Accessory Base with Handibot z-clearance

So I just got my handibot up and running after the update and have the accessory base. When I attach the handibot to the base, I started to check my Z-clearance and have found that I can't use the 0 position in the Y direction. If I leave it at zero - there is about .5 inches of the router that hits the edge.

Essentially, I have to set the Y zero to .5 in order to use the accessory base without crashing the tool. The X axis is close, but it does clear on both sides. If I set the Y axis to 8 - it will clear on the back end.

Is this the same for everyone or do I just happen to have a base on my handibot that is slightly off?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/09/2016 03:13PM by RS.

If I am following your post correctly then yes you loose some Y travel when you set the router down below a certain point. As a cure, you can either accept the loss of Y or use an extra long bit. Sometimes when using the powered 4th axis I have to do both.

Ok, makes some sense.

I was hoping to be able to index 8 inches at a time, but I will still be able to index 4 inches at a time. Seems a little silly - they could have made that rail .5 inches thinner and we could have full z-axis depth.

Still, it is usable, I will just have to re-think my plans a little. It's all a learning curve!

RS--definitely silly--who designed this piece of junk?!
In all seriousness though--I actually did think about it before making that choice. One bit of feedback that we got from owners of the original handibot was that the frame extended too far forward...meaning that there was a limit to how close you could get the cutter to an obstacle (like a wall). So I removed the front wall of the frame and stiffened the rest of the tool to compensate for the loss of that structural piece. I just didn't feel good about cutting away the front of the base plate. Cut quality really suffered on early handibots that didn't have a nice, rigid base plate. So I made it as thin as I could while still keeping those 4 front mounting holes in place (important for accessory design, so that new stuff will still work for old handibot owners).
Looking back--I could have lived with a fatter front in exchange for more clearance below...
With the current design--you could cheat a bit of extra travel out of your Y axis by removing the metal tab that the z zero clip usually lives on. That plate does three things--it provides a resting spot for that clip, ensures that the wire guide for the Z axis will never get in the way of the Y motor, and it provides the hard stop against which the Y axis finds its home position. Removing it would allow the Y axis to travel farther forward by just a hair...perhaps that may be enough?

O.K. - Just got the rotary axis all hooked up and working. When I use V-carve and set up a rotary toolpath, then go to export it, I'm using the ShopBot(indexer)(inch) setting.

When I try to use the file in fabo, I get an error. If I export the file with normal shopbot settings, it runs great. Is this a post-processor issue or is there some macro I'm missing?

Thanks!

FYI, the error is:

An Error Occurred!
Expected "$", "%", "&", "(", ":", "\"", [ \t], [A-Za-z0-9_], [^,\n"], [a-zA-Z_], end of input, float or integer but "," found. (Line 13)

I've been exporting indexer toolpaths and trying to figure out what might be causing this issue...but I can't see what it might be...Could you post what line 13 looks like in your code? You should be able to open it up in notepad or a similar program.

Here are the first several lines of code:

'Rounding Toolpath
'File created: Sunday October 16 2016 - 02:52 PM
'For ShopBot Control: SB3 Alpha from Vectric
'
'UNITS:Inches
'
'Set router RPM to 12000
PAUSE
'
'
'Turning router ON
SO,1,1
PAUSE,2
'
VD,,5
&Diameter=1.5000
&FeedRate=1.7
&RotationalFeedRate=&Feedrate/(&Diameter*3.14159/360)
MS,1.7,0.5
VS,,,,&RotationalFeedRate
JZ,0.5107
J5,,0.0000,,,0.0000
J5,,0.0000,0.5107,,51.5925
M5,,0.0000,0.2071,,51.5925
M5,,5.0000,0.2071,,51.5925
M5,,5.0000,0.2071,,50.1275

RS,

looks like that comma in the "PAUSE,2" line is what is causing the problem. Not that you should ever have to worry about this...but the syntax for a pause is just PAUSE and the number--so in this case "PAUSE 2"
When I tried processing it in my copy of vcarve it didn't put that comma in there. I'll track down the correct postprocessor and put it up online for people to grab if they need it.
In the meantime you should be able to just delete the comma, save the file and run it.

Brian

ok, I'll give it a try.

FYI, I had a copy of V-carve pro prior to purchasing a handibot - I would assume the output would be the same though? I haven't downloaded/used the handibot specific version.

The handibot version is identical to the shopbot version so you should be fine.

I've put a more up to date post processor online here for download: [workbench.grabcad.com]