Never Commented on a video before but after getting my 3018 last week and hearing about these videos several times I have spent the day watching the first few. I am finding them to be extremely useful and just had to say thank you for all the time and effort you have put into helping those of us who have no idea what we are doing understand our machines and the software used. You Sir have been an enormous help and I greatly appreciate everything you have done.
Easily one of the most helpful videos I've ever watched. My only concern is that the results are WITCHCRAFT. I just got a 3018 and since I'm just learning Fusion 360 I'm not very good at optimizing my toolpaths, and the one good piece I was able to cut was wasting an enormous amount of time on retractions. Thanks for being informative, not trying to pad the videos for time, or spending half of them pushing sponsored stuff. You're super helpful for us, "I've been doing 3d printing for years, how hard could it be to mill aluminum" ijits. :) And your workshop setup is really well thought-out!
This was a really good tutorial. I built the 3018 woodpecker nearly three years ago. But I lost interest after completing the build and got more into 3D printing. I am finding your videos massively useful thanks for sharing.
I can see you've changed max spindle speed from 1k rpm to 20k rpm during the tuning. This is exactly what I was looking for. My 3018 came with spindle rpm capped at 1k rpm, even though the manual says it is 10k max. Also, notice. Be careful with acceleration settings. At the start of cutting the bit suffers an impact, and if it is too rough it will break. This is why all of the industrial cnc machines have PID control on all of the axis. The faster the tool goes, the faster it needs to be stopped, the lesser the impact. Great video, thank you!
Thanks. Also ramping improves your bit life. You dont really get it on free software but most quality paid for software has it for that exact reason you mention, to avoid your bits breaking
I set my machine up out of the box as your instructions. All seemed fine but a few days later the motors started stalling. I did the calibration tests again and they were way off from how I originally set them. All seemed ok but I wasn’t getting the depth of cut that I would like until I realised that the Z axis carriage was bottoming out because my test piece of MDF was only 8mm thick. I dropped my bit down a touch in the collet and ‘hey presto’, a perfect cut! I’m now going to make a spoil board for my machine. Thanks again James.
We all hit issues. I ended up having to lower my acceleration down as well from my video. My machine didn't like the colder temperatures over December and January
@@JamesDeanDesigns Very shallow James. I actually set the tip of the V bit a little too high, so it only just scratched the surface of the wood. I made some small alterations to the GRBL settings and it cut fine the second time around.
That was a great guide, very easy to understand and all the warnings, thanks. One issue is that when you add weight, the steppers won’t be able to achieve the same acceleration, this will also happen if you increase the resistance. So, when you cut you add resistance, when you add a large piece of wood to the table, the y axis now has a larger weight to accelerate and won’t be able to achieve the maximum acceleration values anymore. Probably best to do all your tests with a large workpiece on the bed. Cut speed will be controlled by the cutting parameters but when you’re cutting a pocket and, for example you come out of a corner and accelerate up to the cutting speed, for a short time there is cutting resistance added to the reactive force of speeding up the weight of the spindle or the workpiece and bed. The acceleration won’t be able to achieve the maximum anymore. I suggest at most half the maximum acceleration value you found in the test. I would also check for ringing and overshoot if you’re running at higher speeds and higher acceleration, the belts and structure may not be as good at rapid transitions you could get some overshoot or ringing at corners and start/stop points.
Thanks for the feedback. That's great info and I agree for the most part with what you have wrote. One of the reasons I do the traverse test is because it puts extra strain on the motor, similar to placing a piece of wood on it. In reality you would never traverse like that at those speeds during cutting so it puts extra pressure to get you closer to your realistic settings. Cutting acceleration tests are really difficult unless you're always using the same materials and bits. For example something like oak is going to be harder than MDF. The main purpose of my video is to help people understand those settings and give the confidence to adjust them and hopefully it does, but as I say, that is great info you have added.
James Dean Designs : You did a great job at presenting the method, this video and your others, if you’re trying to demystify the various aspects, you’ve achieved that in this video and your others. What I appreciate is that you’re using the humble 3018 and getting good results from it, too many reviewers are quick to dismiss it.
@@klave8511 there was a point I questioned if I made the right choice of machine and wanted to get rid of it, but what I realised was my mistake was buying from a cheap ebay store. Everything was just off by a fraction so nothing ran as well as it should of. Spent hours just tweaking every bolt on all the axis 🙈
Thank you for this! Just entered the world of CNC and got a 3018 for Christmas, my first test cut (my name) was estimated at 30minutes and had me feeling very disheartened. Now that I made these adjustments its down to 5min! Had no idea the settings were set so low! You sir, just gained a subscriber!!
James, I think a lot of us think that we can just unbox a CNC machine and start creating. I know I got excited when my 3018 Prover arrived. But I would highly recommend that everyone takes the steps that you've outlined here in tuning their settings. It will make a tremendous difference in the outcome of your projects. Great instructional video. Also watched your Making A Spoilboard video which was great as well.
From my personal view. I'm glad it was so cheap and came without limit switches. I've added 3 switches and hope to use soft limits. So now to set it all up and fine tune it. I've had mine 3 weeks now and not really cut anything. But I've learned loads from people like you. Thanks James. Jim
Yes thanks James. 3 weeks ago it was all voodo magic. Now I think I've got some sort of idea. Limit switches are working although default speed was too fast and broke one off. ( a bit of glue will fix that) now busy checking travel calibrations. I'd have been in a mess without your help. Jim
Top tip: at 29.00 in your inset picture I noticed that your spindle and z-axis cables are attached on the far right (looking from the front). By giving a little more slack and fixing the cable at the mid x-axis you will put less strain on the cable and the motor/carriage and avoid any "tugging" on the x-axis. When done correctly this enables a smaller cable loop size each side of the centre rather than being stretched all the way to the left and a large cable loop to the right. Hope that helps!
Thanks James. I've had the issue that the X and Y axis would stall on any movement over 100mm and the seller had me change acceleration to a much lower value but this only helped if the spindle was moving no more than 3/4 of full travel and once I saw that your maximum travel speed was 1600 I knew what the real issue was. By default the maximum travel speed of my unit was set to 5000, this is much faster than it is capable of doing. I stopped your video right then and there and tested it, SUCCESS! Clicked Subscribe, and on with the rest of the video.
That's good to hear. Unfortunately some of the sellers don't really know much about these machines and cant provide much support but glad your moving forward
Needed to tune my homemade cnc machine, to speed the x and y travels up, Your tutorial was very concise. Although I knew where these settings resided, I liked the way you explained it and the “de-tune” to ensure reliability and no missed steps. I wish there was a local group in the midlands to get together with others and swap ideas TH-cam is great to learn stuff and get ideas, but face to face with others is sometimes more mentally stimulating Well done.
Glad it helped. Let's see what the rest of the year brings but I'm always up for a meet up. They have them in other cities. Assuming it goes ahead this year, I'll also be at Makers Central as well, either on my own or as part of the Woodworking UK team so thats always an option.
