How To Use A CNC Router Machine For Beginners? - Operation Guide

The operation has always been a concern for many prospective customers. In everyone's impression, it's a fully automated machining equipment to make accurate cuts, and difficult to operate this high-precision CNC machine. So many people retreat before they understand and learn, fearing that they won't be able to use. In fact, CNC routing is a very complicated and cumbersome operation. As long as you learn it with your heart, it is easy to use for beginners, and there is nothing difficult to understand. Now STYLECNC will introduce the 5 operation steps in details as your reference. 

Step 1. Turn On to Start. 

1. Turn on the power of the control computer and monitor, and start the software 

2. Press the power switch. 

3. Turn on the spindle motor cooling water pump and check the cooling water flow. 

4. If the machine is turned on for the first time today, depress the handle of the lubricating oil injector once, and add lubricating oil to the lubricated part. 

5. Perform the mechanical origin return operation in the software, and eliminate possible collisions before the operation. 

6. Manually move each feed axis 1 to 2 back and forth within the full stroke. 

Step 2. Workpiece Clamping. 

1. Place the cushion material in the center of the workbench. 

2. Place the workpiece to be processed on the mat. 

3. Use at least 4 sets of pressure plates to fix the workpiece on the worktable. 

4. Check whether the workpiece is clamped firmly. 

5. Find the edge and set the workpiece origin: 

5.1. Move the spindle along the feed axis that accurately sets the origin until the tool will touch the workpiece. 

5.2. Start the spindle. 

5.3. Switch to single-step movement with step size 0.01mm or 0.05mm. 

5.4. Move in one step until the rotating tool touches the workpiece. At this time, a slight noise will be heard. 

5.5. Zero the workpiece coordinates of this axis or record the current machine coordinates. 

5.6. Move the axis to move the tool away from the workpiece, and pay attention to confirm that the moving direction is correct. 

Step 3. CNC Tool Changing. 

1. Disconnect the power to ensure that the spindle motor stops. 

2. Move the spindle to a position where it is easy to change the cutter, and place the soft material directly under the cutter to avoid damaging the cutting edge when the cutter falls. 

3. Fix the spindle with a small wrench, and turn the chuck nut clockwise (viewed from top to bottom) with a large wrench, taking care not to hit the cutting edge with the wrench. 

4. If you need to replace the chuck, unscrew the chuck nut and replace the chuck to remove foreign objects in the machine chuck and chuck nut. 5. Check whether the cutting edge of the router bit to be clamped is intact. 

6. Install the collet and nut on the spindle. 

7. Insert the router bit to be clamped into the hole of the chuck, as far as possible according to the actual situation (but the cylindrical part of the bit cannot be fully inserted), and tighten the nut by hand. This step cannot be reversed from the previous step: do not insert the bit before installing the nut on the spindle.

8. Tighten the nuts with two wrenches, being careful not to use too much force, and also being careful not to hit the cutting edge with the wrench. 

9. Confirm that the wrench is away from the spindle, and turn on the power. 

10. Set the router bit again and set the Z coordinate of the workpiece origin. 

Step 4. Start CNC Programming. 

1. Confirm the following work: 

1.1. The router bit is firmly clamped. 

1.2. The workpiece origin is set correctly, especially the Z coordinate of the workpiece origin after tool change. 

1.3. Workpieces are clamped firmly. 

1.4. The NC program is loaded correctly. 

2. Adjust the feedrate override to about 30% in the software and start the CNC programming. 

3. After confirming that there is no abnormal operation, adjust the feedrate override to the normal value. 

4. Someone must be on duty during operation. 

Step 5. Shut Down to Stop. 

1. Return to the mechanical origin. 

2. Remove the router bit and the chuck nut is allowed to stay on the spindle. 

3. Turn off the machine. 

4. Turn off the computer, this step can not be reversed with the previous step

How To Install And Use CNC Router Bits & Tools? - Tooling Guide

The installation and operation of CNC router bits is a very important task for accurate cuts. If the bits are not installed correctly, it will not only increase the wear of the bits, but also cause inaccurate accuracy and difficulty in routing. 

