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information
Customers from the U.S. / Canada
& Mexico
STEPCRAFT Inc.
59 Field Street, Rear Building
Torrington, CT, 06790
United States
Phone 001-203-5561856
Email info@stepcraft.us
Operating and safety instructions
All instructions, warranties and other collateral documents are subject to change at the sole discretion of
STEPCRAFT, Inc. For up-to date product literature, visit www.stepcraft-systems.com for customers from Europe
or www.stepcraft.us for customers from US / Canada / Mexico and click on the service & support tab for this
product.
Age Recommendation: For advanced handcrafters ages 14 and above. This is not a toy.
SAVE ALL WARNINGS AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.
Should you encounter any doubts or require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us
before commissioning of the power tool. Our contact details can be found on the front page of this
manual.
Work area safety
NOTICE
Keep work area clean and well lit. Cluttered or dark areas invite accidents.
NOTICE
Store the Touch Probe out of reach of children and other untrained persons. Injury can occur
in hands of untrained users and the unit can be damaged if mishandled.
Electrical safety
The Touch Probe's cable must be plugged into the correct positions on the main circuit
board of the Stepcraft CNC. Failure to use the correct screw terminals on the circuit board
can result in board failure.
Personal safety
Stay alert, watch what you are doing and use common sense when operating a Touch
Probe on the Stepcraft CNC. Do not use a Touch Probe or the Stepcraft CNC while you are
tired and / or under the influence of drugs, alcohol or medication. A moment of inattention
while operating the Stepcraft CNC may result in serious personal injury.
NOTICE
All persons who operate the Touch Probe must have read and fully understood all relevant
operating instructions. Misunderstandings may result in damage to the device or personal injury.
NOTICE
Dress properly. Do not wear loose clothing or jewelry. Keep your hair, clothing and gloves
away from moving parts. Loose clothes, jewelry or long hair can be caught in moving parts.
Tool use and care
Store idle Touch Probe out of the reach of children and do not allow persons unfamiliar with
the Touch Probe or these instructions to operate the unit. The Touch Probe is a very sensitive
device and can easily be damaged if mishandled.
Do not alter or misuse tool. Any alteration or modification is a misuse and may result in the device
not working properly or even personal injury.
NOTICE
The Touch Probe is designed to be used as a system-guided attachment and must be
operated in a CNC router. Stepcraft is only selling the Touch Probe to be used as a system-guided
attachment.
When using the Touch Probe, always have the work piece securely clamped. Never attempt
to hold the work piece with your hands while using device.
IMPORTANT: Read before using!
NOTICE
General Touch Probe safety warnings
Call for consumer
information
Customers from outside the U.S.
STEPCRAFT GmbH & Co. KG
An der Beile 2
58708 Menden
Germany
Phone: 0049-2373-1791160
Email: info@stepcraft-systems.com
1
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Summary of Contents for STEPCRAFT Touch-Probe
- Page 1 All instructions, warranties and other collateral documents are subject to change at the sole discretion of STEPCRAFT, Inc. For up-to date product literature, visit www.stepcraft-systems.com for customers from Europe or www.stepcraft.us for customers from US / Canada / Mexico and click on the service & support tab for this product.
- Page 2 3D object such as an .stl file. This file can then be loaded into the Stepcraft CNC and be used to carve and object to create a duplicate model. The Touch Probe can also be used to scan an uneven surface to allow the Stepcraft CNC to cut, carve, or engrave along that uneven surface, i.e.
- Page 3 The Touch Probe was designed to work with a Stepcraft CNC running UCCNC software. The Touch Probe can be used with other CNC systems and software but Stepcraft would not be able to support such installations. The installation software that comes with the Touch Probe will install several macros and a new screen set for UCCNC.
- Page 4 INSTALLING THE TOUCH PROBE TO THE STEPCRAFT TOOL HOLDER There are two basic ways that you can install the Touch Probe to the Stepcraft CNC machine; using the 20mm to 8mm Tool Adapter (P# 10120 - $14.99) with the 43mm to 20mm (Proxxon) Tool Adapter (P#10107 - $19.99) or you can use an 8mm collet in your spindle and mount it like you would an end mill.
- Page 5 8mm Collet (P# 1427 - $14.99) into the collet nut and screw the collet nut back onto the shaft of the spindle. STEP 2 – Insert the Spindle on the orange tool holder on the Stepcraft CNC System and secure by tightening either the bolt or Quick Release Knob (if equipped).
- Page 6 Verify on this screen that your machine model is listed. In this example, I have “300 model” listed because I am installing on a Stepcraft 2/300 machine. Click “Next” Proceed. Please read and accept the agreement and then press the “Next” button to continue.
- Page 7 Using the Touch Probe to locate points on an object The Stepcraft Touch Probe adds several new functions to your Stepcraft CNC System including the ability to find the center of holes, the edges of objects, allowing machining along a curved surface and 3D scanning of objects.
