How to square a Root CNC

Hopefully this post will help on you out and explain how I got my machine running square.

1- make sure your base board has at least two perpendicular edges to it. (Highly likely if you got the sheet wood cut by a vertical circular saw, like they use in B&Q). I used my front and left edge to do this but will work as long as you have two perpendicular edges.

Here you can see the front edge of my base board is straight;

So too is the left edge of the base board;Baseboard Straight edge

Now we know we have two edges we can measure along, now we need to know if they are perpendicular to one another.

At this point, we know we have two edges we can measure against.

Bigger square is better in this case 😉 (I already know mine is square)

2- Ensure the Y axis runs in parallel to one another as well as the square left edge we checked in step one.

For me I measured my left Y axis rail against the left side of the baseboard to ensure it is parallel to the edge, this can be done with a simple ruler. Ensure the front and rear are equal, for my build this was 69mm

 

3- Ensure the right side of the Y axis is parallel to the left side, I used a tape measure for this to get the front and rear equal to each other.

I am measuring the distance between the two 3D printed rail mounts to ensure the front and rear of theses rails are running in parallel.

For my machine I can tell theses two rails are parallel as the front and rear measurements are equal – ensure your machine is equal to.

4- Check the gantry is perpendicular to the two parallel rails. I used a digital caliper for this but a normal ruler would work.

I used an end mill for an example, but for better results please use a round bar in the collet to take better results with the calliper.

 

With the machine power on and the motors enabled take a measurement front the endmill/ round bar to the edge of the base board and set your callipers to zero.

Move the Z carriage to the other side and take the measurement again and note the difference. (keep the motors enabled)

For my machine the difference was zero as I have already squared my machine but if you machine isn’t running square then the value will show you how far out you are and what direction you are off by.

If you machine isn’t square then proceed to step 5.

5- Squaring the gantry

If you machine isn’t running square you need to rotate one of the pulleys on the connecting rod. Its doesnt matter which side you rotate but only rotate one at time and retake your measurements from step 4. Its trial and error but after a little while you will have your machine running true 🙂

Hope that helps and if you have any questions let me know. 🙂