Crossfire Pro Limit Switch Kit Installation Guide and Homing Setup

[@danbrown4205]

Hi. I thanks for the video. I think the difference between homing and zeroing the work axis has two different purposes. Homing is an absolute position for the gantries in the table and are referenced to the table. Zeroing the work axis is related to your work piece and gives you a zero reference to where your cut is related to. If you always place your metal so that it is positioned related to machine home, then the homing makes sense. However, that is not very practical. You will most likely place your metal anywhere in the table, or have a piece of scrap where you will most likely start your cut somewhere on the sheet where there is enough metal to make your part(s). This is where zeroing the work axis allows you to give you a zero point relative to your work piece. Hope that makes sense.

[@galtsgarage5775]

It does, I just had to get my head around the Home button actually being a Hom"ing" button and not a return to work zero type button.

[@jamescole3152]

Yes that makes sense. But zeroing the work axis to give you a zero point relative to your work piece, makes the machine forget where the limit switch home is.

[@danbrown4205]

@@jamescole3152 True, but isn’t that the purpose of a limit switch? So that the machine does not have to remember it’s home position is? It’s a mechanical device that marks end of travel that should prevent over travel. Sure you could use it to return to an absolute home, but you could do that without a limit switch through software (similar to how you would set home relative to a work piece located anywhere on the table).

[@galtsgarage5775]

@@jamescole3152 After using this for a couple months I don't think it forgets your machine home I just think the button to home is the same button as setting home. It should never change unless something gets knocked out of alignment somehow.

[@goofypettiger]

Outstanding! Thank you for sharing this. I am about to order a Crossfire but wanted to first seem some real-world use of it. I was leaning towards adding the limit switch option. I found this video extremely useful!

[@galtsgarage5775]

The limit switch has made the table much easier to use, definitely worth it!

[@MrTruckTube]

Thank you. Helped me tremendously. Now to learn how to program a cut.

[@817Ls]

Thank you for this. Especially when showing your mistakes

[@123gonow]

Thanks for posting this video ! I just bought a pro and this is going to help me add this before final assembly !

[@Wachuko-1]

Thank you for the video! Very helpful as I get ready to receive my table. Stuff has been arriving box by box...I got the limit switches, holder, XL kit, water table, plasma cutter...🤣 Now just waiting for the actual machine to arrive, hopefully, sometime next week...

[@galtsgarage5775]

Remember when you are assembling your table there are two really critical things to get right. First make sure the water table has a water tight seal where the two halves meet (you can just squirt a bead of silicone in there before you bolt them together that usually works), second and most importantly make sure you square the whole table up as perfect as you can get it or you will have binding issues with the travel on your X and Y axis' and your circles will look like ovals and your rectangles will look like trapezoids. It has to be pretty far out of whack for that to happen but taking the time to square it really well on assembly is worth every minute it takes! I hope you enjoy your table as much as I have enjoyed mine! If you aren't familiar with CAD/CAM just be patient, it took me roughly 3 months to be really comfortable with it.

[@Wachuko-1]

@@galtsgarage5775 you have the Pro. I got the Crossfire XL. It is just one tray in my case. But everything else applies to this newbie. I will pay close attention to making sure everything is squared. I know how to spell CAD/CAM but very little experience with it... Everything will be fun the first few weeks/months of me starting to do this... 😆 Thank you again for taking the time to make these videos.

[@vincentdepalo8126]

Thanks for the video. Got my switch on the way.

[@philliprickman1394]

Thanks for the video. I have just installed my limit switches, and encountered some of the same issues you did. It's unfortunate they didn't make the cables long enough to route neatly. I am brand new, I haven't cut the first piece of metal yet, but I have done some dry runs. One thing I noticed, is that when I load a cut-ready program, the home is usually on the front left corner. After configuring my limits, the first program I tried to run gave me an error saying it was too large for the cut area. Still got lots to learn.

[@galtsgarage5775]

That's an easy fix, it will become second nature eventually. When you get that error all you have to do is change the origin point of the cut. If your program is running from one of the top corners and your home is bottom left it will see there isn't enough space but if you change your origin point to the top left it will clear the error and you'll be ready to go. There is a "change origin" button left hand side towards the top right near "go to work zero".

[@johnnytejeda1412]

Thanks for the video, I hope this helps with my OG crossfire which I extended to be almost the size of a pro. Seems like sometimes it crashes thinking it's at its limits. I like that it allows you to set the table size.

[@CraigHollabaugh]

I have a XPro as well, haven't installed my kit. How do you see your workflow changing? Particularly because you can't really fixture the table for stock placement? Thanks for the video. FYI, you couldn't jog your machine after setting the soft limits because at that moment your machine position was outside your soft limit. Another thing, if you want to learn about work and machine coordinate systems, look up "CNC work offsets". Your XPro runs CNC controller called GRBL using the G54 work offset.

