Bit does not touch plate

[cutter]

Having issues with the truck not lowering the bit far enough to touch the plate on either side of the machine. I have had the top cover off twice, cleaned the unit, insured the cut motor wires are not keeping the trk from traveling all the way to the touch plate. Cleaned and lubricated the the rails both on the trk and the ones the trk rides on. Touch plate spring has been cleaned and lubricated as well. Yet it still comes up with the bit depth not matching error.

On the off chance it does touch the plate twice, when the trk returns to the other side it does not touch the stop, or touch the work piece.

Can someone please help???

CUTTER

[Ike]

Have you tried turning the machine off and waiting a minute, then by hand moving the Z truck towards the bit plate? It should move smoothly, if it is jerky then your Z motor may be bad.

Ike

[Digitalwoodshop]

CUTTER,

First Post WELCOME !!!!!

RE Booting the Machine and even with the power off moving the Y Truck all the way over to the Bit Plate to see if the Wires you know about are not letting the Y Truck get to the Bit Plate.... ( Like Ike Said ).... That is the first step.... CAN it reach....

Let us know the results.....

Be sure to read the Tips and Tricks, lots of GREAT Stuff.... WE were all new once..... WE Wrote the Tips and Tricks to HELP others....

YES, the Bit will touch the bit plate twice... IF it touches 3 times that tells you it did not get the same reading the 1st and 2nd time...

It returns to the left side and touches the top of the board 3 times.... Before the bit plate went to the bit plate it does a "BOB" ducking down near the Brass Roller.

It would help if you tell us about your machne.... How Old, and What Chuck you have... The Original QC, the after market ROCK or the LHR CarveTite?

Honestly... I have 4 machines and I learned long ago.... 1. Place a chunk of Styrofoam behind the Bit Plate and Tape it.... That leaves it Stuck Out ALL THE TIME.... The only time there is DANGER is if you place a 14.5 inch WIDE board in the machine....

and 2..... Always WATCH the machine touch the bit plate.... 2 times GOOD... 3 times not so good.... Watching the Bit Plate and you know the Health of the Machine.... Ignore it being too busy doing something else at bit load time and you could get a AIR CARVE....

It could MISS the Bit Plate because it did not extend far enough...... OR the bit stop short before hitting the bit Plate.... Because the Bit is going to SMASH into the Bit Plate, the Motor Current is being watched by the Computer at that moment and as soon as the Bit Plate is touched, the computer reverses.... Sometimes Dirty Z Rails or Bearings or Cog Belt can cause the bit to never reach the bit plate and stop too soon.... This tells the machine where the Bit TIP is.... And incorrect info will lead to a Air Carve of Fault....

SO Watch the Bit Plate EVERY TIME...

WELCOME we are HERE to HELP.... My Phone Number is on the bottom of my web page and I welcome Fix It Calls anytime.... I work late nights and have a Magic Jack and can call you back free....

OR send me an email and I can send advice and pictures....

AL Who...

[gashawk]

When I had that proplem, the z truck was going all the way down to the stop pin... so I just slid the bit down in the bushing.

[cutter]

HELLO IKE,

Thank you for your reply, I will check this and see if by chance the Z mtr is bad. Will let you know!

Cutter

[cutter]

Hello AL!

Thank you for your reply!!

I will see if any of this helps if not I may call you if you dont mind. I

I bought my CW second hand, it is a type B, it has had the CT and rubber belt up grades. I love what I can do with the machine. I just wish it work work without issues. I'm to the point where I'm thinking very hard about sending it to LHR for repair.

I only hope that dealing with them is without it's issues too.

What do you think??

Cutter

[Digitalwoodshop]

Put a piece of Foam behind the Bit Flag to be sure it is always out waiting for the bit.... In order to have the Z truck touched the lower Mechanical Stop Pin, the bit plate was not out far enough.

I will be in the Shop late tonight printing Tags and stepping out to the Wood Shop cutting tags on the CW so it's OK to call.

AL