@@conkcat happens every year at the NEC. 2 days of makers getting together. Woodworkers, black smiths, jewellery makers, CNC people. Top tool companies exhibit there like Triton, Record Tools etc. I help run the biggest woodworking group in the UK, we usually have a stand there but I dont think we are this year. Just attending socially
Hello again been getting into your videos and practising with a 3018. On my controller the spindle drive is PWM. You can tell a PWM drive when you bring the speed down to 10% or lower and you will hear a singing sound from the motor. If you were to clamp the motor with your hand it would maintain torque. With a DC control, the motor will stall at that value. I would recommend that if you were to get a new controller make sure the Spindle Drive has PWM output. Solving the jamming issue. I lubricate the rails with chain and bar oil, while I am setting it up.
مع تاخري عن مواكبتك في تلك السنوات الا انني شاكرا لك استذ جيمس .. وددت ان تدخل الدولار 30(سرعة المغزل) مع السرعة القصوى والتسارع للحصول على نسبة(... : ... : ... ) تخرج افضل نتيجة للمواد المختلفة المستعملة للcnc pro 3018 ولك التقدير
One thing to keep in mind is that the top speeds only affect rapid movements. When you are cutting material, you usually have to go slower depending on material, bit, cutting depth and such.
Thanks for the great video. If you have tight spots in the travel, it is worth looking at the alignment of the parts. The rods and lead screws need to be parallel to each other. Probably less of an issue on these newer 3018 pro models. I have an old 3018 where it takes some fiddling to get it running smoothly. Also, I found on mine that the Y axis the table needed to have shims between it and the lead nut and bearings to get it to not bind some. The table wasn't exactly flat, and it would get tight right in the middle of its travel. I also had to get them to replace the spindle carriage because the Z axis lead screw and/or nut wasn't manufactured correctly. It wasn't just tight, it would bind up and seize at one point in the travel.
It certainly is worth checking alignments. I cover it in another video but its a really common issue and a few minutes aligning everything can make a big difference.
Hi Thank you for this video, which I was looking for for a while to learn how to adjust the acceleration Because I was setting high numbers and the axle got stuck, and I could not understand how to adjust the acceleration until after watching this video of yours. All greetings and respect to you
James fantastic tutorial although just a small note that when calibrating the Y axis the bed needs to have on it whatever full load work piece that will be worked on, especially when using the 30 40 upgrade kit.
Great video and information! Thanks for sharing this with us, very helpful stuff! I've finished designing my enclosure for my 3018, planning to share with you my plans and how effective it ends up being at soundproofing once everything is done incase you think your subscribers would be interested. (I'm hoping it will be quiet enough to run in an apartment if needed but time will tell)
Love your vids; fairly new to CNC'ing, and you've been a great help in getting going. Can I send you a lavalier mic, so you're a touch clearer in your presentation in your shop?
Thank you. As my videos go on, the audio does start to get better as I invested in more equipment and learned better editing skills. Generally speaking any videos from the past 12 months are certainly better as I switched to a decent wireless lavalier mic. Still somethings I probably need to learn though 😊
Been trying to follow this guide for a bit with my 3018 Pro from VEVOR. I cant get the first section to work like it does in the video. I have got the accel up to 10k without it making any kinda noise, skip or jam. To replicate the results I have to up the feed rate, ended up getting to around 3k feed and 2.5k accel before jamming and not sure if I should go to the max speed first then pull the accel based on that or what?
When I tried Tuning the $120 setting even to 10K and running the X 50mm Test code The Motor NEVER Jams or shows ANY sign of Struggle In the Test gcode I was worried about actually Running the motor that high for a test cut so I set the $120 to 2000 And Again it passed the X 50 mm Test code, But Jams On the X axis Immediately when trying to Run a Very simple Bore Op. Every thing Works Default But $120 Is the only Problematic Setting When Altered. Any Ideas of why I'm Getting this behavior with my 3018 Pro Max? By default My Out of the Box Settings Were: $0 = 10 (Step pulse time, microseconds) $1 = 25 (Step idle delay, milliseconds) $2 = 0 (Step pulse invert, mask) $3 = 2 (Step direction invert, mask) $4 = 0 (Invert step enable pin, boolean) $5 = 0 (Invert limit pins, boolean) $6 = 0 (Invert probe pin, boolean) $10 = 1 (Status report options, mask) $11 = 0.010 (Junction deviation, millimeters) $12 = 0.002 (Arc tolerance, millimeters) $13 = 0 (Report in inches, boolean) $20 = 0 (Soft limits enable, boolean) $21 = 0 (Hard limits enable, boolean) $22 = 0 (Homing cycle enable, boolean) $23 = 0 (Homing direction invert, mask) $24 = 25.000 (Homing locate feed rate, mm/min) $25 = 500.000 (Homing search seek rate, mm/min) $26 = 250 (Homing switch debounce delay, milliseconds) $27 = 1.000 (Homing switch pull-off distance, millimeters) $30 = 1000 (Maximum spindle speed, RPM) $31 = 0 (Minimum spindle speed, RPM) $32 = 0 (Laser-mode enable, boolean) $100 = 800.000 (X-axis travel resolution, step/mm) $101 = 800.000 (Y-axis travel resolution, step/mm) $102 = 800.000 (Z-axis travel resolution, step/mm) $110 = 1000.000 (X-axis maximum rate, mm/min) $111 = 1000.000 (Y-axis maximum rate, mm/min) $112 = 1000.000 (Z-axis maximum rate, mm/min) $120 = 30.000 (X-axis acceleration, mm/sec^2) $121 = 30.000 (Y-axis acceleration, mm/sec^2) $122 = 30.000 (Z-axis acceleration, mm/sec^2) $130 = 200.000 (X-axis maximum travel, millimeters) $131 = 200.000 (Y-axis maximum travel, millimeters) $132 = 200.000 (Z-axis maximum travel, millimeters)
hey, ithink my cnc is broken cause it went up to 30000 and then i gave up trying to find the peak because it was taking to long. I was wondering if there was a setting or safety on the board or something stopping it from making improvements past a certain figure. I have a 1419 cnc from aliexpress
So I haven't changed any settings that I haven't before to switch between laser and spindle. I've had it working correctly before, but now whenever I try to run any gcode (even files that I've successfully run before) the first movement has the Z axis moving down into the stock, through the stock to the starting point, then up to the starting height, then down to the cut as normal. My axis aren't reversed or anything, its just flipping the first travel movement. Any suggestions?
Hi, I bought a CNC 3018 machine to make fiber printed circuit boards, but unfortunately the g code files are not fully loaded and I can't start the prop either. Please help me.
Hi James. I have a 3018 Pro from Vevor. When I have to carving or use a laser, the size is halved on all measurements. When I put 10 cm x 10 cm on the subject, and use a laser of the same size, only 5x5 cm is burned. Do you know what the cause could be? Have tried Candle, Universal-G-Code-Sender and Laser_grbl.
Cool! Will definetly do this with my machine. I have some concerns, though. 1. Will these top speeds and accelerations breached under the load, while cutting, or this is purely to move in the air betweendig-in points? 2. In the case of Y axis, did the 80% rule show to be sufficient for you? I mean, there might be quite heavy piece of wood on the table that also needs to be moved. Will it manage?
Hi James, thank you very much for these guide videos. You say in the video that you are talking about the $30 (spindle top speed rpm) parameter. By default it is 1000, but 3018 Pro Vevor has 10000rpm stock spindle. Should I set this parameter to 10000? Or does that default value have a multiplier of 10? Thank you in advance for your answer.
