[The_Bengineer]

Hello! New to the forum here and I'm looking forward to learning from this community.

I'm working with V-carve Pro software on an AXYZ 4010 Trident with a A2MC controller. The spindle is 9HP 220V 3 phase. However, the machine is run through a phase converter being that I only have single phase available at my current location.

The vast majority of my production on this machine is 2D parts being cut primarily from MDF and Plywood. Generally I have anywhere from 10 to 20 parts nested per sheet of material being processed. Most of the parts are simple shapes with pre programmed holes for mounting hardware, wire runs, etc. To produce the files I usually pull DXFs from my Solidworks models, bring them into Adobe Illustrator to layout all of my parts on a given material sheet size, and then import this .ai vector file to V-carve pro so that I can generate my final cut files.

I've been having an issue when cutting these files with multiple parts. I use end mills for all of the cutting and so I use ramps to initiate each depth change during the cuts. The ramp starts in the correct location but then abruptly jogs on the Y axis, creating an inset for the length of the cut thereafter. This results in the part being the correct dimension along the length of the ramp and then too small for the remainder of the cut after the ramp. The cut path does not wander at all after this initial jog. It stays dead straight but, is inset roughly 1/16" to 1/8". This step also is not entirely consistent with each part (as you can see in the pictures) but it is occurring on each part. I don't think the spindle is out of tram because I get really good edge quality on the finished parts.

I've attached a few photo to illustrate this.

The material is 18.5mm birch ply. The cutting tool used on all of these is a 0.375" 2 flute mortise compression bit. I am cutting this material in 2 passes and have tried various feed rates between 350-450 ipm with a plunge rate of 25 ipm. The spindle RPMs vary depending on the feed rate I use so that I can maintain adequate chip loads while still trying to workout this problem (8000-14000rpms).

This problem does not occur when I run a cut file that has a single shape rather than several that are nested. I also don't seem to get this issue cutting circles. I feel like this is likely some sort of software issue but I have yet to figure it out myself so I'm hoping somebody here will be able to offer their infinite wisdom so I can get reliable and repeatable results once and for all!

Thanks in advance!

[The_Bengineer]

Solved my own problem!

I've had some extra time today to actually deal with this nagging issue rather than having to keep up with production. I ran a few tests and under careful observation I realized pretty quickly that the mounting plate for the spindle was just loose enough to allow for a little wiggle when under lateral stress which was causing the shift in my cut. I presume that the cut would then stay straight as it was being guided by it's own cut path and locked into the off-kilter position. As the router would pick-up and move to the next part, it would settle back to it's original position, start the next cut online until the lateral stress again knocked it off-kiter causing the 1/16" instep. I tightened down all the mounting screws making sure the spindle was trammed properly and voila! I'm now pulling perfect parts again.

Sometimes even complex machines just need a simple fix.