|
When you're engraving on your Wizzard, Wizzard II, Genie, or XL, do you have any of these symptoms?
- Your lettering start getting lighter or missing letters as you get to the edge of your plate?
- Do the strokes of your letters vary from letter to letter?
- Are you getting tails on your letters?
- Are you getting small dots on the bottom of your letters?
Most likely your problem is an improperly squared cutter. Wizzard spindles do not move straight up and down while engraving, but move instead in an arc rotation. The trick is to get the spindle arc at a 90 degree angle, or perpendicular to the engraving surface when the nosecone or diamond tip meets the engraving surface
SQUARING YOUR CUTTER/GRAVER TO THE ENGRAVING PLATE
Before starting the actual procedure, remove your plate holding jigs and make sure the area is clean between your jigs and the holders. Remount the jigs, and make sure the four screws which hold down your jigs are properly tightened.
There are two procedures for squaring you cutter box; one with using a diamond graver and the other is with a rotating spindle.
USING A DIAMOND GRAVER
Square your diamond graver to your work surface with the following procedure:
Create a simple 1'' x 3'' layout and enter only 1 or 2 letters.
- Press the COMPUTE, PAUSE, and START keys in sequence. The cutter box will start moving over the engraving area.
 
- Loosen the large black knob which holds the diamond graver in place, and raise the graver so that tip is at least an 1/2''or more above the work surface.
- Press the SHIFT + CUTTER DOWN keys to rotate the eccentric bar a 1/2 turn.
- Examine the gap on the side of the cutter box as shown in Illustration 1. The gap should be equal from the front to the back of the box. Adjust the gap by turning the white nylon Allen screw on the top of the cutter box with a 3/16'' hex wrench. Clockwise to raise the front of the spindle carrier or counter-clockwise to lower the front of the spindle box.
- WARNING: If a major adjustment was needed, your Y-axis will have changed on your Home position. In order for your engraving to be accurate again, you may have to reset you Home position and quite possibly your other Jig Settings. Most layouts that were saved will also have to redone.
- Press the CUTTER DOWN key to raise your diamond graver, and press the HOME key to send you cutter box back to the Mechanical HOME position.
SQUARING A ROTATING SPINDLE
Square your rotating spindle to your work surface with the following procedure:
- Create a simple 1'' x 3'' layout and enter only 1 or 2 letters.
- Press the COMPUTE, PAUSE, and START keys in sequence. The cutter box will start moving over the engraving area.
- Place the motor belt on the temporary position so there won't be any pressure on the spindle when squaring to the work surface. Loosen the large black knob which holds the spindle in place, and raise the spindle so that the nosecone is at least an 1/2''or more above the work surface.
- Press the SHIFT + CUTTER DOWN keys. This rotates the silver eccentric bar 1/2 turn.
- Examine the gap on the side of the cutter box as shown in Illustration 1. The gap should be equal from the front to the back of the box. The gap can be adjusted by turning the white nylon Allen screw on the top of the cutter box with a 3/16'' hex wrench. If adjustment is needed, turn the white nylon Allen screw clockwise to raise the front of the spindle carrier or counter-clockwise to lower the front of the spindle box.
- WARNING: If a major adjustment was needed, your Y-axis will have changed on your Home position. In order for your engraving to be accurate again, you may have to reset you Home position and quite possibly your other Jig Settings. Most layouts that were saved will also have to redone. Assuming that your cutters are all zeroed, set the spindle micrometer to the depth you will be using. Remove the cutter, or at least back it up where it will not protrude below the nose cone.
- Loosen the black knob and lower the spindle to the work surface. When the nosecone is resting on the engraving surface, retighten the black knob.
- Remount your motor belt back on the spindle.
Previous Method Used To Square the Cutter Box With A Rotating Spindle
The following method has been used by many engravers for many years. However it is not correct. Previously you square the spindle by the following method:
- Set the spindle micrometer to 0. Your cutter is installed in the spindle, and the tip is even with the nose cone.
- Square the spindle to the work surface (cutter box parallel to the work surface or the spindle perpendicular to the engraving surface).
- Turn the micrometer to set the cutter to the desired engraving depth.
The difference between these two methods is setting the cutter depth prior to squaring the spindle. While engraving 2-10 thousandths deep, you probably wouldn't notice the difference. However if you were engraving 30-40 thousandths deep, you could get tails on your letters, or incomplete or inconsistent depth letters. The nosecone has been raised 30-40 thousands above the square position. When it meets the engraving surface it will be at an angle.
These greater depths are most often used by rubber stamp and seal engravers, and engravers profiling, or cutting out materials.
OTHER TIPS/NOTES
- Nosecones that aren't square will rub or mark material surfaces.
- If your cutter is square, and you nosecone still rubs, remove the nose cone and make sure that it is seated properly inside the spindle body. A single piece of plastic between the body and the nosecone can cause nosecone rub.
- Make sure your material is level. Use a center support bar on those wider sized plates. Also don't over tighten the plate in the jigs - the plate will bow upwards. Use the B jig so the plate is more securely resting in the jigs. You might also want to use masking tape to secure the plate.
- Check the silver eccentric bar for slipping and sticking. Keep it lubricated.
- Unless absolutely necessary, make sure the down pressure lever is set to the lowest or 1 position. In most cases having to use excessive pressure on trophy aluminum is caused by not having the cutter square.
- The eccentric bar actually rotates an additional quarter turn when engraving, or the position after pressing only the CUTTER DOWN key.
- Thickness of plates affect this procedure. explain
CUTTER DOWN or SHIFT + CUTTER DOWN?
In the past many engravers have attempted to square their cutter with the Cutter Down option, versus the normal Shift Cutter Down. No matter how much pressure they used on the spring tension, their engraving was usually too light. The reason was that the CUTTER DOWN position of the eccentric bar is the lowest position, and cannot provide any downward pressure past this point. On all Wizzard's, pressing the Shift + Cutter Down will lower the spindle approximately 1/8 inch. When the keys are pressed together, the spindle will stay down until the Cutter Down key is pressed again.
Pressing the Cutter Down Key by itself will send the spindle down to the bottom of its fullest travel, or approximately 1/4 inch. On the Wizzard, Wizzard II, and early XL's the spindle will raise back to the top when the cutter down key is released. On the XL Plus, (2.40 software and later), the spindle will stay down when the Cutter Down key is released, and will stay at the bottom until the Cutter Down key is pressed again.
Although you normally square your cutter by Shift Cutter Down, some owners have found that using the Cutter Down is preferred in some circumstances. When using a felt tip pen, or burnishing without a Featherweight, the reduced pressure with the Cutter Down procedure is preferred. It prevents broken felt tips, and excessive pressure which dulls burnishing tools INSTANTLY.
The only drawback is that the cutter box has to be squared at the cutter down position, and then re-squared when switching back to normal diamond or rotary engraving. This drastic change can result in a change in the HOME position.
|
|