Hello James. All of your videos are awesome. Just a quick one. I had 3018 Pro. Try to cut a circle. But, by Y, it was smashed. And cut Oval. Can you please instruct me on how can I change settings to be perfect circle. Thanks Aleksey Romanov
If its cutting a perfect oval then chances are your steps need calibrating. Check this video th-cam.com/video/nGwUf8uNWBU/w-d-xo.html If your oval is not perfect and things don't align then if may be missing steps. Easy way to test this is slow the feed down and see if it helps the situation
I'm just getting in to this stuff now, but I've found your tutorials to be extremely helpful. This is another great video - I'm going to do this tune-up for sure to shave some time off. I suppose there are two types of "sticky spots" - one that would cause a stepper to skip while it's already moving (indicating the velocity is set too high) and the other that could cause it to "jam" when starting from a dead stop (indicating that the acceleration is set too high). Knowing which situation you have would tell you which value you need to tweak (or both if you have both problems), yes?
Aspire is just your CAD/CAM software, these settings are done in your control software and once they have been set, you shouldn't need to change them again
James I have installed the Sainsmart extended Y axis kit on the 3018 pro and need help in modifying the GRBL candle settings to reflect the installation, Thank you
What can i be doing in my design to throw off my z probe zero. I created my cut path and when transferring it to candle. ill do my zeroing with probe and/or manual. Then hit send and the z axis starts run about .5" above work surface. Im using carveco. Iv jumped to easel and im not having this problem. So i imported my project from carveco to easel and i have the problem again. Where am i making the error in carveco.
Hey james i have a 3018 like you have in the other video.I mainly use it for pcb making.the machine is working very well to mill the pcb.Once im at the drilling part the hole never line up with the one on the design.I am using eagle flatcam and candle.You have any idea what could be causing this?
Im not really familiar with doing PCBs but usually if something doesnt align it possibly means steps are being missed. Alternatively check the calibration of your axis as accurately as you can. So tell it to move something like 150mm and measure how far it actually moves
Would reducing the lift of the z axis when being relocated to another XY location also help with a reduction in time? Is there a way to make the z axis lift a very small amount while carving? Then have a very high lift when finished and returning home for a bit change? I have seen the tool paths on some jobs being very short above the board while there are those I've seen that are rather tall.
Definitely. It's called your Z height or Z safe height and it's essentially how high the bit lifts above the material inbetween cuts. The smaller the number, the less time it takes
Perhaps there is something built-in that is limiting the settings? I stepped the 120 and the 121 all the way to 10000 for each, and neither one has jammed yet. This felt excessive based on the video, so I thought I'd check in before pushing it further and risking damage. This is my first system, and I haven't done a cut with it yet, as I want to ensure it is properly calibrated before moving on to the actual cuts. I'm sure higher performance is better, but this doesn't feel right. Any thoughts on what the best course of action is?
There will be a maximum rate they will not go beyond but that will vary between different steppers. You'll probably find it's around 3000 or 4000. But it's great you've got it so high without any issues
Greetings to you from warm Uzbekistan! Absolutely like you for your work! I would like to ask you: If I make acceleration settings like in your video, that is, I achieve the result that there will be a maximum acceleration without slippage Will there be any problems with the machine? That is, I will make a control program in the program (aspire) and output it to the machine through a candle, I will not have any problems when milling? Acceleration settings will not affect the distance I will be grateful for your answer! Yours sincerely, Evgeniy!
Great video. Have my machine running pretty good, BUT. Mine does not give the $30 setting for the spindle speed any idea how I can get it? I assume it would be a firmware thing which if that's the case then it's gonna stay how it is as I am too new to the cnc router cnc. Lol
Thanks James. I deleted my comment just as you replied I think. I just copied the GCode that popped up in the video into a text doc and it worked great.
Thanks for the feedback 👍 I recorded two separate audio tracks, I think the other one was louder but seemed to have picked up more background noise so I used this one but maybe should have pumped it up a bit
Just tuned up my machine using all your setting. Its like a different machine now. All settings seemed to work good using your test and logo. However about 3/4 through my first carve I started losing steps on the Y-axis. Guess I'll have to slow them down a bit more. Great video though!!!
One thing I didn't mention in the video (and really should have) is the settings do typically have to come down a little but more when the machine is under load but glad it helped 👍
okay, I changed my spindle speed to 12000 I got an "ok" but it never changed when I did the $$ to see if it had changed. tried this many times. BTW you never did the $$ to check when you did changed the speed. Are you sure it took? My speed stays at 1000. any suggestions?
Hello, while processing the g-code file I created with UGS in CNC, the CNC axes go to the place they need to go very fast when the carving work of a point is finished and trying to go to a different point (idle acceleration), which causes tooth skipping and the coordinate is distorted. I wonder if I need to adjust the grbl settings or the g-code file to reduce the speed of the axes in these transitions (idle speed).
Hi James nice work. I have little issue with jog control they are going wrong directions any fix for that? or setting i am new to the candle and grbl I have 2418 cnc with laser is also not working very low light?
It will be your $3 setting. If all of your axis are wrong try $3=5. Otherwise just work through changing the 5 to another number until your axis are correct. It only goes from 1-7 so doesn't take long
Hi James. I have had my new 3018 pro for a few weeks now and still can,t get the spindle to start. Today I looked at the commands and see that $30 /$31 and $32 are all missing of my software. How do I find them and put them in the software. Or do I just reinstall. Or is it a motherboard problem. Would love some help Cheers Anthony
James, You are my big source of information about CNC and Grbl. did you spend time on "User Commands" in Candle? (Extras buttons I think) but how to use?
Thank you. User commands are just custom buttons that you can program. So for example when I use a Z probe I usually set it from about 20mm in diagonally, so I could create a custom button to always move it in 20mm every time.
Hi James, an excellent video as always. I have one problem on my machine. There is no $30 and $31 in my file, (spindle speed) If I try to add them from the console it errors. Is there a special way to add them. My spindle speed won't change from flat out.
Your GRBL firmware is out of date. You need to be on at least 1.1f and you're probably on 0.9. Just Google upgrade GRBL firmware and you should see some guides to do it. Fairly easy to do
James, I used this great video when I got my ProVer 3018 and it made a tremendous difference for my machine. Can the same basic concepts be used on the ProVer 4030 XL? Or do you have a different video? I searched but did not find one..
Principles are the same so yes you can. Just be careful with the 4030XL as they advise not to mess with the settings too much so make sure you take a copy before you start.
UGS is the program I use to control the CNC machine. I talk about it on some of my earlier videos about getting started. Quite easy to use. You can do this video with other similar software though like Candle
Yes there is, its quite easy. If you have a look through my list of videos there is a video for setting the Z probe up on the 4030 and the 3018. It shows you how to do it in both Candle and UGS
Hi 🙂 I have a problem with my cnc 3018pro If i write on "Easel" 3mm deep, then carving just 1.5mm deep It was everything good but now a few days making like this! What's wrong now? Thanks!
All the codes used in the video are in a download link in the description area. There is usually a little down arrow just below the video which expands it.
Hi James. First I want to say thank you for your videos on the 3018. I don’t know where I’d be without them. However, I’ve run into an issue. My spindle speeds don’t seem to go above 1000 rpm? In Easel, I tried 100, 500, 1000 rpm and measured the sound with a decibel meter. The speed/sound stops changing once you pass 1000 rpm. This is also the same speed when I use my offline controller and set spindle to 100%… Any ideas? Thanks again.