[@galtsgarage5775]

I think there is a way to fixture the table, I just haven't gotten to it yet but I intend to. When I do I'll definitely put up a video for it. I think a channel called Becks Armory has a video where he makes a fixture for stock placement. I have found that it really only keeps the table from hard stops. You have to home the table every time you restart the table or Fire Control (not sure which one or if it's both). For me it doesn't negatively affect my workflow because everything I do is for fun just helping out friends or family. I want to turn it into a small side business but I'm still getting my shop up to speed so when I do I'm ready to go with no hangups and a known skill set to work within. I do like the limit switch kit, I just wish the table would remember home from day to day.

[@CraigHollabaugh]

@@galtsgarage5775 I've worked on several different CNC machines, mills/lathes/etc. Majority require homing at start up. Checking out Becks Armory now, thanks and may your torch height always cut true.

[@rayleblanc7209]

You should have your wires in a chain belt on the X and Y axis. Over time those dangling wires will rub through or get caught in the middle of a job.

[@galtsgarage5775]

A wire chain would be a nice addition for sure!

[@jamescole3152]

Excellent. OK what it really seems to me is a modification is needed. The limit switch should be a limit switch. Not a home setting switch which is what it is. But it will work this way, just not the way I would want it to. Not sure what the voltage is of the motors that move the torch. Ideally you would want a limit switch that keeps you from running into the sides or a hard stop. And you would want these limit switches on both sides, so you would need 4 of them. What you showed me is I don't really need this "homing" limit switch. Because when you zero the axis for a workpiece it forgets where the limit switch home is.

[@galtsgarage5775]

Yes and no, the limit switches are limit switches for one side of each axis and it sets soft limits for the other sides automatically based on where the limit switches trip. I don't think it actually forgets where the limit home is, but the only button to go there is the same button that sets it. It took me a little while using it to get my head around all of it and the video was put together before I had much time on it. I would highly recommend it, it's cheap and it does work really well!

[@philliprickman1394]

@@galtsgarage5775 I just watched your video and am trying to understand exactly what's going on. Am I correct in assuming the work space is set when you put a sheet of metal on the table? Since you wouldn't necessarily align the metal at the far left corner of the table.

[@galtsgarage5775]

@@philliprickman1394 The workspace will be set when you calibrate the limit switches for the soft limits. The table will always use those workspace limits as the baseline when you home the table and set work zero.

[@jonbozzy9600]

Thanks for the video. It helps a lot

[@fabricator3dprinting440]

Can you tell me what does the red wire connect to when it merges into the yellow and green. 3 wires in and only 2 out. Thanks

[@galtsgarage5775]

The red wire is a ground, doesn't appear to go anywhere. It's probably something that's already grounded internally and they just didn't want an exposed pin.

[@ErnestCruz-q8c]

How thin does the crossfire cut?

[@galtsgarage5775]

Do you mean how wide is the cut or how thin of a piece of metal can it cut? Both depend on the plasma cutter you have hooked up to your table and the type of nozzle you are using. I have a Primeweld Cut60 hooked up to my table and it will cut any thickness of steel from just over 5/8" thick down to 20 gauge with no problems. The width of the cut depends on the type of nozzle tip you are using, I use 1.1mm nozzles and they give me a cut width (cut width is called the "kerf") of .062". I can use nozzles down to .6mm but the smaller the nozzle the less amperage you can cut with which means thinner metal cutting. The 1.1mm nozzle you can cut with 60 amps so I can cut maximum thickness. I think the .6mm nozzle can only be used up to 20 amps which would get you through maybe 16 gauge if you ran a slow enough speed and pierce delay.

[@jesse8435]

What's the difference between home and machine?

[@galtsgarage5775]

The two tabs are "Work" "Machine", you can home either one. The difference is when you have the "Machine" tab selected and you hit "home" and confirm it the table will run the x and y axis to the top left corner of the table and set your zero or "home" to that furthest point where it engages the limit switches. On the "Work" tab you move your gantry around over your material until you find the point you want to use as your "home" for that particular cut and click the "zero all work axes" button, you are setting the home for that particular cut not for the machine. It's a bit confusing to read and write it but when you use them a couple of times it becomes clear. "Machine" tab then "home" will home the table to the limit switches, "Work" tab and "zero all work axes" will set home wherever you have your gantry sitting at the time in the work field and hitting home after that in the "Work" tab will bring the gantry from wherever it is on your table to wherever it was when you last hit the "zero all work axes". I hope this helps, I know how confusing it can be but it will be second nature after using it for just a short while.

[@jesse8435]

@galtsgarage5775 I really does help, but I hit my limit switch and now an error popped up saying that I hit the limit switch and won't let me move it now. What should I do?

[@galtsgarage5775]

@@jesse8435 When you hit the limit switch OR it anticipates your new cut pattern will exceed the limit switch parameters it will throw an error, all you have to do is close the error and either set a new "zero all work axis" that will fit the new cut OR "home" the machine in the machine tab and it should be good.