.