To accurately test the RPM, you really need a tachometer. Regardless of the numbers you input into the software, the machine doesn't actually measure RPM, it only controls the power it inputs to the spindle. The reason I have explained that is because whilst you think its a 1000rpm, I suspect its actually likely to be closer to 10000 rpm which is around the maximum. Check you $30 setting, if its 1000, then when you put 1000 into Easel that basically means 100% power (so close to 10000rpm), 500 would be 50% power and so on. Now if your $30 is 10000 and you put 1000 into Easel, then that will be 10% power. What is your $30 setting?
@@renewman28 exactly, think of it more of a power scale than exact RPM. If your $30 is 1000, then usually any RPM value you enter into your software about 1000 means it will run at maximum RPM so around 10,000.
Hi my son just got the same cnc he put it together with no problem . Did a move ment test with the little hand controller. He downloaded from the flash drive. Now he is stuck How and where do you set the size of the wood.please help he got it for christmas and he has been trying to get it to work everyday
I can’t change $27=1.000.. I fitted limit switches but the switches on the X and Y axis stay closed after it backs off so it sets the alarm. I have to manually wind them off the switches to be able to jog. I can’t change the $27 setting from 1.000 so it will back off further. It comes up with error 3 invalid command if I try to change and save it. Any ideas.,
Problem solved. The GRBL that came with the 3018 was crippled. Tried the files on the USB that comes with it, same problem. Downloaded the latest GRBL from GitHub and installed it an now all is fine.
Hey James I love these tutorial videos. I was wondering if you have any tips for setting up limit stops and using them to set a home position in the 3018 Pro.
@@JamesDeanDesigns Thanks for the response James. Looking forward to see your 4030 review. Always preferred to have the head move and not the stock bed.
Look up Techydiy. He Also has some tutorials on this machine and he goes over setting hard limits and soft limits. I think it is the second one in his series.
Yes you can do both as long as your software allows it. With noting though on a standard 3018 your depth of cut is going to be fairly shallow anyway unless cutting really soft material
James in the 3018 Pro -Tuning GBRL settings the test file (JD Designs test file.gcode) you use initially is not apparently included as a link in details below the video is it possible for you to provide please Regards Paul
Hi, Ive just tested it and once I download the zip file I can see it there. There are five files, Grahams guide, my JD test file and the X, Y and Z test files. Can you not see them in your download? Are you using candle rather than UGS by any chance?
Hello James, thank you for sharing this video, it helped tremendously. Do the cut settings from Easel get over written by these settings? This part confuses me.
No, Easel (or any other software) just controls the feed rate for when its actually cutting but these settings are mainly about the free travel speeds which your software doesn't change
Homing is a command within the control board configuration . You can adjust it but its not quite as easy as changing these settings. This article as some useful links github.com/grbl/grbl/issues/1297
@@JamesDeanDesigns thank you. Ended up buying more limit switches. Another thing. In UGS when your running a program and press stop does your axis zero out?
i have a genmitsu 3020 and it does not behave like yours. its as if it has some kind of software speed limits? i can change from 100 - 500 %120 and get zero change in machine behavior
Really helpful, can't wait to adjust my settings. What grbl software are you using? It looks better than the basic Candle grbl that came with my Sainsmart router.
Hi Mr Dean, On my 3018 my spindle is coming on as soon as I turn the machine on. (I have a constant live 24v spindle output pin. Any ideas? Have I set a setting in the software so the spindle is on all the time? The only way to turn off the spindle is by pulling the plug from the wall... Cheers tutorials videos as always!
@@JamesDeanDesigns Hi James, I have the camxtool v3.5 (the black one inside the pvc casing) and no it has always worked as intended (on off via software/gcode). I just can't remember if I changed a setting or not. Basically the spindle turns on as soon as I plug the socket into the wall. Any ideas? I was thinking a fried fet or relay on the board? I was checking with the expert (you!) before buying a new one, Cheers!
Do you know where one can download stl files for the 3018? Looking for the y-axis nut seat. Looked on Thingverse and Google search with no success. TIA
Never Commented on a video before but after getting my 3018 last week and hearing about these videos several times I have spent the day watching the first few. I am finding them to be extremely useful and just had to say thank you for all the time and effort you have put into helping those of us who have no idea what we are doing understand our machines and the software used. You Sir have been an enormous help and I greatly appreciate everything you have done.
Really appreciate you taking the time to say that. Good luck with the machine 👍
Easily one of the most helpful videos I've ever watched. My only concern is that the results are WITCHCRAFT. I just got a 3018 and since I'm just learning Fusion 360 I'm not very good at optimizing my toolpaths, and the one good piece I was able to cut was wasting an enormous amount of time on retractions. Thanks for being informative, not trying to pad the videos for time, or spending half of them pushing sponsored stuff. You're super helpful for us, "I've been doing 3d printing for years, how hard could it be to mill aluminum" ijits. :) And your workshop setup is really well thought-out!
James, I know this is an old tutorial, but totally amazing. My speed on test was at 05:43 with your tuning is down to 03:45. Thank you.
Glad people are still finding it useful 😁
This was a really good tutorial. I built the 3018 woodpecker nearly three years ago. But I lost interest after completing the build and got more into 3D printing. I am finding your videos massively useful thanks for sharing.
I just got a 3018 and these videos are great for getting me started in the CNC world. Thank again.
I can see you've changed max spindle speed from 1k rpm to 20k rpm during the tuning. This is exactly what I was looking for. My 3018 came with spindle rpm capped at 1k rpm, even though the manual says it is 10k max. Also, notice. Be careful with acceleration settings. At the start of cutting the bit suffers an impact, and if it is too rough it will break. This is why all of the industrial cnc machines have PID control on all of the axis. The faster the tool goes, the faster it needs to be stopped, the lesser the impact.
Great video, thank you!
Thanks. Also ramping improves your bit life. You dont really get it on free software but most quality paid for software has it for that exact reason you mention, to avoid your bits breaking
I set my machine up out of the box as your instructions. All seemed fine but a few days later the motors started stalling. I did the calibration tests again and they were way off from how I originally set them.
All seemed ok but I wasn’t getting the depth of cut that I would like until I realised that the Z axis carriage was bottoming out because my test piece of MDF was only 8mm thick. I dropped my bit down a touch in the collet and ‘hey presto’, a perfect cut!
I’m now going to make a spoil board for my machine. Thanks again James.
We all hit issues. I ended up having to lower my acceleration down as well from my video. My machine didn't like the colder temperatures over December and January
@@JamesDeanDesigns Doing another trial design and it’s still not right in the ‘Y’ axis. It’s jumped up 2mm on one of the letters I was cutting.😡
@@ianknight2053 how deep are your passes?
@@JamesDeanDesigns Very shallow James. I actually set the tip of the V bit a little too high, so it only just scratched the surface of the wood.
I made some small alterations to the GRBL settings and it cut fine the second time around.
