About the 3 Gcode programs

● The project requires you to run all 3 programs, 1001, 1002 and 1003.
● You need to run them in that order.
● They all use the same datum offset position, which is in the center of the stock for the X
and Y axis and on the top of the stock for the Z axis.

Program 1001 requires a 1/8” or 3mm flat bottom end mill.

This will mill most of the shape inside the boundary.

Program 1002 requires a 1/16” or 1.5mm flat bottom end mill.

This will finish the smaller areas that the 1/8 endmill was too big to remove in program 1001.
For Program 1003, switch back to a 1/8” or 3mm flat bottom end mill.
This will cut the outside profile.
General Notes for the G Code Files
The G code was programmed with the goal of being able to run on a 3018 cnc engraving
machine. These machines are the ‘lowest common denominator’, meaning, if the programs can
be used on this machine, they can be used on any machine.

Depth of Cut
To work on the 3018 cnc the depth of cut for each pass was kept shallow and the feedrate used
was quite slow. If your machine is of better quality than a 3018, then the feedrate can be easily
increased using the ‘replace’ function available in your text editor of choice, e.g. notepad,
wordpad etc.

Spindle Speed
The spindle speed, (S1000) near the beginning of the program, can be changed to suit the
machine you are running. The 3018 software is a little unusual, it has a maximum spindle speed
of 10,000 RPM, but is controlled by using a percentage scale of 10 to 1000. 1000 being 100%
RPM (maximum) and 10 being 1% RPM (minimum). Therefore setting the spindle speed as
S1000 will tell the controller on the 3018 to run at 10,000RPM.

What Tooling is Needed?

The tools I used were the Genimitsu 1/8” end mill and the 1/16” end mill. They are from the set
shown in my G Code Example article.
These are for wood only, which is pretty much the only material the 3018 is capable of
machining.
Any similar diameter size tools can be used to get the same result, just use what you have on
hand as long as they are suitable for the material you are using. You can also use 3mm and
1.5mm if you own metric end mills. The Genimitsu cutters I used are labelled as metric on the
box, but when you measure them there is a mixture of both imperial and metric in the set!
What material did I use?
For the initial test run of the G code, I used MDF. It is very soft, so ideal for using with the 3018
Cnc. The size of the stock was about 5” X 5.5” square by 6mm thick. The 5.5” dimension needs
to be along the Y axis.
I programmed the outer profile to go deep enough (-.240”) to cut it out. If you don’t want to cut it
out, just use thicker material or set your Z axis zero above the part.
After the test run I switched to some finished wood stock from the local hardware store and was
pleased to see my 3018 handled it just as easily as the MDF.

How to run your programs, step by step

1, Set Your Machine’s Home Position

If your machine does not have limit/home switches its reference/home position will be at the
position it is at when switched on.
To reposition the home position, simply move the machine manually to where you want it to be,
then switch off your machine and switch it back on again.
Typically you will want the Z axis to be as far up as possible and the Y axis to be as far in the
positive direction as possible. Doing this will move your tool away at the end of the program to
give you access to the project you are milling.
For the X axis home position I typically have it as far in the positive direction as possible. There
are occasions when I move it to the center. I usually do this when I am using clamps that are
quite high and moving to its home position may hit a clamp. Moving my X axis home position
away from any clamps solves this problem.
Once you have set the home position it is important to leave it in the same place, at least until
you have finished running all the programs for your current project.
This will enable you to be able to switch off your machine in between programs and be able to
pick up where you left off and the programs will still match positions. This is why you home your
machine at the end of each program and make sure it is homed before you switch it off.

How to Manually Home your Machine

You can check out my Candle and Universal Gcode Sender tutorials for this information. You
simply set up a button with the commands to home your machine when needed, for example,
after setting your datum positions.
To home your machine using mach3 you have to type the commands into your MDI command
bar. This command can be recalled by using the up arrow key, but only during that session.

2, Holding Down Your Stock To The Table

Your stock needs to be 5” long in the X axis, 5.5” long in the Y axis and .236” (6mm) thick.

The final program (1003) will mill the outer profile and cut out the finished project if you use
6mm (.236”) thick stock. So the finished project needs to be held in place when it gets cut out.
To do this, tabs can be used or the part can be glued down.
I decided not to use tabs to hold it in place but to use super glue to hold the stock to a waste
board.
To do this simply cover your waste board and the back of your stock with masking tape and
apply superglue to one side and position it in place. The two layers of tape will be glued together
holding your part to the waste board.

When finished it can be separated using a thin tapered tool to peel the part from the tape.

If you decide to hold it down with clamps you will want to lift up your Z axis datum about .01”
(.25mm) for the last program (1003) and cut out the part by hand after the programs are done.
If you have a 3018 type engraver, one tip I have learned is to use a ½” (12mm) thick waste
board, this will lift the part up higher so you don’t have to extend your tool out as far. This helps
reduce some of the vibration and tool flex.
I used a piece of MDF for my waste board. I drilled 4 holes over the t-slots in the table and used
the clamps provided with my 3018 to bolt it to the table.
3, Set Your Datums
The X and Y datum positions are at the center of the stock, so simply put a pencil mark in the
center. The position does not have to be accurate because the stock size you are using will still
leave at least ¼” excess around the edges.

Load your first tool (⅛” endmill) and make sure it is extended out of your chuck far enough so
that it will reach the waste board.
Manually move the tool so that it is positioned over the center mark and move it down in the Z
axis so that it just touches the top. Use the incremental manual moves to do this, reducing the
step downs to .001” when you get visibly close.
Slide a piece of paper between the tool and the stock and move it about while stepping down in
small (.001) increments, you will feel it grab the paper when it gets close.
When in position Zero all 3 axes and then home your machine.

4, Run Program 1001

Now your machine is set up and the datums are set you can browse to find the first program
(1001) and load into your software. Check the tool paths using the visualizer and if everything
looks good, send the G code to the machine and it should run with no issues
You can take a look at the setup sheet for each program and it will show you the basic details,
such as the maximum Z travel, estimated run time etc.

5, Run Program 1002

Once the first program has finished you will need to remove the ⅛” end mill and load the 1/16”
endmill. Once loaded and tightened, you will need to reset the Z axis datum only.
Again, move the machine manually down to the top of the stock using incremental moves until
the new tool just touches the top surface.
Do not reset the X and Y axes, only the Z axis.
All this program does is remove the areas the ⅛” end mill could not reach. It will only run for
about 2 minutes.

6, Run Program 1003

Once program 1002 has finished you will need to remove the 1/16” end mill and reload the 1/8”
endmill. Once loaded and tightened, you will need to reset the Z axis datum only.
Again, move the machine manually down to the top of the stock using incremental moves until
the new tool just touches the top surface.
Do not reset the X and Y axes, only the Z axis.
If you did not use the tape and super glue method to secure the stock, you can lift the Z datum
up .01” (.25mm) so the end mill will not completely cut out the finished part.
After the machine has stopped, and if you used the glue method, the part can be separated
from the wasteboard with a joint knife or spatula or similar. I used a plastic trim removal tool.