Maintenance Note: If serial number of machine is before ##, you’ll need to swap a couple of wires before using the rotary axis: Green and Blue (ref images)

Install dovetail plate with single rotary axis (in A configuration) with rotary vise and plug in A-Axis to front D-Sub connector.

Here’s what we’re going to do:

[Clip from rotary vise video explaining the probing strategy]

Clamp piece of stock in the rotary vise. A square and flat piece of stock approximately 5mmX60mmX60mm is ideal, but anything in this range will work. Make sure the stock can rotate without hitting the dovetail plate or any of the tools on the turret. 

[Picture of the stock set up in the rotary vice here]

Before beginning this procedure, make sure the machine is displaying your “WCS Position,” not “Absolute Machine Position” (Note, click on the text to toggle between these two)

[Either link to setting up WCS coordinates and/or talk about setting up the WCS for rotary printing]

Press “Home A.”  The A-axis should move to the endstop and back to where the part is approximately level. 

Activate a new coordinate system (for example G55) and set all offsets in this coordinate system to zero. 

Level the part by probing multiple places in Y. To do this, use the   button in the probing section of the offsets page.  Probe down at the first point in positive (Y = 30 for this example). Press the “Set to Current Value” button for the Z-work offset in the G55 coordinate system.     

Jog up 5mm in Z, jog to the second point in negative Y (Y=-30 for this example). Use the   button to probe down in Z. 

Make note of the current Z value. Divide that number by 2. The result is the value you’ll want to see when you probe each side. Now jog up out of the way.  Jog the A-axis using small increments and repeat the previous steps to check level. When the part is level and the probe is in contact with it, press the “Set to current value” button for both the A-axis and Z-axis work offsets in G55.

Jog up in Z until there is plenty of room to rotate the part 180 degrees. Jog the A-axis 180 degrees. Probe down in Z on the opposite side of the part. Check the probed value. Divide that number by 2. This is how far you need to move the part in the vise to center it on the A-axis. Do this by slightly loosening one side of the rotary vise and tightening the opposite side. (Note: one full revolution of the vise thumb screw will move the part 0.7mm.) Repeat this process until the part is centered. 

Now we’ll find the A axis centerline in the Y direction

Jog the machine in the positive Y direction until the probe is past the edge of the part. Then jog down until the ball of the probe stylus is approximately on the midline of the part edge. Probe in the negative y direction using . 

Jog up in Z until there is plenty of room to rotate the part 180 degrees. Jog the A-axis 180 degrees.  Jog the machine in the negative Y direction until the probe is past the edge of the part. Then jog down until the ball of the probe stylus is approximately on the midline of the part edge. Probe in the positive y direction using .

Make note of the current Y-Value (Y = -77.92 in this example) Divide this number by 2. The result is where you want to jog the machine to set the Y-axis offset. First jog up in Z 50mm, then move to the centerline (Y = -38.96 in this example). 

Pro tip: By right clicking on the jog buttons you can change their increment. Use, 0.01mm increments for accurate results).

Press the Y-axis offset ”Set to current value” button in G55. Your Y-value for your current position should now read zero. So, we have our A-axis centerline in Y.

Now, finding the centerline location in Z is easy.  If we jog the A-axis to 90 degrees, we know that the point on the part that we have probed in Y, will be facing up in Z and as long as we haven’t moved our x or y axes, we will be directly above it. So, probe down in Z using  button. 

Now we know what this current Z-value should be based on our probing operation in Y. The value should be ½ the difference between the two probed y-points minus the radius of the probe (38.96 - 1 = 37.96 in this example). So now we manually adjust the Z-offset in G55 until our Current value in our machine status section reads the correct value (37.96 in this example).

With the A-axis centerline location known, we can attach the C-axis. To do this, first remove the rotary vise from the A-axis and jog the unit to A = 0.  Attach the C-axis and counterweight. 

Maintenance Note: If serial number of machine is before ##, you’ll need to swap a couple of wires before using the rotary axis: Green and Blue (ref images)

[Add clip of 5th Axis hardware video for instructions on attaching C to A using 4 to 5 plate and Counterweight]

After installing the C-axis and counterweight, 

Open the config.g file in Settings>System Editor and change the motor idle factor to 90% (I90). Click “Yes” to allow the controller to reboot.

Click “Home All” to home the machine and jog in X and Z to give the rotary axes clearance to rotate fully (max travel in +Z and in -X). 

Reactivate G55 mode. Home the A-axis and jog to A = 0. 

First we will roughly find the center of the C-axis by probing the ID. Jog the probe down into the center of the C-Axis faceplate so that the ball of the probe stylus is ~2mm below the top surface. Press the “Find center of cavity” button. Set your X-axis work offset in G55 mode to the current value (ONLY X AXIS, DO NOT CHANGE Y) .

Before we can accurately find the centerline of the C-axis in x and y coordinates we need to make sure that the C-axis is level (aligned with Z) when the A-axis is at zero.

To do this, we will follow the same procedure as we used to level the aluminum plate clamped in the vise of the A-axis. Probe the down in Z on the faceplate of the C axis at Y=35 and Y=-35 and make note of the Z values. Note: It is helpful to jog the C-axis to C = 60 before this step to make sure you touch a flat area of the C-axis faceplate. 

Once you have leveled the A-axis, press the “Set to Current Value” button for your A-axis in G55 mode. Now move jog back to the center of the C-axis and use the “Find Center of Cavity” cycle again. Check the value of your Y current position. It should read zero. If it does not, you will need to adjust the dovetail clamping blocks of the C-axis in order to move the centerline in the correct direction. Then repeat the above steps. Do this in ½ turn increments, loosening one side and tightening the other. The axis assembly will move 0.25mm with every revolution of the clamping screws. 

Note: This is a time consuming process, but to get accurate parts, it is critical that the A and C axis centerlines intersect.

[picture of the setup showing explaining/showing what the centerlines are]

Once you have the Y-value reading zero with the A-axis level, you are good to go with 5th axis operations with the collet holder or print bed.

If you are using the rotary vise, you have one last work offset to define: the C-axis work offset. To do this, clamp a flat piece of stock in the rotary vise and probe along it in x. Jog the C-axis until the probed points read the same X value, then click the “Set to Current Value” button for the C-axis in G55 mode.