- Page 8 The machine will start moving the Touch Probe to the top and bottom of the circle and then left and right followed by the top and bottom again. When the macro is finished running, the Touch Probe will end in the EXACT center position of the circle.
- Page 9 You will be prompted with a window asking for the width (X-axis) in mm (millimeters) of your inner rectangle. The machine will move the touch probe in the Y-axis to touch off the top of the inner square/rectangle and then touch the bottom.
- Page 10 You will be prompted with a window explaining what function will be performed. You will be prompted to enter the diameter of the circle in mm (millimeters) The machine will start moving the touch probe to the top and bottom of the circle and then left and right followed by the top and bottom again.
- Page 11 You will be prompted with a window explaining what function will be performed and where to place the Touch Probe before beginning. You will be prompted with a window asking for length (Y axis) in mm (millimeters) of your outer rectangle. You will be prompted with a window asking for the width (X axis) in mm (millimeters) of your outer rectangle.
- Page 12 At this point you can simply replace the touch probe with a spindle and begin your milling/cutting/carving operation as the X and Y zero positions are set. NOTE: You will need to set your Z-zero when you switch to a spindle with an end mill.
- Page 13 Using the Touch Probe to 3D scan an object Another use of the Stepcraft Touch Probe is scanning the surface of an object to obtain a 3D Point Cloud that can make a 3D representation of the object for milling, 3D printing, or for redesign it.
- Page 14 Next, draw a box with the measurement of your object width (X value) and length (Y value) and add 15mm on each value for safe enclosure of the scan. Center this box in your work area. Make a 2D profile tool path of this box. You can select any end mill setting since we are not actually cutting. Also set your spindle speed to zero to prevent the spindle from turning on.
- Page 15 Then, move the probe to the far left of your object and probe the left edge of it . The machine will zero the X- axis coordinate. Move the probe on top of the highest part of your object and probe the Z height by clicking this button .
- Page 16 OBJECT SCANNING In UCCNC, open the box tool path you made before with the Vectric Software and bring the AutolevelerCA Plugin window back to the front by clicking on it. The settings to change on the AutolevelerCA plugin are as follows: Probe Clearance: Distance in mm to move the probe up from the Z zero Point (safe distance from your object, use a minimum of 10mm) Probe Depth: Maximum distance in mm to move the probe down on Z, the probe will stop when it reaches this...
- Page 17 Once you set the desired values for the different options, press the “Create GCode and send to UCCNC” button to generate the Scan Point Matrix tool path and send it back to UCCNC Press the DIGITIZE ON button. A window will popup indicating that the point digitizing recording has started and the green indicator will turn on.
- Page 18 After installing MeshLab on your computer, open the software and select IMPORT MESH under the File Menu. Select the Point Cloud file that you created with UCCNC and change the option “Separator Between” to a “,” (comma) symbol and press OK. You will now see the point cloud of your object on the screen.
- Page 19 From the Filters menu, select “Remeshing, Simplification and Reconstruction” - “Surface Reconstruction: Ball Pivoting”. Using your mouse, move the popup window so you can see your object in the background and turn on the “Delete Initial Set Of Faces” option Starting with a value of 1 on the “perc on (0,, 124,603)”...
- Page 20 Engraving a Tool Path on a irregular surface One of the many uses of the Stepcraft Touch Probe with the conjunction of the AutolevelerCA plugin it’s to project a tool path to any kind of irregular surface. This method is useful for milling PCBs that requires an accurate leveled surface or to engrave a tool path into a curved or irregular surface.
- Page 21 MAKING THE ENGRAVING TOOLPATH Open your Vectric software, and setup your document to make your engraving with the measurements that you obtained from your material. You can select any corner or the center of your material as the zero point for the engraving.
- Page 22 You will get a window with the legend “Probe Zero Machine Value: xxx.xxx” Write down this value as a Material Zero Point. This will be important later, when finding the offset between the Stepcraft Touch Probe and the end mill for the engraving process. NOTE It’s very important to write down the “Probe Zero Machine Value: xxx.xxx”...
- Page 23 Touch Probe or personal injury. OBTAINING THE OFFSET VALUE BETWEEN THE STEPCRAFT TOUCH PROBE AND THE ENDMILL After the scan of the surface its finished, its ready to start the engraving process. This will mill the engraving into the surface material according to the irregularities or curves that were found on the scanning.
- Page 24 Draw a small circle as a reference point and move the Touch Probe on top of this circle. Probe the Z height of the probe and you will get a window with the legend “Probe Zero Machine Value: xxx.xxx”, write down this value as a Reference Touch Probe Zero.
- Page 25 NOTE If you press CYCLE STOP in any moment of the offset procedure or after its finished you will lose the scanning values already made and you need to start all over again. After the engraving is finished, the machine will stop, now you have sucessfuly achieve engraving a Tool path on an irregular surface...
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