That was a great guide, very easy to understand and all the warnings, thanks. One issue is that when you add weight, the steppers won’t be able to achieve the same acceleration, this will also happen if you increase the resistance. So, when you cut you add resistance, when you add a large piece of wood to the table, the y axis now has a larger weight to accelerate and won’t be able to achieve the maximum acceleration values anymore. Probably best to do all your tests with a large workpiece on the bed. Cut speed will be controlled by the cutting parameters but when you’re cutting a pocket and, for example you come out of a corner and accelerate up to the cutting speed, for a short time there is cutting resistance added to the reactive force of speeding up the weight of the spindle or the workpiece and bed. The acceleration won’t be able to achieve the maximum anymore. I suggest at most half the maximum acceleration value you found in the test. I would also check for ringing and overshoot if you’re running at higher speeds and higher acceleration, the belts and structure may not be as good at rapid transitions you could get some overshoot or ringing at corners and start/stop points.
Thanks for the feedback. That's great info and I agree for the most part with what you have wrote. One of the reasons I do the traverse test is because it puts extra strain on the motor, similar to placing a piece of wood on it. In reality you would never traverse like that at those speeds during cutting so it puts extra pressure to get you closer to your realistic settings. Cutting acceleration tests are really difficult unless you're always using the same materials and bits. For example something like oak is going to be harder than MDF. The main purpose of my video is to help people understand those settings and give the confidence to adjust them and hopefully it does, but as I say, that is great info you have added.
James Dean Designs : You did a great job at presenting the method, this video and your others, if you’re trying to demystify the various aspects, you’ve achieved that in this video and your others. What I appreciate is that you’re using the humble 3018 and getting good results from it, too many reviewers are quick to dismiss it.
@@klave8511 there was a point I questioned if I made the right choice of machine and wanted to get rid of it, but what I realised was my mistake was buying from a cheap ebay store. Everything was just off by a fraction so nothing ran as well as it should of. Spent hours just tweaking every bolt on all the axis 🙈
Thank you for this! Just entered the world of CNC and got a 3018 for Christmas, my first test cut (my name) was estimated at 30minutes and had me feeling very disheartened. Now that I made these adjustments its down to 5min! Had no idea the settings were set so low! You sir, just gained a subscriber!!
Excellent news. Thank you for subscribing :)
James, I think a lot of us think that we can just unbox a CNC machine and start creating. I know I got excited when my 3018 Prover arrived. But I would highly recommend that everyone takes the steps that you've outlined here in tuning their settings. It will make a tremendous difference in the outcome of your projects. Great instructional video. Also watched your Making A Spoilboard video which was great as well.
Thanks for the kind words. These settings really do help as long as you don't push them too far :)
From my personal view. I'm glad it was so cheap and came without limit switches. I've added 3 switches and hope to use soft limits. So now to set it all up and fine tune it. I've had mine 3 weeks now and not really cut anything. But I've learned loads from people like you. Thanks James. Jim
Glad the videos have helped 👍
Yes thanks James. 3 weeks ago it was all voodo magic. Now I think I've got some sort of idea.
Limit switches are working although default speed was too fast and broke one off. ( a bit of glue will fix that) now busy checking travel calibrations. I'd have been in a mess without your help.
Jim
Update to above: Wasn't too fast. The connector on motherboard for Z axis had come out. All good now.. Soft limits set as well.
Really instructive, dude, I'm going to bed late, but it was worthy. Blessings from Saint Kitts and Nevis
Glad it helped 👍
Truly appreciate these videos. I am just learning and having the ability to watch/listen to you while I make these adjustments is a huge time saver!
Top tip: at 29.00 in your inset picture I noticed that your spindle and z-axis cables are attached on the far right (looking from the front). By giving a little more slack and fixing the cable at the mid x-axis you will put less strain on the cable and the motor/carriage and avoid any "tugging" on the x-axis. When done correctly this enables a smaller cable loop size each side of the centre rather than being stretched all the way to the left and a large cable loop to the right. Hope that helps!
Thank you. Thats useful advice 👍
Thanks James. I've had the issue that the X and Y axis would stall on any movement over 100mm and the seller had me change acceleration to a much lower value but this only helped if the spindle was moving no more than 3/4 of full travel and once I saw that your maximum travel speed was 1600 I knew what the real issue was. By default the maximum travel speed of my unit was set to 5000, this is much faster than it is capable of doing. I stopped your video right then and there and tested it, SUCCESS!
Clicked Subscribe, and on with the rest of the video.
That's good to hear. Unfortunately some of the sellers don't really know much about these machines and cant provide much support but glad your moving forward
James you legend! I was trying to do this 4 hours ago, then remembered the guide in your tips and tricks. Thanks for making this video. Major help!
Thanks 👍
You sir, are a true star, saved me a lot of time. I bought this as a practice for the 1.5m cnc i'm building and wanted to try out GRBL.
Glad it helped 👍
Needed to tune my homemade cnc machine, to speed the x and y travels up, Your tutorial was very concise. Although I knew where these settings resided, I liked the way you explained it and the “de-tune” to ensure reliability and no missed steps.
I wish there was a local group in the midlands to get together with others and swap ideas
TH-cam is great to learn stuff and get ideas, but face to face with others is sometimes more mentally stimulating
Well done.
Glad it helped. Let's see what the rest of the year brings but I'm always up for a meet up. They have them in other cities. Assuming it goes ahead this year, I'll also be at Makers Central as well, either on my own or as part of the Woodworking UK team so thats always an option.
@@JamesDeanDesigns makers central?, what’s that?
@@conkcat happens every year at the NEC. 2 days of makers getting together. Woodworkers, black smiths, jewellery makers, CNC people. Top tool companies exhibit there like Triton, Record Tools etc. I help run the biggest woodworking group in the UK, we usually have a stand there but I dont think we are this year. Just attending socially
Thank you so much. These adjustments made a major improvement on the first sign we made.
Glad it helped
Hello again been getting into your videos and practising with a 3018. On my controller the spindle drive is PWM. You can tell a PWM drive when you bring the speed down to 10% or lower and you will hear a singing sound from the motor. If you were to clamp the motor with your hand it would maintain torque. With a DC control, the motor will stall at that value. I would recommend that if you were to get a new controller make sure the Spindle Drive has PWM output. Solving the jamming issue. I lubricate the rails with chain and bar oil, while I am setting it up.
Thanks for making this video. Massive change from the stock 10mm/sec acceleration that my CNC was set to. Excited to try it out in practice soon!
Glad it helped 😁
مع تاخري عن مواكبتك في تلك السنوات الا انني شاكرا لك استذ جيمس .. وددت ان تدخل الدولار 30(سرعة المغزل) مع السرعة القصوى والتسارع للحصول على نسبة(... : ... : ... ) تخرج افضل نتيجة للمواد المختلفة المستعملة للcnc pro 3018 ولك التقدير
Thank you so much! Another great tutorial I, what a difference it has made to my 3018 fully turbocharged now.
Excellent. I had to pull my setting back a little more after making this video but still much faster than out of the box
One thing to keep in mind is that the top speeds only affect rapid movements. When you are cutting material, you usually have to go slower depending on material, bit, cutting depth and such.
That is correct. I think I reference it in the video thats where all the time is gained 👍
JAMES YOU ARE A F**KING HERO! It's like a new machine, such an improvement. Thanks for all the top notch content!
Thank you 😆 glad its helped
I watch your video. I learn my things. Thank you much for making these videos.
