CNC Shark 4 Axis Table Top Accessory Quick Start Guide
Contents
1. Next Wave ALOMAUS Introduction Thank you for your purchase This quick start guide contains a minimal set of information to enable you to get up and running with your new accessory This is not intended as a replacement for the User s Manual and we strongly encourage you to use this to get a sense of the steps required to setup your system which is much more than just the rotary hardware as you open the box and then review the User s Manual in detail Safety The CNC Shark along with a router or other power tool is a computer numerically controlled CNC routing system As such it is a powerful system that can reduce your woodworking risks by providing a method of cutting wood and other materials without having to interact with the cutting tool s or material during the fabrication process As with all power tools your care and attention are required to ensure that you use your CNC Shark safely Next Wave Automation assumes you will use your CNC Shark safely and follow accepted safety precautions and practices for woodworking and machining You should read and practice the safety recommendations found in the CNC Shark 4 Axis Table Top Accessory User s Manual 4 Axis Overview The CNC Shark 4 Axis give you the ability to create precision turned spindles or columns that include intricate carvings and designs that will astonish your clients The CNC Shark 4 Axis easily bolts to your existing Shark bed It c2. in the Samples folder of the SCP2 installation This project is based on a1 1 2 diameter dowel rod that you can readily purchase at a neighboring hardware store You ll want to cut a 9 length and setup the table top rotary to support this use You ll need a 60 v bit You ll also find 2 tap files in the Samples folder of the SCP2 installation If you don t want to load the project into VCarve Pro and generate your own toolpaths or haven t yet copied the rotary post processors to your installation use the one that is appropriate for how you setup the table top rotary e Ath Axis Test Project Orient Along X Axis tap use this tap file if you have setup the rotary along the X axis or at an angle that is closer to the X axis than the Y axis e Ath Axis Test Project Orient Along Y Axis tap use this tap file if you have setup the rotary along the Y axis or at an angle that is closer to the Y axis than the X axis This kind of simple project is also useful to determine if you need to check the A 4 Axis preferences Mirror Image If the text is mirrored backwards check this preference hit Ok to save it reload the tapfile and run the project again to confirm that the project is no longer being carved in a mirrored fashion CNC Shark 4 Axis Quick Start Guide v2 1 2
3. of the lathe tailstock along the circumference line that the tool is touched off of Be sure to enter the radius and not the diameter e Lathe Cut Depth Offset you can set a value here that will result in a global change of depth in the calculated cut when using the q axis setup For example if with your particular system you are always finding the depth of cut is consistently 0 03 too deep low you can set a value of 0 03 in this preference and save it e Router Mount Position o Vertical Top Down the correct setting when using the Shark 4 Axis Table Top Kit o Horizontal Sideways future capability when support for using a mini lathe as the 4 axis is fielded e Lathe alignment choose one of two settings o Front to Back along Y if you have setup the Shark 4 Axis Table Top Kit oriented along the Y axis o Left to Right along X if you have setup the Shark 4 Axis Table Top Kit oriented along the X axis e Mirror Image Reverse Cut A you can check this flag if you find your carving coming out in a reverse image There is no need to adjust the post processor in this case just set or unset the flag as appropriate for use in your setup Be sure to hit Ok to save your changes If you hit Cancel no changes will be saved It is a good idea to open the preferences panel after closing to ensure you have in fact committed saved the desired preference settings Note Anytime you change any of the A 4 A
4. on the back of the SCB Once the motor chuck assembly is in place secure the material in the chuck snug not tight and position the tailstock Ensure there is enough travel distance for the tailstock to be tightened against the material end before attaching the tailstock to the table Once you have established the general location of the tailstock remove the material You will find that rotating jogging the chuck to a position where a small square can be lightly held by the chuck so that the base of the square is flat on a table and using a framing square set against the chuck side of the motor chuck assembly will make positioning the tailstock easier and result in the best position of the tailstock in relation to the motor chuck assembly You may find that you are using a bolt on one side of the tailstock and a clamp for the other side Mount the material in the chuck snug the chuck on the material Then position the tailstock to the material and snug the tailstock to the material Tighten the chuck and then tighten the tailstock to the material Rotate jog the axis to ensure the material moves with no binding of the rotary axis and that the material is not wobbling If wobbling occurs reposition the tailstock as necessary and repeat these steps This process is no different than positioning material in a lathe The exception is that the chuck and tailstock are not permanently mounted on a chassis In addition to e