Therefore, sufficient attention must be paid. ICWCNC summarizes the following methods to install bits & tools correctly. 

1. Before installing the tool, check the wear of the bit first. If there are defects such as chipping or severe wear, replace the bit with a new one or use it after it is repaired to make accurate cuts. 

2. The relevant surface must be cleaned and wiped clean before installation, and the gasket and hole burrs must be carefully removed to prevent dirt and burrs from affecting the accuracy of the tool installation position. 

3. When clamping the tool with a washer, the two ends of the washer must be as parallel to each other as possible. If it is found that the bit is skewed after installation, the position of the washer should be adjusted to minimize the cumulative error of the washer. Until the router bit does not shake after driving. 

4. Straight shank milling cutters are usually installed with spring chucks. When installing, tighten the nut to make the spring sleeve shrink radially to clamp the shank of the milling cutter 

5. Installation of taper shank milling cutter: When the size of the taper shank of the milling cutter is the same as the taper hole at the end of the spindle, it can be directly installed in the taper hole and tightened with a tie rod. Otherwise, use transitional taper sleeves for installation. 

6. After the tool holder is inserted into the spindle, tighten the router bit with the tightening screw. It should be noted that the direction of rotation of the router bit must be consistent with the thread direction of the tie rod, so that the thread of the tie rod and the milling cutter can be connected more tightly during rotation, otherwise the milling tool may come out. 

7. Without affecting the routing, try to make the bit as close to the spindle bearing as possible, and make the hanger bearing as close as possible to the bit. If the bit is far away from the main bearing, a rack bearing should be installed between the spindle bearing and the milling cutter. 

8. When installing the bit, the key should not be removed. Because there is no key on the cutter shaft, if there is uneven force during milling or under heavy load cutting, the bit tends to slip. At this time, the cutter shaft itself bears great radial resistance and resistance, which will easily cause the cutter shaft to bend, and damage to the fixing gasket. 

9. After the router bit is installed, check all the related washers and nuts again to prevent loosening. And use a dial indicator to check the radial jump or end jump of the router bit to see if it is within the allowable range. 

10. After the tool axis shaft is removed, it should be hung on the rack to prevent the tool axis shaft from bending and deforming. Under special circumstances, when it needs to be stored horizontally, wood chips or soft items should be used to pad it to prevent scratches and deformation. 

How To Buy CNC Router Machines? - Buyer's Guide

You will meet various CNC router brands from all over the world when buying a CNC kit, and have no idea which brand is suitable for your business within your budget. You don't need to worry about this, ICWCNC will help you to make the right choice with any budget and customized requirements. ICWCNC will provide customers with a variety of practical and inexpensive machines. No matter what you think, you can make a final price and service comparison, which brand or supplier will be your ultimate choice, just get free quote from the merchants that fit your plans, you ultimately have to decide on your own needs. We integrate R&D, design, sales, manufacturing and service, and have an all-round 24/7 online & offline service system for pre-sale, in-sale, after-sales service and support. You can buy custom CNC routers with free designs from us. Compared with the local services near you, you can also get door-to-door service from ICWCNC. 

Troubleshooting 

In the use of a CNC router machine, you may be troubled with a variety of problems. How to determine why the machine does not work as expected? Let's list different problems and explain how to resolve them. 

Alarm Failure 

Over-travel alarm indicates that the machine has reached the limit position during operation. Please check according to the following steps: 

1. Whether the designed graphic size exceeds the processing range. 

2. Check whether the connecting wire between the motor shaft and the lead screw is loose, if so, please tighten the screws. 

3. Whether the machine and the computer are properly grounded. 

4. Whether the current coordinate value exceeds the value range of the software limit. 

Overtravel Alarm Released 

When overtravel, all motion axes are automatically set in jog state, as long as you keep pressing the manual direction key, when the machine leaves the limit position (that is, out of the overtravel point switch), the connected motion state will be restored at any time. 