Thanks for the great video. If you have tight spots in the travel, it is worth looking at the alignment of the parts. The rods and lead screws need to be parallel to each other. Probably less of an issue on these newer 3018 pro models. I have an old 3018 where it takes some fiddling to get it running smoothly. Also, I found on mine that the Y axis the table needed to have shims between it and the lead nut and bearings to get it to not bind some. The table wasn't exactly flat, and it would get tight right in the middle of its travel. I also had to get them to replace the spindle carriage because the Z axis lead screw and/or nut wasn't manufactured correctly. It wasn't just tight, it would bind up and seize at one point in the travel.
It certainly is worth checking alignments. I cover it in another video but its a really common issue and a few minutes aligning everything can make a big difference.
Hi
Thank you for this video, which I was looking for for a while to learn how to adjust the acceleration
Because I was setting high numbers and the axle got stuck, and I could not understand how to adjust the acceleration until after watching this video of yours.
All greetings and respect to you
Glad it was useful :)
James fantastic tutorial although just a small note that when calibrating the Y axis the bed needs to have on it whatever full load work piece that will be worked on, especially when using the 30 40 upgrade kit.
Very true 👍
Perfect Tutorial, You fixed my 3018Pro Router, Great job I understand it now! Thank you
Excellent video! Can you post the final parameter on a text file?! So, we can have a base and tuning from there. Thanks a lot.
Thanks James! Those setting adjustments really stepped up my 4040xe, not boring at all now, homing sucked.
Glad they helped :)
Great video and information! Thanks for sharing this with us, very helpful stuff!
I've finished designing my enclosure for my 3018, planning to share with you my plans and how effective it ends up being at soundproofing once everything is done incase you think your subscribers would be interested. (I'm hoping it will be quiet enough to run in an apartment if needed but time will tell)
can you share your plans
Travel calibration done, speed & accel calibration next. Thanks again!
Glad it helped
That was great James. It all made sense and the results were fantastic. Thank you. Jim
thank you very much for this video, what is the best grbl settings for pcb printing? with cnc 3018 pro
I cannot change the spindle speed.
This was incredibly helpful - exactly what I was looking for. Subscribed. Thank you James!
Glad it helped
Thank you for helpful video. My machine same as your, . You put $30= 20000 rpm for spindle, what value should pass for 15w laser?
Really informative, thank you. Appreciate the step-by-step walk through.
Fab super helpful thank you, more tuning videos and optimal tool path deflection etc etc would be interesting
Love your vids; fairly new to CNC'ing, and you've been a great help in getting going.
Can I send you a lavalier mic, so you're a touch clearer in your presentation in your shop?
Thank you. As my videos go on, the audio does start to get better as I invested in more equipment and learned better editing skills. Generally speaking any videos from the past 12 months are certainly better as I switched to a decent wireless lavalier mic. Still somethings I probably need to learn though 😊
Been trying to follow this guide for a bit with my 3018 Pro from VEVOR. I cant get the first section to work like it does in the video. I have got the accel up to 10k without it making any kinda noise, skip or jam. To replicate the results I have to up the feed rate, ended up getting to around 3k feed and 2.5k accel before jamming and not sure if I should go to the max speed first then pull the accel based on that or what?
When I tried Tuning the $120 setting even to 10K and running the X 50mm Test code The Motor NEVER Jams or shows ANY sign of Struggle In the Test gcode I was worried about actually Running the motor that high for a test cut so I set the $120 to 2000 And Again it passed the X 50 mm Test code, But Jams On the X axis Immediately when trying to Run a Very simple Bore Op. Every thing Works Default But $120 Is the only Problematic Setting When Altered. Any Ideas of why I'm Getting this behavior with my 3018 Pro Max?
By default My Out of the Box Settings Were:
$0 = 10 (Step pulse time, microseconds)
$1 = 25 (Step idle delay, milliseconds)
$2 = 0 (Step pulse invert, mask)
$3 = 2 (Step direction invert, mask)
$4 = 0 (Invert step enable pin, boolean)
$5 = 0 (Invert limit pins, boolean)
$6 = 0 (Invert probe pin, boolean)
$10 = 1 (Status report options, mask)
$11 = 0.010 (Junction deviation, millimeters)
$12 = 0.002 (Arc tolerance, millimeters)
$13 = 0 (Report in inches, boolean)
$20 = 0 (Soft limits enable, boolean)
$21 = 0 (Hard limits enable, boolean)
$22 = 0 (Homing cycle enable, boolean)
$23 = 0 (Homing direction invert, mask)
$24 = 25.000 (Homing locate feed rate, mm/min)
$25 = 500.000 (Homing search seek rate, mm/min)
$26 = 250 (Homing switch debounce delay, milliseconds)
$27 = 1.000 (Homing switch pull-off distance, millimeters)
$30 = 1000 (Maximum spindle speed, RPM)
$31 = 0 (Minimum spindle speed, RPM)
$32 = 0 (Laser-mode enable, boolean)
$100 = 800.000 (X-axis travel resolution, step/mm)
$101 = 800.000 (Y-axis travel resolution, step/mm)
$102 = 800.000 (Z-axis travel resolution, step/mm)
$110 = 1000.000 (X-axis maximum rate, mm/min)
$111 = 1000.000 (Y-axis maximum rate, mm/min)
$112 = 1000.000 (Z-axis maximum rate, mm/min)
$120 = 30.000 (X-axis acceleration, mm/sec^2)
$121 = 30.000 (Y-axis acceleration, mm/sec^2)
$122 = 30.000 (Z-axis acceleration, mm/sec^2)
$130 = 200.000 (X-axis maximum travel, millimeters)
$131 = 200.000 (Y-axis maximum travel, millimeters)
$132 = 200.000 (Z-axis maximum travel, millimeters)
hey, ithink my cnc is broken cause it went up to 30000 and then i gave up trying to find the peak because it was taking to long. I was wondering if there was a setting or safety on the board or something stopping it from making improvements past a certain figure. I have a 1419 cnc from aliexpress
So I haven't changed any settings that I haven't before to switch between laser and spindle. I've had it working correctly before, but now whenever I try to run any gcode (even files that I've successfully run before) the first movement has the Z axis moving down into the stock, through the stock to the starting point, then up to the starting height, then down to the cut as normal. My axis aren't reversed or anything, its just flipping the first travel movement. Any suggestions?
James I omitted the new spoil board size; 300x360 mm
Fantastic video. I like how you go in-depth
Hi, I bought a CNC 3018 machine to make fiber printed circuit boards, but unfortunately the g code files are not fully loaded and I can't start the prop either. Please help me.
Hi James. I have a 3018 Pro from Vevor. When I have to carving or use a laser, the size is halved on all measurements. When I put 10 cm x 10 cm on the subject, and use a laser of the same size, only 5x5 cm is burned. Do you know what the cause could be? Have tried Candle, Universal-G-Code-Sender and Laser_grbl.
Cool! Will definetly do this with my machine.
I have some concerns, though.
1. Will these top speeds and accelerations breached under the load, while cutting, or this is purely to move in the air betweendig-in points?
2. In the case of Y axis, did the 80% rule show to be sufficient for you? I mean, there might be quite heavy piece of wood on the table that also needs to be moved. Will it manage?
