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The CNC router is one of the most important tools we have in our shopas over 70% of our parts our manufactured on this machine. We will have two four Laguna routers, comprised of 3 IQ's and the Swift and IQ. The Swift has a larger work envelope and can fit sheets as big as 4 ft x 4ft, as well as a vacuum fixturing system. Two of the IQ's which we have are used for sheets and our third IQ operates only on box tubes. The Tube IQ will be outfitted with a tube jig for routering box tub. Their primary use case is cutting large sheets of aluminum or polycarb, and eventually box tube.. The two IQ's which are used for plates have a workspace big enough to fit sheets no bigger than 2ft by 4ft. The primary usage of these routers will be to manufacture Aluminum & PolyCarbonate sheets as well as Box tubes of various sizes. In addition to that we will also occasionally use the routers capabilites on wood and SRPP composite materials.
We also use a software called Vcarve to generate the Gcode required by the machine to run. In short, Gcode is the programming language for the machine (the same language as the 3D printers). These instructions tell the spindle where to move and when, to trace out the cuts that the machine needs to do.
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NEVER put any body parts in the path of any moving parts on the router, ESPECIALLY the spindle. The End mill is spinning at around least 18,000 RPM and will easily cut through anything in front of it. While running a job, the machine might also make fast slewing movements in a surprising direction, so be sure to keep all hands clear.
ALWAYS be paying close attention to the machine. Keep close eye on the progress of the job. If the machine does something you did not expect, do not be afraid to stop the job, or worst-case hit the E-stop.
NEVER be more than an arms length away from the hand-held controller, or the E-stop button. In case the material is not properly secured on the work table, it may come loose and damage the tool, or potentially get launched off of the work table into the shop.
LISTEN to the machine. Often times you can hear when something on the machine will go wrong. If the tool is chattering, or the material is vibrating on the work table, it is highly likely something is going wrong. If the material is not properly secured to the spoil board, it can shift up and down, likely damaging or breaking the tool.
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