HS-1 has been shippped START UP QUESTIONS

[trentfysty]

Just got word from Ron yesterday that my HS-1 has shipped. I am new to the CNC world and really looking forward to getting the machine and starting. With that in mind I would love to hear any thoughts on what would make startup the best. I have read through the forums and found some tidbits but thought that maybe not everyone has posted their thoughts.

I will be running Aspire, a PC892, Precisebits collets, various bits and of course Mach3. The questions I have are:

What is the best file to cut to learn with beyond the sample files that Ron provides?

What material should I start with?

What are some common problems that can be avoided?

Anything else you can think of would be great!

[georgemyers]

Congratulations on your HS1 trentfysty

First thing, when the create is delivered, look for where Ron marked the box where to take out the screws. If he is still creating them they way I received mine there will be a few screws on the bottom sides. Take them out and lift the box up. Save you a few minutes and from feeling like a compete fool. Experience talking here.

If I were you I would get some cheap pine from the local hardware store and start with it until you get the feeling of how fast you want to go and having a good idea of what way the bit will move when you turn it on.

If you have a free port on your interface board make your self a Z heigth finder, might want to play with the machine and software a bit before you do this but it sure makes Z height adjusting easy, a few post on it in this forum and CNCZone, just search for Auto Z and you will find it.

IMO you have the best cad/cam in Aspire that a new person could choose when first starting out, and most likely will never need anything more. I have been using VcarvePro, have no plans to use anything else. Only thing holding me back from Aspire is the $$.

If you did not buy the dust boot from Ron you might want to make that one of your first projects, once you start routing MDF, wood or anything else you will find out why.

I use a shop vac hooked up to my boot, works great, I did opt for a clearvue cyclone a bit later that fits on top of the shop vac, helps keeping the filter cleaning down to a minimum.

First file to cut other than what Ron provides? Anything you make, I tried engraving a lot of scrap wood to get the feel of what options to use in VcarvePro. Your options are wide open with Aspire.

Common problems, well I know of none with the Romaxx machine itself, just make sure you double check you homing points you set up in Aspire and set your machine to the correct location. I have not paid attention a few times in Vcarve Pro and set the center of my project to the center of the work when I was drawing up parts, (works better for me to center my work when drawing it up) then I forget and use the bottom left corner when I set up the router, if you are quick enough on the emergency stop button no big deal, if not you may have messed up a nice piece of wood.
Also watch out for the default safe Z height that Aspire sets (if it works like Vcarve Pro), it may be a bit higher than what you really want. Mach3 also has a setting for safe Z you may want to look at, between Mach3 and Aspire I’m not sure which would override the other if you have it turned on in Mach3.

Ron provides a few setup files; the only difference is the speed settings. I would suggest using the 100 or 300 ipm first, I tried the 1200 once, little fast for me I settled on the 300 ipm. This is not the speed that will be used when cutting, you set that up in Aspire in the tool database to whatever you want, I always tend to cut on the slower side so someone else may give you a better idea on what speed to use when cutting, it all depends on the material, bit, depth of cut per pass and a few other things I’m sure I left out.

Most of the stuff I do is on the small side so I mainly use .125 ball nose and end mills. All of my v bits are .250. If you use a sacrificial work service you may want to level it, I use a .5 shank surfacing type bit that had a 1-inch cutting head on it.

George

[gipper]

I am most envious!!! I am waiting to hear about mine shipping this week as well. ;D

Brian

[mattgatten]

You could also cut blue construction foam from Lowes or Home Depot with great accuracy. Then you have no problems with feeds or speeds. You can save that for when you put some wood on the table. At least get used to zero-ing things and setting it up to run without crashing. Breaking bits from fast feeds or deep plunges is not fun. haha

Seriously, get some 1 and 2 inch foam. Or 1 inch and glue two pieces together. Then you can play all you want. It's better than cutting air. I second George on dust collection. MDF and construction foam are the worst! Believe me. That little machine can easily cover everything in my 400ft shop if I don't keep it on a leash! haha