Am I doing something wrong?

[rickbull]

I have a simple plaque (attached) that I have now tried to carve twice. Both times, in the middle of the project, the machine starts carving deeper and deeper until it has eaten all the way through the wood. Has anyone had this happen? Is it a hardware problem or a software problem? Is there something that I am possibly doing wrong that may be causing this?
This same thing has also happened on other projects.

Thank you for any help that you may be able to provide.

[fwharris]

Rick,

It sounds like it might be your Z pack/motor giving you the problems. When mine went bad it started doing the same thing.
Give them a call on Monday or send an email to support.

If you need some info on the "Z pack" do a quick search on the forum. Good luck.

[Jeff_Birt]

One thing that jumps out at me from your design is that the board is really short. Is your actual board 7" longer than the virtual board in Designer, and you are selecting 'Keep under rollers'? If not a short board can tip in the machine causing the depth of carving to change.

[Ike]

One thing that jumps out at me from your design is that the board is really short. Is your actual board 7" longer than the virtual board in Designer, and you are selecting 'Keep under rollers'? If not a short board can tip in the machine causing the depth of carving to change.


That is interesting to know, so what is the limit? How small of board should we avoid? What makes the machine carve deeper with shorter boards? Is also limited to the width of the board?

Thanks for sharing, a good thing to know.

Ike

[Jeff_Birt]

When your board does not stay under the rollers at all times it can tip up inside the machine, causing a sudden change in carving depth as one edge of the board leaves the rollers. This is 'snipe', similar to 'snipe' from a planer. CW reccommends adding 3.5" to each end of your project so that the board stays under the rollers at all times. Look in the back issues of Tips&Tricks for more information on the subject.

[Ike]

Hmm thanks, never thought of it happening with a short board. Had it happen with longer boards especially with the planer. Thanks again I will keep it in mind and check out the tip on it.

Ike

[mtylerfl]

Hmm thanks, never thought of it happening with a short board. Had it happen with longer boards especially with the planer. Thanks again I will keep it in mind and check out the tip on it.

Ike

Hello Ike,

A lot of potential problems can be avoided if you follow the "rule" of adding an additional 7" to your board you put in your machine (3.5" + 3.5" = 7" total), and selecting "Yes" to keeping your project under the rollers.

This is covered in the Dec. '07 issue of the Tips & Tricks, as well as on page 23 of the CarveWright owner's manual and on page 25 of the CompuCarve owner's manual. For some reason, a lot of new users miss that important step, even though quite an effort has been made to alert people to this.

I'm not sure if this is the cause of your problem or not. Perhaps there is something else going on with your Z-truck. However, in the future, try following the standard procedure outlined in the manuals and the Tips & Tricks for avoidance of unnecessary problems associated with boards that are too short.

A later issue of the Tips & Tricks gives you instruction on the use of sleds and carrier boards that can eliminate the need to add the additional 7" to the board length. This is a good way to conserve wood and a lot of folks opt for building their own sleds and carrier boards for that purpose. Check out the April 2008 Tips & Tricks issue for details.

I usually recommend that new users add the 7" to begin with to get a good feel for how the machine operates...then they can "graduate" to the more advanced technique of the use of sleds once they have that understanding.

(You can click the appropriate link below my signature to download any of the Tips & Tricks issues you may have missed.)

[rickbull]

Actually, it seems to be a problem with the machine itself. I watched it to entire time and the board didnt tip. At one time, I caught it "carving" in mid air. Ill bet it is the Z-Pack motor or the controller for it.

[bobi]

Actually, it seems to be a problem with the machine itself. I watched it to entire time and the board didnt tip. At one time, I caught it "carving" in mid air. Ill bet it is the Z-Pack motor or the controller for it.

Yep, that's the Z-pack encoder losing counts. Call LHR, if under warranty they may have you send it back, otherwise you will order the replacement for about 42 bucks.

[badger]

Sounds like the zbundle.

Just ordered mine yesterday. Finally had too after a year of the original one working fine. Alot of air carving going on with mine. One project if it didnt air carve it carved way too deep right at the end of the project.

[pjfiedler]

I'm assuming that I have the same problem. See photo. Z-Axis problem after carving for 30 minutes on my very first board. My z-axis took a sharp drop just after the letter "i" and then continued to gradually work it's way through the board. I had over 7" of open board on both ends.

I just ordered this machine from Amazon. I'm assuming that I got a machine with the latest hardware updates and fixes. ???

Phillip

[Jeff_Birt]

It could be Z-motor/encoder related. It could also be that your carving bit came loose in the adapter. CarveWright is located in the Houston Texas area and as of this past Friday their phones were still down due to damage from hurricane Ike. They have a good group of technicians you can call (or email) who will help you get the problem resolved.

[Digitalwoodshop]

Search "Z Bundle" and look at the pictures. If your Z motor cooling fins are flush or the same length as the black encoder than you have the old Z Motor. The New Z Bundle motor cooling fins stop short of the encoder. You will see a black cover over the encoder if you have the Z Bundle. If not than that will fix you up... A Loose bit will do that too... ALL New bits from LHR need to have lock tite put on the threads. Last year in the winter I carved all day and the next morning with the cold over night the 1/8 inch bit just fell out of the bit holder in the machine.....

AL