Carving has lost detail

[DWD]

I cleaned and greased the shaft. The next carving I made seems to plunge into the wood too far. I removed and replaced the shaft ensuring that it was well seated in the motor. The example shows the same problem.

[cmorlier]

The flex shaft would not cause this problem.

Check that both the vertical and horizontal carriages (Z and Y trucks) are tight against the tracks. You should not be able to rock the trucks in any way.

I would say check the tension on the belts for both trucks, but I don't know how to describe what the proper tension should be.

If the trucks are loose, or you believe the belts are too loose give us a call so we can help resolve the problem.

[DWD]

I have checked the trucks and it seems to be secure (no movement). However when I raised the head I noticed a large rubber washer laying on the table in back of the board sensor. (I cranked the table to high so will have to turn the threaded rod to relieve this).

The head was homed to the keypad side and I did not notice the washer until I raised the head.

[cmorlier]

Give us a call so we can figure out what's going on.

[DWD]

This is the project I first noticed a problem.

[cmorlier]

Just want to post an update for other users. We talked to Dan offline and did not identify any problems with his machine.

We decided to try carving the pattern, and found that it carved correctly, but just doesn't look very good. The loss of detail appears to be due to the a lack of depth in the pattern. This particular pattern seems to have a few tall peaks, with most of the detail in the lower third of the depth. Carving this pattern too shallow mutes the lower details, the details still exist but they just aren't very deep. We played around with the project and found a depth of 0.25" looks to work a little better. Also, on some patterns it helps to increase the height from 100 to 300 or 400 when you try to carve it deeper than the default.

Another thing to note is that the designer sometimes seems to show detail better than actual carvings. This is due to lighting condition and a variety of other factors that are difficult to control. Staining the wood may bring the detail back out, but we recommend experimenting with scrap wood before you try carving your prized piece of purpleheart.

[DWD]

It turns out the problem was with the operator. When I went over and reviewed everything I found the 1/8 cutting bit in the head rather than the carving bit.

Again Carvewright folks were very patient and determined to help me.

Dan