Z Zero without the clip?

[bstern]

I found by accident that my PRSAlpha will register to the zero plate without the clip attached at all! This is a great time saver as I have 2 Zs and a air drill. I can have them all done at once by combining the A and Z Zero and the drill offset and making them run one after another at the same spot.

It has worked continuously for about a week now with no problems?

I am flirting with disaster?

[Brady Watson]

As long as there is continuity between your router shaft and the Bot (you have good motor brushes in the router) then you should be fine. It's when the brushes wear and have a gap that causes problems. This doesn't happen on spindles since there are no brushes to go bad.

-B

[harryball]

If you have a spindle that is normal, I never use the clip. For a router or some other device that does not transfer ground all the way to the bit you will need to use the clip.

A word of caution, always check for continuity with new bits and especially coated bits. I've had a bit that would not make continuity until I cleaned it. It was wax coated when I got it and I suppose there was residue.

Robert

[rhfurniture]

What about a spindle with CERAMIC bearings - eg runs at 24K? (not that I have one)

[jsfrost]

Early in my Shopbot ownership, I wound the ground cord around a spinning router bit and tore it off the Z0 plate. Since then I have always zeroed without grounding. In 3 years (2.5 with PC, .5 spindle) I have had one Z motor fault due to a table ground wire that came loose. Other than that, no problems

[Brady Watson]

Most spindles you'd find on a Bot do not have ceramic bearings...but if they do (I replaced my steel bearings with ceramics in my 5HP Colombo) - everything works just as it did with steel balls.

-B

[bstern]

Thanks for all the replies.
This is a great time saver for me with 3 bits to Zero.

Robert: Thank for the heads up on bit continuity. I will add that check before I run my combined Zero rouitine. A quick tap on three bits should only take a extra few seconds.


I just added a wirless rumble pad. It makes running the offset rutines for 2nd Z and drill incredbly easy. Now that I don't have to move the clip around, setup is a snap!