Snapmaker Artisan Repeatable Origin Fixture (Work In Progress)

IMPORTANT: This thing is not yet fully ready for use. I do not recommend printing this yet. I haven’t even printed it yet. There is a bunch of development and testing I need to do first.

This is based off of some ideas from https://forum.snapmaker.com/t/cnc-repeatable-origin-guide/23596

The idea is, I want a particular point I can zero the work origin to so that each time I add a new piece of stock, and/or change tools, I can zero it on that same spot and let the work just continue because the stock will be a located at a particular relative X, Y, and Z offset from this work origin point.

I have to admit I haven’t done much with the CNC on the Snapmaker Artisan because this whole process of CAM and finding a repeatable proper work origin has been daunting to me, so I aim to use this fixture and document a clear process on how to set up CAM in Fusion 360 so that tool changes and job set-ups are less confusing.

The rails are a set width so this gives a particular X and Y offset from the point of zero-ing to the inner corner of the rails. Furthermore, this fixture has a housing for a Z-offset probe, which will be something like this: https://a.co/d/00zYvFYx which can be used either with a multi-meter as in the Snapmaker Forum post, or possibly some other noise maker to help dial in the Z-axis.

The possible work flow (which I haven’t solidified yet) is to import the component (hence attaching the F3D file), model the stock and joint it to the fixture appropriately, and put the design within the modeled stock (giving it a little space from the rails so you don’t chew into them). Then when setting up manufacturing, set the WCS origin to the Z point (it’s an explicit point in the design), and set up the rest of the job as usual. You can probably also accomplish something similar without importing the design by just using the known X/Y/Z offsets which are printed on the probe housing.

Then when actually setting up the stock on the machine bed, you seat the stock fully against the rails, and jog the tip of the tool to the point where the probe beeps and set the work origin there. From there you can run the piece, and if it’s a single tool job, you can repeat the job several times without having to set work origin each time. If it’s a multi-tool job, then between processes, you just need to set the Z axis work origin using the probe again, which will account for any changes to the tool height during changes, and then continue with the next processing step.

Almost everything here is parameterized to fit the particular probe housing you have and the XY, and Z offsets you want. This is designed to be attached with M4 bolts at the (50,50) coordinate point on the Artisan spoil board but I’m sure you can mess around with different attachment points to maximize the amount of bed space if you use a different spoil board on top.

Once I figure out how to repeatably use this, I will attempt to make a video documenting the process as clearly as possible. For now this is still very much a WIP.

—— I created a simple buzzer for this which I’ve tested and it seems to work well with the CNC probe I’m using: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7305460

Category: Hobby