Hey Everyone,
relatively new here. Trying to make a boat load of engraved coasters for a party. Does anyone know of an easy way to hold multiple coasters down or do a very easy simple change out to make the process move quickly? All coasters are already cut and shaped. I had set up 4 railings but they seem to shift slightly especially with putting coasters in and out constantly. Need another idea, any help is appreciated! Thanks!
cut pockets into a piece of mdf or other material the same size as the OD of the coasters. Create a vacuum fixture or make the pockets tight enough that the friction holds the parts in while engraving
Try double sided tape on the bottom?
@CaitlinDorgan. Use two bump stops. Clamp in place. Use the center as the x, y home position. Cut one, slide it out and slid new blank in. Use z probe. X,y already set. Carve. Here is a video
How to Turn a Free Vinyl Floor Tile Sample into a Coaster Set - YouTube
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I found the easiest way was double sided tape. I just change the tape every so often before it loses complete tackiness and it works incredibly! Highly suggest for someone doing repeatable cuts. Makes the entire process go quickly. I am currently working on 400+ coasters so an easy solution without having to clamp and unclamp and reclamp did the trick!
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Now another question, does anyone know how I can bypass the confirm material, confirm bit, confirm this and that and just jump to carve, carve, carve. Or do I have to go through those steps every time? Thats most time consuming!
If you download and use the Universal Gcode sender, you can just run the gcode from your file after setting up the machine. I haven’t used Easel for anything other than trying to learn a bit about it. UGS is a simpler version of more complex CAM, like Mach3, which is kind of a standard for home cnc users.
This is correct. After you set your zero position initially, you can just swap out your carved piece for a new blank (placed in the exact same position, of course), then hit “Run”.
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Entirely within Easel, no you cant bypass those steps.
You can export the gcode from Easel and run it from a different gcode sender like Universal Gcode Sender (UGS) where all you need to do it load the file and click “Play”.
Easel dont generate the actual gcode until it has verified bit diameter etc making those steps re-required. When you export gcode you have a finished file which can be re-used at your command.
You have three stages:
CAD - Design (in Easel, Fusion360, SketchUp etc etc)
CAM - Generation of tooling path, based on design and tool size (diameter, flat round tip etc)
CNC - Sending that file to the machine, this require a Sender program
Easel is a 3in1 suite, with its simplicity - but also with its limitations.
UGS is a different sender program which will make it possible to skip those 2nd stage steps.
Thank you very much for your answer! I will try it later today!