Hi James, thank you very much for these guide videos. You say in the video that you are talking about the $30 (spindle top speed rpm) parameter. By default it is 1000, but 3018 Pro Vevor has 10000rpm stock spindle. Should I set this parameter to 10000? Or does that default value have a multiplier of 10? Thank you in advance for your answer.
Usually if you are doing laser then set it to 1000 but if you are doing routering then set it to 10000
I see James has a cut depth set to 11mm. How do you change that setting to go deeper of less deep?
Hello James. All of your videos are awesome. Just a quick one. I had 3018 Pro. Try to cut a circle. But, by Y, it was smashed. And cut Oval. Can you please instruct me on how can I change settings to be perfect circle.
Thanks
Aleksey Romanov
If its cutting a perfect oval then chances are your steps need calibrating. Check this video
th-cam.com/video/nGwUf8uNWBU/w-d-xo.html
If your oval is not perfect and things don't align then if may be missing steps. Easy way to test this is slow the feed down and see if it helps the situation
what x,y axis motors are you using ? i want topgrade as myine wont go over 1000 where yours go 1600. thats a big improvement in speed .
I'm just getting in to this stuff now, but I've found your tutorials to be extremely helpful. This is another great video - I'm going to do this tune-up for sure to shave some time off. I suppose there are two types of "sticky spots" - one that would cause a stepper to skip while it's already moving (indicating the velocity is set too high) and the other that could cause it to "jam" when starting from a dead stop (indicating that the acceleration is set too high). Knowing which situation you have would tell you which value you need to tweak (or both if you have both problems), yes?
Great video James, but how do i permanently adjust the settings using Aspire 10.5 with remote control panel? on 3018 pro
Aspire is just your CAD/CAM software, these settings are done in your control software and once they have been set, you shouldn't need to change them again
James I have installed the Sainsmart extended Y axis kit on the 3018 pro and need help in modifying the GRBL candle settings to reflect the installation, Thank you
What can i be doing in my design to throw off my z probe zero. I created my cut path and when transferring it to candle. ill do my zeroing with probe and/or manual. Then hit send and the z axis starts run about .5" above work surface. Im using carveco. Iv jumped to easel and im not having this problem. So i imported my project from carveco to easel and i have the problem again. Where am i making the error in carveco.
Hey james i have a 3018 like you have in the other video.I mainly use it for pcb making.the machine is working very well to mill the pcb.Once im at the drilling part the hole never line up with the one on the design.I am using eagle flatcam and candle.You have any idea what could be causing this?
Im not really familiar with doing PCBs but usually if something doesnt align it possibly means steps are being missed. Alternatively check the calibration of your axis as accurately as you can. So tell it to move something like 150mm and measure how far it actually moves
Would reducing the lift of the z axis when being relocated to another XY location also help with a reduction in time? Is there a way to make the z axis lift a very small amount while carving? Then have a very high lift when finished and returning home for a bit change? I have seen the tool paths on some jobs being very short above the board while there are those I've seen that are rather tall.
Definitely. It's called your Z height or Z safe height and it's essentially how high the bit lifts above the material inbetween cuts. The smaller the number, the less time it takes
Hi Dean That's interesting can you please show the command for that test ? thanks
Perhaps there is something built-in that is limiting the settings? I stepped the 120 and the 121 all the way to 10000 for each, and neither one has jammed yet. This felt excessive based on the video, so I thought I'd check in before pushing it further and risking damage. This is my first system, and I haven't done a cut with it yet, as I want to ensure it is properly calibrated before moving on to the actual cuts.
I'm sure higher performance is better, but this doesn't feel right. Any thoughts on what the best course of action is?
There will be a maximum rate they will not go beyond but that will vary between different steppers. You'll probably find it's around 3000 or 4000. But it's great you've got it so high without any issues
Greetings to you from warm Uzbekistan! Absolutely like you for your work! I would like to ask you:
If I make acceleration settings like in your video, that is, I achieve the result that there will be a maximum acceleration without slippage
Will there be any problems with the machine? That is, I will make a control program in the program (aspire) and output it to the machine through a candle, I will not have any problems when milling? Acceleration settings will not affect the distance
I will be grateful for your answer! Yours sincerely, Evgeniy!
Great video. Have my machine running pretty good, BUT. Mine does not give the $30 setting for the spindle speed any idea how I can get it? I assume it would be a firmware thing which if that's the case then it's gonna stay how it is as I am too new to the cnc router cnc. Lol
Thanks James. I deleted my comment just as you replied I think. I just copied the GCode that popped up in the video into a text doc and it worked great.
@james dean designs, do you have a link to the test files you used to set the machine up, I can’t find a link below.
Many thanks
You need to expand the description area below the video and there will be a link to any files used int he video
james do you know the settings for my 500w spindle i upgraded my 3018,thanks
Nice work again, James! Your audio is a little bit low on this one but I always enjoy your videos!
Thanks for the feedback 👍 I recorded two separate audio tracks, I think the other one was louder but seemed to have picked up more background noise so I used this one but maybe should have pumped it up a bit
Just tuned up my machine using all your setting. Its like a different machine now. All settings seemed to work good using your test and logo. However about 3/4 through my first carve I started losing steps on the Y-axis. Guess I'll have to slow them down a bit more. Great video though!!!
One thing I didn't mention in the video (and really should have) is the settings do typically have to come down a little but more when the machine is under load but glad it helped 👍
okay, I changed my spindle speed to 12000 I got an "ok" but it never changed when I did the $$ to see if it had changed. tried this many times. BTW you never did the $$ to check when you did changed the speed. Are you sure it took? My speed stays at 1000. any suggestions?
Hello, while processing the g-code file I created with UGS in CNC, the CNC axes go to the place they need to go very fast when the carving work of a point is finished and trying to go to a different point (idle acceleration), which causes tooth skipping and the coordinate is distorted. I wonder if I need to adjust the grbl settings or the g-code file to reduce the speed of the axes in these transitions (idle speed).
Hi James nice work. I have little issue with jog control they are going wrong directions any fix for that?
or setting i am new to the candle and grbl I have 2418 cnc with laser is also not working very low light?
It will be your $3 setting. If all of your axis are wrong try $3=5. Otherwise just work through changing the 5 to another number until your axis are correct. It only goes from 1-7 so doesn't take long
Hi James. I have had my new 3018 pro for a few weeks now and still can,t get the spindle to start. Today I looked at the commands and see that $30 /$31 and $32 are all missing of my software. How do I find them and put them in the software. Or do I just reinstall. Or is it a motherboard problem. Would love some help Cheers Anthony
James, You are my big source of information about CNC and Grbl.
did you spend time on "User Commands" in Candle? (Extras buttons I think) but how to use?
Thank you. User commands are just custom buttons that you can program. So for example when I use a Z probe I usually set it from about 20mm in diagonally, so I could create a custom button to always move it in 20mm every time.
Hello, I want to ask questions. How can I send you a small video. If you don't mind. To show my problem
Hi James, an excellent video as always. I have one problem on my machine. There is no $30 and $31 in my file, (spindle speed) If I try to add them from the console it errors. Is there a special way to add them. My spindle speed won't change from flat out.
