Billy Posted September 20, 2018 Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 Hi all New to the forum and I have a very annoying problem that I hope someone can help with... We've recently started doing in house engraving. Everything has been going fine, but I've been trying to practice on watch cases. The problem is that I set up the plate, use the point and shoot circle feature, which creates a nice circle for me. I enter text inside the circle (lines of text of going around the inside of the circle) and test the path. The laser pointer draws the circle perfectly and the text looks to be in the right place. However, when I delete the circle and actually engrave the text, it's off centre by about 5mm, always to the left. I don't understand why the machine gets confused between the test and the actual engraving. It's driving me crazy and any help would be greatly appreciated! Image attached for reference. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamparker Posted September 20, 2018 Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 Practice with dog discs it is a cheaper option if it goes wrong. If you put what machine/software you are using then i am sure someone on here will be able to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Posted September 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 I'm using the inside of cases that have already been used for testing, so no problems there. I'm using the Gravograph M20J with Gravostyle 7. Can't believe I forgot to mention that! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Posted September 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 Just an update: Had to do an order for a customer on a straight bar. Laser test was fine, but the engraving was off to the right. Having to send of for a replacement item so we can try again! So it's not just a circle thing. The machine is engraving to the right of where it should be by about 3-5mm every time! Any help would be appreciated! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hibsjo(SCO) Posted September 20, 2018 Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 reset the origin carry on! Billy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petercoulson Posted September 20, 2018 Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 I don't know the M20J but I do know with other Gravo machines there is a way to re centre the diamond in the start up cycle have you tried anything like that? I found a user manual and p28 explains the adjustments to be made http://gravo.dk/User manuals/GTM20eng.pdf Billy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beware Posted September 20, 2018 Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 You need to clamp something in the centre of the machine that you can line the cutter and red pointer against. New machines come with a metal disc with a hole in and a black plastic crosshair. Turn the machine off and on to ensure it's clear. Hold the orange pause button and press the left arrow button. Release the buttons when it starts moving. It will move out to the centre. You can use the arrow keys to move it to line up with your centre mark. You can press Z then down to move the cutter down to see better. If using the supplied metal disc try to get your diamond to go through the hole. When you're happy the diamond is centred, press and hold the tick button. The red pointer will come on and move to the centre. You can use the left and right arrow keys to align left right. Up down needs to be done physically. You can slightly rotate the plastic box o. The side of the head. When happy press and hold tick. Test. Billy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beware Posted September 20, 2018 Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 Quick method (only line red pointer up with spindle) : Clamp some metal Orange plus left, then press z and down to make a diamond mark Hold tick until red eye comes on and moves. Align red pointer with mark previously made. Press and hold tick. NB: this method is fnine if you always point and shoot but it is recommended to ensure the machine is properly aligned. If you have no centring tool, use black or wood ruler jigs and close them to make a centre Y line. Place ruler across the 0 marks for centre X line. Billy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Posted September 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2018 On 9/20/2018 at 6:33 PM, beware said: You need to clamp something in the centre of the machine that you can line the cutter and red pointer against. New machines come with a metal disc with a hole in and a black plastic crosshair. Turn the machine off and on to ensure it's clear. Hold the orange pause button and press the left arrow button. Release the buttons when it starts moving. It will move out to the centre. You can use the arrow keys to move it to line up with your centre mark. You can press Z then down to move the cutter down to see better. If using the supplied metal disc try to get your diamond to go through the hole. When you're happy the diamond is centred, press and hold the tick button. The red pointer will come on and move to the centre. You can use the left and right arrow keys to align left right. Up down needs to be done physically. You can slightly rotate the plastic box o. The side of the head. When happy press and hold tick. Test. Thank you! This solved my left-right issue. However, I'm not seeing how to get the forward-back aligned. The laser pointer is probably about 1mm further forward than where the engraving actually happens and I'd like to get it exact if I can. You mentioned that I can "slightly rotate the plastic box o" but I'm not sure what this means. Could you elaborate please? Thanks for all the other comments too. All very helpful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beware Posted September 25, 2018 Report Share Posted September 25, 2018 The red pointer needs physically moving on the y axis. If you look on the left of the spindle the red pointer comes out of the bottom of a plastic box. Usually there's enough play to rotate it by hand until the red pointer is lined up. If there is no play you need to take the cover off the box and loosen the internal screws for adjustment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beware Posted September 25, 2018 Report Share Posted September 25, 2018 8 hours ago, Billy said: Thank you! ... You mentioned that I can "slightly rotate the plastic box o" but I'm not sure what this means. Could you elaborate please? Mobile phone typing. "Plastic box on the side" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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