5. wraps multiple times around your cylinder as you can lay out the design as a continuous strip which will be wrapped in a spiral fashion when the toolpaths are created To use this feature you must ensure that all of the design AND toolpaths remains within the area bounded by the vector created on the Spiral Wrapped Area layer Simple Cylindrical Wrap G zo Cylinder Axis Bottom Spiral Wrap AO Number of revolutions 1 Cancel Rotary Post Processors You must also use the appropriate post processor when saving the toolpath file There are currently 4 post processors associated with the 4 axis These are available for download from the NWA web site Use the Orient X post processor if your 4 axis hardware is setup along your machine s X axis or within 45 of the X axis Use the Orient Y post processor if your 4 axis hardware is setup along your machine s Y axis or within 45 of the Y axis After downloading these install them into your VCarve Pro setup Setup Steps Before You Mount the Rotary When you first receive the CNC Shark 4 Axis Table Top accessory there are a few steps you ll need to take before you set it up and run a project e Installing the A Axis Controller Module in the Shark Control Box you will want to review these steps in the User s Manual e Mounting the Nova chuck on the 4 axis motor assembly e Install the Shark Control Panel 2 x and register e Install the
6. CNC Shark rotary post processors into your VCarve Pro configuration e Check gantry height ensure the gantry is positioned high enough to clear the motor chuck assembly on your table v2 1 2 1 4 Axis Physical Setup You must position the motor chuck and tailstock assembly within the safe travel limits of your machine One way to ensure this is to jog the gantry to each edge of the table surface and place a piece of tape to mark the limit You can place the axis of the rotary accessory along the X axis the Y axis or angled It is best to have the material you are going to use so that you can position the tail stock at an appropriate distance from the motor chuck the first time A more detailed discussion of the physical setup options you can use along with the associated SCP 2 x settings can be found in the 4 Axis Layout SCP2 Preferences and Post Processors appendix of the User s Manual Position the gantry out of the way of the setup area Place the motor chuck assembly on the table and use the hardware to secure this to the table You may find that you are using a bolt on one side and aclamp for the other side Be sure to attach the grounding cable to a grounding point on the machine You will find these at each of the axis motor mounting points Extend the grounding cable as necessary to ensure that the motor chuck assembly is properly grounded With the SCB powered off connect the 4 axis cable to the A axis output
7. ility to jog the XYZ axes the A rotary axis jog is now available The A Axis Step default value is defined in the Preferences A Axis tab To the right of the axes jog buttons is a layout of the rotary axis Each end of the rotary has 2 buttons Move to and Set You must establish the zero at both the Motor chuck end of the rotary and the Rear tailstock end of the rotary Once these are set you will see a green gumball with a check mark and when you tap the Move to button the gantry will move to that position Until you Set an end there will be no response to a Move to command Position the tool above the desired tap off point at the centerline of the Motor chuck End of the rotary along the circumference line of the motor assembly or chuck this is the circumference line you are using as a reference for the Distance from Motor tap off to cut position A 4 Axis preference setting Tap on Set Front The Point Collector panel will appear on the screen Once you have set one end you can repeat the steps on the other end At this point green gumballs with check marks when you tap on Move to Offset the gantry will position the tool at the A axis safe height unless the tool is higher than that already and along the centerline at the Distance from Motor tap off to cut position set in the Ala Axis preferences from the Motor End tap off point used If the Z axis was abo
