I’ve noticed that after I zero using the AutoTouch, it sets the Z to +1.00 off the surface, which I’m sure is to allow you to jog the machine without marring the surface.
I’ve found that when I set the Z-zero position in Aspire off the material surface, and then machine the job, it doesn’t quite accurately cut all the way through a lot of time. I understand that there is some variation in the material thickness, but I find I have to either re-cut the job with Z set -0.5mm lower on the regular, or I have to just plan ahead and lower the Z myself and re-set the zero at that point so it cuts through clean.
Is it better practice to zero off the bed or off the material?
@KnightcraftCustom I believe that this is one of those questions that you put to 10 people and get 11 answers.
Your experience can result from a spoilboard that is not at the same height across its entire surface or material that is not of uniform thickness. Since we are talking .5mm here, neither has to be off by much at all.
As you have seen, you can always tell Aspire to cut deeper than the thickness of the material. This will chew up your spoilboard, but it will ensure that you cut all the way through. (If you choose to do this, and if you are using tabs, be sure to take the added depth into account when you set your tab height or you could find that you cut right through the tabs. Been there, done that.)
The other option is to zero off the spoilboard/machine bed. This will ensure that you cut through the material without trashing your spoilboard.
The downside to this process can occur with projects that have both pockets and cut throughs. Pocket toolpaths are best done by zeroing off the material surface since it is from the surface that the pocket depth is measured.
You can get around this in a couple of ways that you likely already know about so I won’t bore everyone to death even more than I already have.
