PART 2: How to Run a Job on Carvey Using gSender

To begin this process, students must have three things prepared: 1.) stock material (XPS or HDU foam), 2.) a laptop with gSender installed and with USB compatibility, and 3.) the .nc file from Part 1 saved on that laptop.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

All first-timers MUST follow the following procedure with a staff member or qualified student worker in order to be trained on the machine. It is the student's responsibility to alert a staff member to obtain this training.
For ALL Carvey jobs, it is the student's responsibility to alert a staff member or qualified worker to 1.) double check CAM programming and setup before cutting and 2.) be present at the start of the cut.

1. Stock Setup

Stock can be held down with either double-stick tape or reusable, screw-in, hold-down shims which are stored in the Carvey toolkit.

In any case, make sure the bed is clean and that the piece is held down squarely and firmly.

Pictured below: stock (XPS foam), double-stick tape, and wrenches to tighten tool into spindle.

6_stock_setup

You can use the grid lines on the bed to ensure that your piece is oriented properly (square) on the machine. (see below)

4_stock_loaded

2. Loading A Tool

Select the correct sized collet for the diameter of the tool you will use.

2_collet

Make sure to load the tool to the correct length (no shorter than the "tool length" you set when programming your file).

3_load_tool

Then use the two wrenches from the Carvey toolbox to secure the tool in the spindle.

3. Connecting to Carvey

Plug the USB cord into your laptop and turn the machine on.

Open gSender. In the top left corner of the screen, click the dropdown box that says "Connect to Machine" and select the device (there should only be one to choose from).

If you have difficulty connecting to the machine, alert a staff member and we can help you troubleshoot.

1_gsender_open

4. Unlock Machine

Carvey is only operational when the door of the machine is fully closed. Every time the door is opened, you must re-establish connection between Carvey the machine and gSender, the driver or "remote control" system that operates it.

To do this, with the door closed, first press the blue button on Carvey (pictured below)

5_stock_loaded_blue_button

Next, unlock the machine controls in gSender by clicking the brown unlock button near the upper left corner of the screen. When connection is established and gSender is unlocked, you can then jog, set zero, navigate to zero, and run jobs.

2_connect_and_unlock

5. Setting X, Y, and Z zero

Using your computer keyboard (and the shortcuts you set up from the gSender Configuration Best Practices guide), navigate the tool to where you want the origin of your part to start.

Remember: this is where the WORK ZERO coordinates system was placed in Step 3 of Part 1 (Southwest, Highest Z).

When jogging, be careful not to plunge the tool into your stock!

7_set_part_zero

The red rectangle indicates where our part will fit within our (intentionally slightly oversized) stock material.

Note that we are zeroing the tool at a location set into the stock a bit and not at the exact corner of the foam. This is because we will trim out the object on the band saw later to give it cleaner edges.

Always double check your stock and object measurements to ensure that you are placing the origin of your part appropriately, so your object fits within your stock on all sides.

When you are satisfied with the location of your tool/part origin, click "Zero X," "Zero Y," and "Zero Z" (or "Zero All") to set this location as zero.

3_stock_location_set_zeroes

6. Load File

Click "Load File" at the lower left corner of the window and select the gcode (.nc file) you posted from FreeMILL

4_load_file

7. Start Job

Double check that the toolpaths that appear in gSender's 3D preview window look like the toolpaths that were generated in FreeMILL and that they start at X, Y, Z zero.

Then click "Start Job"!

5_start_job