8. nsuring you ve positioned the material properly with regard to the chuck and the tailstock you must confirm that the tailstock is positioned properly with respect to the motor chuck assembly SCP2 A 4 Axis Preferences With the SCP2 running open the Preferences panel and select the A 4 Axis tab The A 4 Axis tab has several parameters that control the behavior of the SCP2 4 Axis e Default Step Value A Axis set the default value for jogging the A Axis when in the Step mode CNC Shark 4 Axis Quick Start Guide e A Axis Safe Height this sets the height above the front end tap off point at which the SCP2 will raise the tool prior to making any lateral moves when responding to SCP2 commands Detect Touch Plate and Move Offset e Lathe Front Left Motor End Chuck Radius this sets the radius of the lathe chuck along the circumference line that the tool is tapped off of Be sure to enter the radius and not the diameter e Distance from Motor tap off to cut position this is the distance from the location on the chuck that you use to touch off of to a safe position to cut into the material without engaging any of the chuck components with the tool Distance should exceed project s maximum cutter width l s Distance from motor tap off to cut _ position depending if tap off performed on the motor assembly housing or the chuck e Lathe Rear Right tailstock Chuck Radius this sets the radius
9. omes complete with a Nova Precision Midi 4 jaw Chuck and features a standard 1 x 8 TPI drive shaft to allow you to use just about any of your lathe accessories Create the Design and Toolpaths VCarve Pro is used to create the design of the part you want However there is a distinctly different workflow when creating a rotary project You are strongly encouraged to review the training material found on the Vectric support site The most recent rotary machining tutorial can be found at the Vectric support site When creating a new rotary project for use with the CNC Shark in the Wrapped Job Setup you must select e Cylinder Orientation Along X Axis e Z Origin on Cylinder Axis Bottom You can choose either Wrapping Layouts CNC Shark 4 Axis Quick Start Guide CNC Shark 4 Axis Table Top Accessory Quick Start Guide Ver 2 1 2 a Wrapped Job Setup This gadget creates a new blank file laid out for wrapped machining Cylinder Dimensions Cylinder Length L Cylinder Diameter D 8 units 2 units Units inches Omm Cylinder Orientation Along L X Axis wrap Y values Y Axis wrap X values amp XY Drawing Origin Z Origin On zo Oo Cylinder Surface Top Wrapping Layout As well as working with a simple unwrap of a cylinder into a flat sheet this gadget can create a layout for wrapping a spiral around the cylinder This can be extremely useful if you have a design which
10. ve the A axis safe height a second tap of the Move to Offset will move the tool to the exact offset point in Z as well Likewise once the front and rear are set tapped off tapping Move to Front or Move to Rear will move the tool to the respective tap off positions at the A axis safe height Just as you do in 3 axis use you will have to perform a Set task with any tool change Load and Run the GCode Loading and running the job is the same whether you are in 4 axis mode or 3 axis mode Once you ve selected the file and it is loaded in the SCP2 hit Run On Run the gantry will immediately move to the generated offset the cut start location After finishing the move the SCP will load the gcode onto the SCB Once that is loaded you will be presented with a confirmation message Press OK if you are ready to run the tapfile In some configurations you may need to start the router spindle and let it get up to speed before clicking on OK to start the job The Run controls Run File Continue Pause E Stop all perform in the same manner as when running a 3 axis job When the job is finished the gantry will return to the offset position with the Z axis at the A axis safe height You can also preview the resulting AAxis Virtual code from the View View AAxis Code tool A separate panel will pop up v2 1 2 3 4 Axis Test Project A VCarve Pro project file has been provided
11. xis preferences you must perform the Set Front and Set Rear tasks v2 1 2 2 General Al4th Axis Virtual Default Step Value A Axis 1 A Axis Safe Height 0 53 Lathe Front Left Motor End Chuck Radius 1 732 Distance from Motor tap off to cut position 2 Lathe Rear Right Tailstock Chuck Radius 0 25 Lathe Cut Depth Offset 0 Router Mount Position Vertical Top Down Lathe alignment Front to Back along Y Mirror Image Reverse Cut A V Reset Display Ok Cancel Establishing Tool Location Relative to the Rotary You use the A axis jog panel and the commands within it to establish the tool location and resulting offset position This is sometimes referred to as tapping off Note You must perform this step with every tool changes and BEFORE you load the tapfile When the AAxis is enabled the Jog panel is configured to support the use with a rotary setup You typically use the Jog Controls to move the gantry to e Position the tool at the head or tailstock to touch off and establish the zero point at each end of the rotary e Move the cutter tool to the offset e Move the gantry to a position on the table to enable material placement and chucking or removal from the rotary axis Jog F Fast Medium Slow Step 0 01 A Axis Step 1 File Must be loaded after setting points CNC Shark 4 Axis Quick Start Guide You will note that in addition to the ab
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