-
-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 35
How to use
Jakob Nilsson edited this page Feb 20, 2019
·
6 revisions
Here you instructions on how to use the fabricatable machines out in the wild:
Hattori1 is currently available for public use at bitraf hackerspace in Oslo, Norway. You need to take a course before you can use the machine. Courses are announced on bitrafs meetup page.
- Make sure the machine is off by pressing the red off button on the left side of the machine
- Insert your bit in the spindle (collets and wrenches are in the door)
- Pull the bed out of the machine.
- Drill a hole in each corner of you material and mount it on the bed with screws
- Vacuum clean the machine if dusty
- Turn on the machine green on button on the left side of the machine
- Start the Hattori-control program on the small laptop next to Hattori (shortcut on the desktop)
- Press the connect icon in top middle of the screen
- Start the spindle warmup routine (desktop/hattori_config/warmup_routine.gcode)
- Start the desktop computer to the left of Hattori (make sure it boots in Windows, the postprocessor is currently only installed there)
- Start V-Carve
- Create a new file
- Set the X and Y job dimensions to the size of Hattoris bed. Width: 150mm Height: 220mm
- Set the the material thickness to the thickness of the material you are cutting
- Set Z zero to above your material
- Set XY datum position to bottom left
- Hit OK
- Vectric has good tutorials on creating toolpaths with V-Carve here. There are also regular courses in V-Carve at bitraf.
- On Hattori we always work with X and Y zero at the bottom left corner off the bed. The white canvas in V-Carve is the same size as Hattoris bed (150mm x 220mm). Use the canvas and measurement tape to place the parts in the correct position in V-Carve.
- There is a tool library set up with recommended bit settings for Hattori
- In general you feedrates should be 33% faster than what you would use on a shopbot. (Because hattoris spindle can run at 24000rpm. That is 6000rpms faster than the shopbots max 18000rpm.)
- Your pass depth should be about 40% less than you would set up on a shopbot. (Because the motors and spindle is not as powerful as on the shopbot)
- When cutting out parts you should add 0.5mm extra cut depth. (no need for more than 0.5mm because the autohoming is very precise)
- Double check that you have entered the correct material thickness in the job setup
- Click the floppy disk icon to enter the toolpath export menu (on the right hand panel)
- Make sure the Hattori post processor is selected from the drop down menu
- Hit the Save toolpath(s) button and save the job in your personal dropbox folder at bitraf
- Turn off the machine
- Insert the bed
- Close the safety door
- Turn the machine back on again
- In the hattori control software click the browse button in the top right corner the screen
- Navigate to your .gcode file and select it
- Have a look at the preview on the screen to verify that you have loaded the correct job
- Double check the the correct bit and material is in the machine
- Press the magic green play button in the top right corner off the screen.
- Never leave the machine while it is running
- Never open the safety door while the machine is running
- Don't hesitate to hit the red emergency button if something goes wrong (it wont harm the machine to hit the e-stop)
- You can both pause and stop a job from the interface
- Always make sure the machine is off when changing bits
- Vacuum clean the machine thoroughly
- Remove your material from the bed and your bit from the spindle
- If you did a commercial job you pay for the cutting time in the iZettle downstairs (commercial is when someone pays you to fabricate something for them or you are planning to sell what you are fabricating)
- You forgot to turn on the machine before starting a job (the control software goes in alarm mode, disconnect and connect again for a fresh start)
- You specified the wrong material thickness in the v-carve job setup
- You use the wrong post processor when exporting a job
- You used the wrong milling bit or settings
- The cable to the autohoming plate is could get disconnected
- Bitrafs Slack CNC channel is a great place to get help
- The Issues forum of this repo is also a good place to get help and suggest improvements
- You can, but you have to run the home_all_axes.gcode job in the Hattori config folder before running a job.
- Running the home all axes job will set Z zero beneath your material and in the bottom left corner off the bed
- If you have to you can jog the machine around like a peasant and set manual zero positions as needed
- Don't forget to share pictures in the bitraf communication channels
- Source files and instructions here
- Check that the spindle can spin freely
- Exit and close the safety door!
- Load and run the spindle warmup routine gcode file to make the spindle last longer.
- Make sure the machine is off by pressing the red off button on the left side of the machine
- Insert your bit in the spindle
- Vacuum clean the machine if dusty
- Drill a hole in each corner of you material and mount it on the bed with screws
- Exit and close the safety door!
- Turn on and connect to the machine
- Start the Universal G-code sender
- Press the connect icon in top of the screen
Vcarve has a very nice makerspace license scheme that you can apply for here.
- Start V-Carve
- Create a new file
- Set the X and Y job dimensions to the size of Hattoris bed. Width: 1220mm Height: 2440mm
- Set the the material thickness to the thickness of the material you are cutting
- Set Z zero to below your material
- Set XY datum position to bottom left
- Hit OK
- Vectric has good tutorials on creating toolpaths with V-Carve. A very good place to start is the Avalon Nameplate video tutorial
- On Humphrey we always work with X and Y zero at the bottom left corner off the bed. The white canvas in V-Carve is the same size as Hattoris bed (1220mm x 2440mm). Use the canvas and measurement tape to place the parts in the correct position in V-Carve.
- There is a Vcarve tool library with recommended bit settings for humphrey. (You can open these in Vcarve and copy the settings to other programs.)
- When cutting out parts you should add 0.5mm extra cut depth. (no need for more than 0.5mm because the autohoming is very precise)
- Double check that you have entered the correct material thickness in the job setup
- Click the floppy disk icon to enter the toolpath export menu (on the right hand panel)
- Make sure the grbl mm post processor is selected from the drop down menu (or even better, make a custom one for your machine. Here is an example)
- Hit the Save toolpath(s) button and save the job in your personal folder (dropbox is recommended for this).
- Make sure: Your bit is in the machine, your stock is mounted, the spindle has been warmed up, the safety door is closed, the machine is powered and you are connected?
- In Universal Gcode Sender click the browse button in the top right corner the screen
- Open the homeing procedure file and run it.
- Navigate to your .gcode file and select it
- Have a look at the preview on the screen to verify that you have loaded the correct job
- Double check that the bit and material thickness settings match what is in the machine
- Press the magic green play button in the top right corner off the screen.
- Always make sure to have a fire extinguisher at hand, especially when starting out fresh!
- Never leave the machine while it is running! Really.
- Never open the safety door while the machine is powered
- Don't hesitate to hit the red emergency button if something goes wrong (it wont harm the machine to hit the e-stop)
- You can both pause and stop a job from the interface
- Always make sure the machine is unpowered when changing bits
- Vacuum clean the machine thoroughly
- Remove your material from the bed and your bit from the spindle
- If you break a screw, remove it eminently or someone else will break a bit on it and possibly cause a fire.
- You forgot to turn on the machine before starting a job (the control software goes in alarm mode, disconnect and connect again for a fresh start)
- You specified the wrong material thickness in the v-carve job setup
- You use the wrong post processor when exporting a job
- You used the wrong milling bit or settings
- The Issues forum of this repo is good place to get help and suggest improvements
Fusion 360 is about 5x times more complicated than Vcarve but has a few advantages, especially when milling metals.
Some recommendations, not a complete guide:
- Position your models with z-up resting on top of the x-y zero plane, this makes it less complex to set up and keep track of your coordinate system.
- Always 3d model your stock and add it to the CAM setup or most fusion CAM tools will not work.
- Easy to use Fusion360 post processor for GRBL
- The dogbone addin is a life saver.
- CAM tutorial
- Some good fusion CAM links from Bitraf in Oslo, Norway - in Norwegian.