I'm trying to surface the spoil board but keep getting error message

[Indigenous]

Y axis beyond software table limits

29832

I'm using a 1 7/8" diameter bit and tried this several times. always with this error message.

Thanks for any help

[cowboy1296]

what kind of shopbot do you have.

[Indigenous]

what kind of shopbot do you have.

Prs alpha shop bot

[cowboy1296]

I have the shopbot buddy and with mine the table moves in the x direction. With mine it is ok to bypass the stop as long as its a little, or the table will run off its limits and perhaps damage the table or my big toe. Sound like some one else needs to weigh in.

[Red F]

I had that issue once. I think I had to run the c3 routine to home x and y and the the ZT to set the table base coordinates.
I will say that I am running a standard not an alpha.

It may have gotten off if you moved the carriage with the machine turned off.
Or gremlins...it's probably gremlins.

[Keith Larrett]

I surface my spoil board with a 2 1/2" bit and have a similar issue. I use "Paco's spoil board routine". Before running the program I have to put the machine at x=1 and tell the software that my x axis is 94" long, not 96". I don't have any issues with the y axis thought. I think the problem is the diameter of the bit.

[Gary Campbell]

What are your table limits set at? You are most likely setting up the surfacing file wider than they are set.

[Indigenous]

Thanks Keith

If you tell your machine the x axis is 94" does the spoil board get surfaced?

Where do I find Paco's spoil board routine?

[Indigenous]

Thanks Red and Gary I will check out the limits tomorrow am.

[srwtlc]

Along with Gary's suggestion, you can try turning off file limit checking in the same place that you check the table limits. VL (limits for table). Defaults are only 0.5" oversize of the machine model size and your cutter is a radius of 0.9375" so depending on how the file is set up, you could be going beyond that 0.5".

While Paco's routine will work for surfacing a spoilboard, that wasn't it's intended purpose. Tools/Table Surfacer works better and you can save the file for repeated future use.

[Indigenous]

Thanks Scott

[Keith Larrett]

Thanks Keith

If you tell your machine the x axis is 94" does the spoil board get surfaced?

Where do I find Paco's spoil board routine?

The way I understand it, by starting at x=1 and telling the software the table is 94" long the center of the bit travels from x=1 to x=95, so the 2 1/2" diameter bit will actually reach from x= -0.25 to x=96.25. So yes, the whole spoilbard gets surfaced.

I got the software at this link:

http://pacosarea.blogspot.com/2007/02/surfacing-along-axis-shopbot-routine.html



While Paco's routine will work for surfacing a spoilboard, that wasn't it's intended purpose. Tools/Table Surfacer works better and you can save the file for repeated future use.

Scott, I know in the readme of the software it says that it is primarily for surfacing slabs. I'm curious what the advantage of using the Tools/Table Surfacer is? Thanks.

[Indigenous]

The problem was that I (newbie to shopbot) offset from the top of the Y axis instead of the bottom of the Y axis.

Thanks again for the replies.

[srwtlc]

Keith, not so much an advantage/disadvantage, but I prefer to run an offset surfacing routine which allows me to 'read the cut' and tell whether or not my Z axis is still properly aligned. Also, once made, you can save the surfacing file for fast future use without answering numerous questions and just add it to the custom cut menu. I've modified mine to ask for a depth along with a needed Y axis offset, according to bit diameter, to just skim along the edge of a ledger board that is along my X axis.

[Indigenous]

Thanks Scott

[tri4sale]

In training class I took in February TJ recommend creating a surfacing file in V-Carve, and covered it in online training recently:

http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/showthread.php?23618-Online-Training-Wednesday-March-8th-2017-Table-Surfacing

[Keith Larrett]

Keith, not so much an advantage/disadvantage, but I prefer to run an offset surfacing routine which allows me to 'read the cut' and tell whether or not my Z axis is still properly aligned. Also, once made, you can save the surfacing file for fast future use without answering numerous questions and just add it to the custom cut menu. I've modified mine to ask for a depth along with a needed Y axis offset, according to bit diameter, to just skim along the edge of a ledger board that is along my X axis.


Thanks for the reply Scott. I understand what you are saying about "reading the cut". You're right, the offset pattern does show any ridges caused by a poorly aligned Z axis more than a raster pattern. Although one of the reasons I like a raster pattern is it is quicker because of less direction changes, an advantage on a bigger spoilboard.

You motivated me to look into setting up a pocketing tool path in Aspire. It would be nice not to have to answer a bunch of questions and to be able to save the file as a custom cut. Thanks.