I was using a single flute cutter on a project cutting some countersinks for screw heads in Aluminum. I had previously drilled pilot holes in the part that I am working on. All the countersink holes were off in the Y+ direction by about a mm. I used the probe tool to centre the bit - tried it twice and had two different diameters and that may have thrown the milling out. The question is how to I get the exact centre of a one flute bit or other things I may have done wrong to give me the error?
Were you using a probe? If so don't probe X and Y with the bit - use an accurately measured rod (I use a turned 1/4" brass rod) and then probe Z with the bit. Alex.
Learning something new every day. I put a 3 flute bit into the router and re-ran the job. That is fixing up the error. Did you purchase your brass measuring rod? Rick
I purchased one of these and according to my caliper is dead on at 6.35mm. VERMONT GAGE 911225000 Class ZZ No-Go Pin Gauge Tol 0.00020 in 662631915445 | eBay That being said, you could do what Alex did and purchase brass rod. You can get it from a hobby store, measure it with a caliper and use that as the diameter for your probing routine. Amazon.com : brass rod
As follow-on question. Say I use a 1/4" rod for finding the centre. Then I replace the rod with a bit that has a slightly smaller diameter. Will that not make the part to be manufactured out of tolerance by the difference in diameters of the test rod and the actual bit used to produce the part?
No - X and Y workplace zero are set at the centre of the bit - your cam software allows for the diameter of the bit when you create the toolpath. So if you change bits during a job you only need to re-probe Z - X and Y remain the same. Alex.