Your GRBL firmware is out of date. You need to be on at least 1.1f and you're probably on 0.9. Just Google upgrade GRBL firmware and you should see some guides to do it. Fairly easy to do
James, I used this great video when I got my ProVer 3018 and it made a tremendous difference for my machine. Can the same basic concepts be used on the ProVer 4030 XL? Or do you have a different video? I searched but did not find one..
Principles are the same so yes you can. Just be careful with the 4030XL as they advise not to mess with the settings too much so make sure you take a copy before you start.
Does this need to be done if you're using something like Easel...
At about 2:15 you mention the first thing to do is open UGS. Where do I get UGS? Do I need to download somewhere? Your videos are great by the way!
UGS is the program I use to control the CNC machine. I talk about it on some of my earlier videos about getting started. Quite easy to use. You can do this video with other similar software though like Candle
Thanks for the great videos. Is there a way to use the probe in UGS? Thanks.
Yes there is, its quite easy. If you have a look through my list of videos there is a video for setting the Z probe up on the 4030 and the 3018. It shows you how to do it in both Candle and UGS
@@JamesDeanDesigns thanks
Can you do a video on making the bed for your 3018 pro? I am concerned about using mdf as it is so prone to warping and changing shape.
icant make perfect circle i chaned step drivers changed microsteps changed bed entirly.but still not solved. please help.
Hi 🙂
I have a problem with my cnc 3018pro
If i write on "Easel" 3mm deep, then carving just 1.5mm deep
It was everything good but now a few days making like this!
What's wrong now?
Thanks!
By any chance are you running your machine through Easel?
Where can I get a hold of the x,y & z test codes please?
All the codes used in the video are in a download link in the description area. There is usually a little down arrow just below the video which expands it.
Hi James. First I want to say thank you for your videos on the 3018. I don’t know where I’d be without them. However, I’ve run into an issue.
My spindle speeds don’t seem to go above 1000 rpm? In Easel, I tried 100, 500, 1000 rpm and measured the sound with a decibel meter. The speed/sound stops changing once you pass 1000 rpm. This is also the same speed when I use my offline controller and set spindle to 100%…
Any ideas? Thanks again.
To accurately test the RPM, you really need a tachometer. Regardless of the numbers you input into the software, the machine doesn't actually measure RPM, it only controls the power it inputs to the spindle. The reason I have explained that is because whilst you think its a 1000rpm, I suspect its actually likely to be closer to 10000 rpm which is around the maximum. Check you $30 setting, if its 1000, then when you put 1000 into Easel that basically means 100% power (so close to 10000rpm), 500 would be 50% power and so on. Now if your $30 is 10000 and you put 1000 into Easel, then that will be 10% power. What is your $30 setting?
@@JamesDeanDesigns Oh okay, so in easel I don’t actually put in the RPM’s? I put in the value between 0-1000? My $30 is at 1000. Thanks.
@@renewman28 exactly, think of it more of a power scale than exact RPM. If your $30 is 1000, then usually any RPM value you enter into your software about 1000 means it will run at maximum RPM so around 10,000.
Hi my son just got the same cnc he put it together with no problem . Did a move ment test with the little hand controller. He downloaded from the flash drive. Now he is stuck
How and where do you set the size of the wood.please help he got it for christmas and he has been trying to get it to work everyday
Check out something like my beginners guide to easel. its shows you how to create job and set the work size
I can’t change $27=1.000.. I fitted limit switches but the switches on the X and Y axis stay closed after it backs off so it sets the alarm. I have to manually wind them off the switches to be able to jog. I can’t change the $27 setting from 1.000 so it will back off further. It comes up with error 3 invalid command if I try to change and save it. Any ideas.,
Problem solved. The GRBL that came with the 3018 was crippled. Tried the files on the USB that comes with it, same problem. Downloaded the latest GRBL from GitHub and installed it an now all is fine.
Hey James I love these tutorial videos. I was wondering if you have any tips for setting up limit stops and using them to set a home position in the 3018 Pro.
Unfortunately I don't. I've never used limit switches. Probably the one area of these machines I can't advise on 😕
@@JamesDeanDesigns Thanks for the response James. Looking forward to see your 4030 review. Always preferred to have the head move and not the stock bed.
Look up Techydiy. He Also has some tutorials on this machine and he goes over setting hard limits and soft limits. I think it is the second one in his series.
@@GranjersGarage his videos are good 👍
Can you peck drill with the 3018 pro? Can you ramp in to cuts on depth cuts?
Yes you can do both as long as your software allows it. With noting though on a standard 3018 your depth of cut is going to be fairly shallow anyway unless cutting really soft material
James in the 3018 Pro -Tuning GBRL settings the test file (JD Designs test file.gcode) you use initially is not apparently included as a link in details below the video is it possible for you to provide please Regards Paul
Hi, Ive just tested it and once I download the zip file I can see it there. There are five files, Grahams guide, my JD test file and the X, Y and Z test files. Can you not see them in your download? Are you using candle rather than UGS by any chance?
ما هي نسبةالمناسبة للسرعة القصوى ونسبةالتسارع ونسبة سرعة المغزل المناسبة لأحسن نتيجة للMDF ولباقي المواد المختلفة كالبلاستك مثلا .. .وشكرا
Hello James, thank you for sharing this video, it helped tremendously.
Do the cut settings from Easel get over written by these settings? This part confuses me.
No, Easel (or any other software) just controls the feed rate for when its actually cutting but these settings are mainly about the free travel speeds which your software doesn't change
@@JamesDeanDesigns ah, that is what I thought but was doubting myself - Thank you James.
Do you know if it’s possible to cancel the z homing from the UGS homing cycle? (I only want X and Y to home)
Homing is a command within the control board configuration . You can adjust it but its not quite as easy as changing these settings.
This article as some useful links
github.com/grbl/grbl/issues/1297
@@JamesDeanDesigns thank you. Ended up buying more limit switches.
Another thing. In UGS when your running a program and press stop does your axis zero out?
i have a genmitsu 3020 and it does not behave like yours. its as if it has some kind of software speed limits? i can change from 100 - 500 %120 and get zero change in machine behavior
Really helpful, can't wait to adjust my settings.
What grbl software are you using? It looks better than the basic Candle grbl that came with my Sainsmart router.
Never mind, just found your video where you talk about using ugs
Hi Mr Dean, On my 3018 my spindle is coming on as soon as I turn the machine on. (I have a constant live 24v spindle output pin. Any ideas? Have I set a setting in the software so the spindle is on all the time? The only way to turn off the spindle is by pulling the plug from the wall... Cheers tutorials videos as always!
Hi Don. What control board do you have and has it always been like this?
@@JamesDeanDesigns Hi James, I have the camxtool v3.5 (the black one inside the pvc casing) and no it has always worked as intended (on off via software/gcode). I just can't remember if I changed a setting or not. Basically the spindle turns on as soon as I plug the socket into the wall. Any ideas? I was thinking a fried fet or relay on the board? I was checking with the expert (you!) before buying a new one, Cheers!
Is it possible to change my home point from the right top to the left top?
Do you know where one can download stl files for the 3018? Looking for the y-axis nut seat. Looked on Thingverse and Google search with no success. TIA
I dont. Might be worth asking on the Sainsmart user group on Facebook
When I try running the test programs, any axis goes straight to the limit switches. I have a SainSmart 3018Prover
have you set home on ngs to be in the middle of the work area?