CNC Mill - ICP 4030 Induction Prompts

• Soft Metals - Aluminium, Brass work well
• Wax - Machining or Jewellery
• Plastics - Doesn’t work very well

Ferrous metals are not encouraged

• Wood
• Anything dusty

Nothing that can create an explosive atmosphere

• Power to the VFD is cut when the door is opened (except sometimes it doesn’t - always close the door and open it again to stop it)
• Hardware E-Stop cuts power to the VFD and stepper motors
• Software E-Stop - GPIO from button or internal LinuxCNC faults
• MDI (Manual Data Input) is disabled while door is open. Beware entered commands will run as soon as the door closes!

• Don’t touch the tool while it’s spinning
• Make sure hands are clear when jogging spindle
• Avoid touching chips or workpiece - they can be sharp
• Your workpiece may be very hot, wait for it to cool down before moving
• Wear eye protection - tools can shatter, avoid rubbing chips on fingers in eyes
• Always supervise the machine when in use. Never take your eyes off it when in motion.

Observe the machine, check it looks like it does on the wiki. Check nothing is obstructing the spindle or bed.

Turn on the main power. Wait for Raspberry Pi to boot, Login with details ….

Check that the cooling unit has started up and is reading a realistic temperature.

Click on “my_cnc” to start gmoccapy.

Disable the E-Stops hardware and software. Click software Power On. (Note screenshots on wiki)

Check the mill is clear of obstructions and click the home button. I

Demonstrate jogging axis with UI and pendant.

Discuss workholding, point to vice and other blocks in drawers. Note nothing is aligned with anything else. Do not assume vice has been aligned or is bolted down correctly.

Demonstrate clamping workpiece into vice.

Discuss using mechanical wobbler to indicate in the workpiece. Point out draw with tools including wobbler.

Emphasise: the wobbler does not like high RPM, take care particularly after the machine has already been used. The spindle speed will likely be set to the previous value, using the UI will hide the speed. Always use MDI to start spindle.

Demonstrate MDI interface with “M3 S300”

Demonstrate setting one axis. Allow the inductee to set another axis.

Remove wobbler

Explain tool touch off process - requires electrical conductivity etc.

Observe connections to spindle and touch off point.

Demonstrate UI tool-table and touch off.

Note occasional UI issues (point to MDI “M6 T1”).

Demonstrate indicating Z, using the paper trick.

Explain “running in air”, we will now load a program and run in air.

Observe USB sockets on the front panel of the machine, plug in USB.

Explain “this is linux”, advise there are two locations to commit to memory:

• “/media/…” Where USB sticks will arrive
• “/home/linuxcnc/” Where the “Documents” folder lives for your work

Linux CNC is relatively fussy, and expects programs to be terminated with “M2” which applications like FlatCAM don’t bother with. Consider loading your g code into another copy of LinuxCNC before coming to the space (see docker image on forum).

It’s a good idea to read the first lines especially and double check your Z-height setting agrees with what is expected in your code.

Observe the loaded g-code, identify initial Z-height.

Jog the tool well above the workpiece and set expected Z-height.

Cover e-stop and press go!

Observer tool moving in air, all okay to proceed to a real run.

Ask the first inductee to set Z-height with paper trick.

Cover e-stop, click go!

Explain it is usually a good idea to pause after start and dial the feed rate down if this is the first time running this program.

Emphasize the machine MUST NOT be left unattended.

Discuss chip evacuation

• Compressed air “Mist” coolant on “M7”
• Align nozzle to blow chips into free space if possible

Discuss lubrication

• WD-40 should be default choice
• Cutting oil lasts longer but impedes chip evacuation

Demonstrate pausing and using a toothbrush to remove chips.

Note when pausing machine the spindle will continue to spin and may be in contact with the workpiece. This can cause the workpiece to get very hot. If pausing for any length of time open lid to stop spindle

Emphasise “pause early”. Very easy to restart from a pause. If at all uncertain, hit pause and figure it out.

Avoid getting tired or distracted by other things in the CNC room.

Ensure every person being inducted has:

• Used the wobbler to set one axis
• Changed tool and set tool height
• Indicated the Z position with paper trick
• Started, paused, stopped a g-code program

Take care

• Workpiece will likely be very sharp
• Workpiece could be very hot
• Chips will be very sharp

Consider wearing gloves from the Biohack area to minimise the transfer of chips to your clothes.

Try to brush as much as you can using the CNC dustpan and brush. Then use the CNC shop vacuum cleaner. Consider wiping down with blue role if any lubricant has been used.

Click “home” to save the next user time. E-stop machine and exit gmocappy.

Shutdown the Raspberry Pi first before turning off machine power.