Pay attention to the movement when moving the workbench The direction must be far away from the limit position. The soft limit alarm needs to be cleared to X, Y, Z in the coordinate setting. 

Non-Alarm Failure 

1. Insufficient repetitive processing accuracy, please check according to the second item of the first unit. 

2. The computer is running and the machine is not moving. Check whether the connection between the computer control card and the electrical box is loose. If so, insert it tightly and tighten the fixing screws. 

3. When the machine cannot find the signal when returning to the origin, check according to the second unit. The proximity switch at the origin is out of order. 

Output Error 

1. No output, please check whether the computer and the control box are well connected. 

2. Check whether the space in the settings of the routing manager is full, and delete the unused files in the manager. 

3. Whether the signal line wiring is loose, carefully check whether the lines are connected. 

Routing Failure 

1. Whether the screws of each part are loose. 

2. Check whether the path processed by yourself is correct. 

3. Is the file too large? 

4. Increase or decrease the spindle speed to adapt to different materials (usually 8000 to 24000). 

5. Loosen the tool chuck, turn the tool in one direction and clamp it, and put the bit upright, so as to avoid the routing object is not smooth. 

6. Check whether the tool is damaged, replace it with a new one, and restart work. 

Care & Maintenance 

The principle and structure of computer controlled router machines are similar. Through more than ten years of manufacturing, sales and after-sales of CNC machining, ICWCNC has summarized some experiences and hopes that those users who own CNC machines can do correct daily care and maintenance. 

Spindle - Core Parts 

1. Provide reliable lubrication adjustment: For the main shaft with oil-air lubrication, reliable and stable lubrication conditions should be provided for the main shaft. The lubricating oil injected into the oil-air lubricator needs to be filtered to avoid mixing of impurities and mixing of oil types. Regularly observe the amount of oil and add oil to avoid oil cut, and clean the filter element and filter screen regularly. 

2. Provide reliable cooling conditions: high-speed spindles usually have two methods: water cooling and air cooling: water cooled spindles need to regularly check the use of coolant and supply them in time; air cooled spindles need regular maintenance of the spindle air cooling system to avoid malfunctions. 

3. Strictly follow the operation manual to standardize the operation: the operator should have a basic understanding of the selected spindle and accessories, including the spindle's rated power, speed and other requirements, so that it does not exceed the rated power operation. Overload operation may cause the spindle The stuffy car and the stuck rotor cause serious damage to the main shaft, resulting in higher maintenance costs. Therefore, before using the spindle, be sure to read the manual carefully and perform standard operations. 

CNC Controller Box 

According to the dust in the working environment, clean the dust in the CNC control box regularly and timely. Note: The power must be cut off, and the operation can only be carried out after the inverter has no display and the main circuit power indicator light is off. For CNC machines, the inside of the computer should be cleaned. Excessive dust in the electrical box may cause the wire joints to ignite and cause a fire. Excessive dust in the computer will cause the computer to malfunction and signal errors will cause the machine to be misaligned. T

Transmission Parts 

The transmission parts include the guide rail rack and ball screw. Whether it is a rack machine or a screw machine, after using the machine every day, be sure to clean up the dust from all parts of the machine. The machine with automatic pump oil lubrication will automatically oil, check the guide is there any oil in the rack and screw part? It takes 3-5 days to manually pump oil once installed with a manual oil pump. For manual oiling machines, it is necessary to manually lubricate the guide rail rack and screw rod every 3-5 days. Note: The guide rail and rack must be maintained with engine oil; The screw part should be greased with high speed; If the working environment temperature is too low in winter, the rods and polished rods (square rails or circular rails) should be washed and cleaned with gasoline first, and then oil is added, otherwise it will cause excessive resistance in the transmission part of the machine and cause the machine to dislocate. 

Motor Drive 

At present, the drive motors of CNC machines are divided into stepping motors, hybrid servo motors, and pure servo motors. If abnormal noise is found in the machine during daily work, it must be shut down in time. Run the machine manually to find the source of the noise, and then contact the maintenance personnel or the manufacturer to repair or replace the motor in time.