No Help Files

[gerryv]

Hi,

(1) I'm preparing to do my first cut and want to get a bit of info on setting home and zeroing the Z but when I go to the help menu looking for the users guide or other help items, nothing comes up. These are not the (*) files that I'd need to go online for.

I tried reloading PW and PW 3 and also tried to see if I needed to copy the users guide and help files off the installation disk as is common with many programs. No luck again as the only option available on the CD is to install the program.

(2) Also, I used the menu option to set home based on the prox. sensors and now the bit sits out beyond the moveable (X) table on the left X. This is a Buddy 32 standard so there are not adjustable targets that I can see, only the small, L shaped blue thingies behind the blue end brackets on each end of the rack.

Can anyone provide some guidance on these issues, recalling that I'm a newbie?

Thanks much,
Gerry

[jsfrost]

Hi Gerald,

In cutting a part, the physical zero of the machine needs to match the mounted material and the part design. If, in PW, the X and Y zero are in the lower left, then you must tell the machine where, on the mounted stock, the lower left corner is. This could be the lower left corner of the stock, or some other place that you want the machine to start from. You can initially move the machine position to match the material zero position in SB3 keyboard mode, and then enter Z2 on the keyboard to allign X and y zero to that posiition. Z must be zeroed to match the design, usually to either top of material or machine bed/bottom of material. Assuming you have a metal Zo plate, move the machine to a location where the plate can be placed on the material (or bed) at the zero design height, place the Zo plate and zero by entering C2 on the keyboard and follow directions.

My machine is an Alpha. There may be some Buddy specific terms I've missed, but the fundamentals are the same.

[Forum Admin]

There is a video on using the z-zero plate here:
http://www.shopbotbuddy.com/resources.html