noob question

[ramos96]

Hi all,

I have a noob question, how do I know where to place my material on the bed of the Shapeoko? Example: like if I want to engrave on a particular item

Humbly,
Roo

[daveczrn]

Well you are going to need to do a little math. If you drill mount holes for whatever your using to hold the part you just need to measure the distance from the mount to where the part will be in the fixture. Otherwise it will be trial and error.

[Improbable Construct]

It all depends on how your CAM software handles part placement.
I like to use a center start point, where X=0, X=0 in in the center of the material
I started using the lower left as you look at the machine as 0,0 but I found it hard to set up.
Now I just mark an X across the center of my material and zero it to that.

[Aaron Seltzer]

Wherever you reset your GRBL is 0,0,0.

When you CAD up your design, you can set the coordinates where you want. For some things I like the lower left hand corner, for some the middle of the work piece.

So, look at your design, figure out where it is going to move to, move the shapeoko to the origin, and hit "reset". Then start spooling your commands.

Does that makes sense? Just doen't start in the lower left corner on a design that starts in the middle! (Trust me - been there, done that.)

[ramos96]

Thanks all!!! I havent started to do my build yet as I havent been home very much since I received my kit (#260). I am hoping to get started on it before the end of October. So I decided to follow Mr. Ford's advice and start learning all the different things that I can while I am waiting. My thing is how to learn to do the files, I think most people are using sketchup or inkscape to get started. Next I need to research and find end mills since I couldnt afford the premium kit originally :/

Humbly,
Roo