I use the CNC for repetitive processes that I repeat once a month or so. I want to remake my jigs based on some cool new ideas and wanted to double check if they are appropriate for this machine.
I’d like to make a jig that has 1 inch wings on the front and sides so that the whole thing will slot on top of the cnc bed, like putting a lid on a box. This would mean that the jig is always installed at the same location every time. And if the location is always the same, I could set the program to corner datum and use the homed position as my X and Y. That would mean the only manual calibration I’d need to do is set the Z axis off the material.
The jig would slot on kind of like this, probably not with wings all the way around. I’m thinking 10 inch wide, 1 inch tall wings. I measured the CNC and the wings wouldn’t touch any part of the CNC table, only the spoilboard.
Before I create the new jigs I wanted to double check that this idea would work. @dannym what do you think?
- Is the homed position reliable? Is there any reason the homed position would move or change?
- I would need to surface the spoilboard once to confirm it’s level. I wouldn’t need to surface it every time I use these jigs just once to make sure the current spoilboard is generally flat. Are there any objections to me surfacing the spoilboard one time?