The bit will descend until it touches the top of the touch plate. Jog the bit down the Z-axis to within the Probe Distance you chose. Attach the alligator clip to the router bit. Place the touch plate flat on the surface of the workpiece. Until you are comfortable using the probe, you may wish to use a piece of scrap material of a known thickness beneath the router bit. Make sure your machine has been homed, your workpiece is securely fastened in place and that it has been zeroed in the X and Y axes. NOTE: the value must be negative to drive the bit down the Z-axis.Īfter these values have been entered, you are ready to Initiate the Probe. As a best practice, keep that distance relatively short and manually jog your Z-axis down within that range of the surface of the touch plate. The Probe Distance is the maximum distance you want the probe to travel before it encounters the touch plate. In this example, the thickness is 19.23mm. (The values shown below will work well).Ĭlick on the Z button and enter the thickness of the touch plate you are using. Keep the Slow Measure Rate at 100mm per minute or less to ensure accuracy. The bit will retract the distance you choose in the Retract Amount and descend a second time to register the surface. The Fast Find Rate refers to how quickly you want the bit to initially descend to the touch the plate we chose 250mm/minute. Ignore the Endmill Diameter, it is only used for an X, Y touch plate. With the Probe Module open, choose the Units of measurement you prefer (inches or mm). NOTE: the values must be in the same units as your jog controller to work correctly. Here you will enter the parameters of the touch plate. Under the Window tab select Plugins and then Probe Module. Step Three Slide the three-pin connector onto the GND Pin and SCL Pin as shown.Īfter the touch plate is connected to the controller, open UGS. Step two Slide the female ends into a DuPont three-pin block leaving the middle connector slot empty as shown. Step One Strip ¼” of insulation from both wires and crimp a DuPont female pin connector on to each one as shown. To create a touch plate, we purchased an inexpensive kit online, shown below. The GRBL firmware on the microprocessor sets the bit at Z0 on a workpiece. When a touch plate is activated, the router bit descends on the Z-axis and contacts the touch plate completing the circuit and a 5v pulse is sent to the controller. At the other end of the wire, one side is connected to a touch plate and the other to an alligator clip which allows it to be attached to the router bit. One side of the circuit is wired to the GND pin on the Arduino controller shield, and the other side is wired to the SCL pin. A touch plate is a simple electrical switch.