Carving painted boards?

[cdoyle]

I've been asked to carve some painted boards for a friend. They want to paint the board then have me carve them so it doesn't take so long to paint. The red went fine, but the black would not measure. Is there a reason for this? Does it need to be a light color for reflection or what! If you guys could help that would be great.

[cnsranch]

Machine often times has a hard time "seeing" a dark board. Place a piece of masking tape on each end and give it another try.

[lynnfrwd]

I think the tape goes along the edge of the board closest to the LCD panel where the electronic eye can see it when it is measuring.

[cnsranch]

Shows what I know - thought the sensor was behind the cutting head..............

[lynnfrwd]

Al....HELP!!!....we all know "masking tape", but how & where?

[cnsranch]

Here's where we're confused (I think)....

With an edge detection error, and the board's too dark, place tape along each edge - when the machine can't measure the length, place tape along each end.

When the machine measures the length, the head is dead center, right?

[fwharris]

Here's where we're confused (I think)....

With an edge detection error, and the board's too dark, place tape along each edge - when the machine can't measure the length, place tape along each end.

When the machine measures the length, the head is dead center, right?

Jerry hit on the head... the sensor is looking for the ends and edges during the measure step..

[dbfletcher]

When the machine measures the length, the head is dead center, right?


FWIW.. that is how mine has always behaved. For the length the head is centered on the board width.

[pkunk]

Now you even have me confused. It needs to 'see' the width, but I was always under the impression that it 'felt' the length with the brass roller & O-ring. So the length masking tape goes under the panel side of the board. Paint will make the roller slip, masking tape gives it some traction.
I let my 'helper' drill all the shelf pin holes in my cabinet sides and prefinished sides need that kind of help to measure correctly. I could be wrong, but that's what has always worked for me.

[AskBud]

I find that the link, below, is valid for "painted/finished" boards as well as the original penning.
The Board Sensor, under the truck, is in use on both the vertical and horizontal paths at least part of the time. Therefore, I tape across and down each sensor path.
AskBud
http://forum.carvewright.com/showthread.php?13969-Tape-Usage&p=115777#post115777

[Digitalwoodshop]

Tape on a dark board left and right edge for width and on each end near the center of both ends. For Length the board releases the roller then turns on the board sensor on both ends. That is why it will spit out a board if the roller uncompresses and the board detector does not see a change.

The machine does some X Resolution Checks when it measures the front of the board or the right side of Designer. You see the board bump into the roller and back up... I believe that is a self check of the board tip and looking for backlash in the X Gears.... Or at least that is what I am thinking.... I have been wrong before....

I still do masking tape on every board at the brass roller.

And YES, the Board Detector looks for reflective light, that is why a black board is giving you trouble. A Strip of tape at the board edge fixes this....

AL

[fwharris]

Now you even have me confused. It needs to 'see' the width,
but I was always under the impression that it 'felt' the length with the brass roller & O-ring. So the length masking tape goes under the panel side of the board. Paint will make the roller slip, masking tape gives it some traction.
I let my 'helper' drill all the shelf pin holes in my cabinet sides and prefinished sides need that kind of help to measure correctly. I could be wrong, but that's what has always worked for me.

This is how I understand the measure process for length.....
When the board comes out from under the roller is sends a signal telling the machine that the board end is near and the sensor looks for the board end. I think it also double checks that it is 3 1/2" from when the roller sensor trips to the end of the board...

Tape... always goes on bottom side of board that contacts the brass roller..
Also to be used to help define the board edges and cover any gaps (carve regions, void areas in jigs, sled etc)...

[cnsranch]

I was always under the impression that it 'felt' the length with the brass roller & O-ring.

Between all of us, we have over 13,000 posts, and can't agree on the answer to this question - pretty funny.

Paul, you're right that the roller and o-ring feels the length - that's the part of the machine that actually measures. The sensor, though, is behind the cutting head - that's the part that tells the machine when to start, and when to stop, measuring.

That's why, if you have a bad edge along the roller, the machine gets confused - the sensor still "sees" wood, but the sensor is telling the machine that there's nothing moving over the top of it - hence the error.

The sensor has to work in conjunction with the roller, or you'd never get an accurate measurement with the roller alone.

All that said, I'm not convinced I'm right - you guys are way smarter than me.

Who's next??

[LittleRedWoodshop]

On painted boards I cover the entire board with contact or shelf paper. Keeps the machine from marring the paint and lets the machine see the board. I use a light color like white or wood grain. I buy it at Menards or Home Depot, you can almost always find it on clearance or less than 2 dollars regular price. Just a thought.

[jgowrie]

When I've had trouble with this I've noticed that when you place the board into the machine and bring the rollers down, if you inserted the board roughly centered as instructed, the width is checked first so I place the tape strip in the center and run it end to end - folding it down tight over the edges. The key here is to make sure you visually check to make sure the tape strip is indeed under the cutting head and optical sensor. Then the machine centers the cutting head and checks the length so another strip of tape run end to end right down the center works.