holding down the shift key as you push the
arrows. If it does bind, you will have to
loosen all the fasteners and start again.
Z Carriage Tuning
Move the Z carriage shown in Figure
9 up and down several times. Move it to
the top, and using a Phillips screwdriver
and 3/8” wrench, tighten the two screws
(Figure 10) holding the Z drive nut in
place. Tighten all the screws securing the
carriage to the bearing trucks. Once
tightened, move the carriage up and down
a few more times to make sure it does not
bind. Tighten all the screws on the Z motor
mount and run the Z carriage up and
down one more time. If it binds, loosen
the screws and repeat the process.
Break-in
It’s time to run some G-code and put your machine
through its paces. This will break-in the machine and show
any failure points before you add more components to it. I
do this procedure to all my CNC machines. From the
smallest CNC router to the largest CNC plasma, they all are
broken in this way. Before starting, you need to set the
machine’s home position. This is done by placing the X, Y,
and Z in predetermined positions and zeroing out each axis
in Mach3.
Zero X
To zero the X axis, jog (move) the X carriage all the
12 SERVO 12.2016
Figure 10
Figure 13
Figure 9
Figure 11
Figure 12
