Tramming a CNC Router Spindle

Tramming the CNC router spindle to try and get it to cut a little more "perfect"
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Link to tramming video where I learned how to do this:
• How to tram your CNC R...

[@fxsrider]

Well done!! That stuff takes a while... move one? it changes the rest of them. No matter how close you get it you can always chuck a larger diameter cutter and be at it again and again and again. It boils down to what we can tolerate in our projects. I carve wood and always remind myself I'm not milling a carburetor intake. Sandpaper sucks but it works in the end. I do try to keep my spindle reasonably perpendicular. The width of the two indicators seems practical. Go any wider and you'll be there for days....

[@MyRobertadams]

👍

[@willmeyers6765]

thanks glad to know I wasn't the only one struggling with it. I've been going at it for 3 hrs now

[@MyRobertadams]

Best of luck!

[@willmeyers6765]

@@MyRobertadams got it within .002 took 6 hrs :|

[@MyRobertadams]

@@willmeyers6765 Hey that’s great

[@Festivejelly]

You want one pivot bolt. So loosen the pivot bolt just a bit, then loosen the other 3 more. Once you've done your adjustments, tighten up the pivot bolt then gently tighten the other 3 doing a tiny bit on each one, one at a time.

[@K9Megahertz]

I think the easier way to do this with this device is to just zero one indicator in a particular spot on the left side, then spin the whole tramming tool 180 degrees and zero the other one as well. Might be hard if you cant look from behind the router, but a small mirror would fix that. Once you've done this you've basically calibrated both indicators. Swing the assembly back 180 degrees again and then adjust the tilt until both indicators read the same. Probably start with front to back first and then do left to right so that you can shim the spindle behind the mount if needed then you can adjust tilt without disturbing the shim anymore. (I'm under the impression everyone kinda already knows the order) I've not gone through this yet. My tram will be here in a few days, but I've seen this method used in other videos. I'll run through this with a few diagrams to prove to myself this works mathematically.

[@MyRobertadams]

Sounds like that would work, thanks.

[@TylerHarney]

Thank you so much for showing the ENTIRE process!

[@MyRobertadams]

Your welcome and thanks for watching!

[@chrisadesigns]

well done on tramming your cnc. very well explained and thanks for the link to my video. I am going to do an update on my video on other surfaces to use instead of glass for better results.

[@chrisadesigns]

MyRobertadams exactly right. glass can be a pain, I have a granite surface plate now and it makes life a lot easier. the other thing you can use is a ground parallel and do one axis at a time, obviously do the nod off the spindle with shims then rotate the parallel square it up then do the tilt left to right.

[@KorgBoy1]

Really liked this video. Thanks very much for teaching us.

[@mikecabe6127]

Good job Mr.Adams, it can be a real hassle trying to tram in the router head.

[@gpaddles3754]

Hi , I’m sorry your just correcting one one problem & not setting up the whole machine up. The way this is done , you get the table flat & horizontal first using a sprit level. Then make the long axis (X) level to the table , then level the cross axis (Y)level to the table & if you can make the long axis parallel to the slots . Then the last make the Z axis square to the table. So after all that you can set the spindle parallel to the Z axis by using this method ,but using a bent 90 degree bar & one clock only & make the bar as long as to can So using the largest amount of table possible.

[@mroc48]

Hi Robert - Great idea for the tramming adjustment. I'll do the same on my router!

[@mroc48]

..Also why did'nt you add locknuts to your adjustment screws - this would allow you to lock the screws in position so that vibration can't move them.

[@gurulbgurulb5779]

Thank sir

[@RoboArc]

I come back to this video like once a year 😂

[@MyRobertadams]

I'm glad you find it helpful and thanks for watching!

[@berendlucasvanderweide]

The problem with this method is that you rely on the parallel movement of the x carriage in relation to your bed. What you did in the first phase is creating a parallel movement of X travel in relation to the bed. (unless the X axis is known to be correct) You corrected the spindle accordingly. While it might serve your purpuse, (creating an even cut with a larger tool) geometry-wise you're introducing an error, if that makes sense.

[@LeBearCNC]

I know this comment is old, but what you say is not correct. It is not in relation to the bed, but to the X and Y axis. This is what properly trimming the glass first does. Then the verticality of the spindle is aligned as precisely as possible to X and Y plans. So, on the contrary to be a geometrical error, this method, does, in fact, correct an eventual problem with the bed being not perfectly aligned with X and Y plans. Surfacing the spoil board is what gives a proper working surface, INDEPENDENTLY of the bed.

[@berendlucasvanderweide]

@@LeBearCNC think about it again and imagine all the errors that can happen from x to the y to the z. And what if an axis is moving in a bow instead of a perfect linear motion

[@chrishayes5755]

@@berendlucasvanderweide if your axis is bowed that sounds like a very serious issue. much more than tramming a router.

[@berendlucasvanderweide]

​​​​​@@chrishayes5755 Any axis is bowed. Straight is near impossible. I have 0,02/meter measuring gear and some 0,002/50cm accurate gear. Perfect straight is less common than bowed. Aluminium profiles are not straight within 0,5mm over 1m most of the time. My larger machine is from steel, grinded and tempered, it's better (within 0,05mm over 1500mm of movement in x) but I'm using a reference rod in the spindle for adjusting the Z to the x/y. (Moving the z up and down to determine the offset in both x and y direction if that makes sense. If the x and y axis are moving perfect, then you can use the method mentioned here to tram the spindle.

[@jasonm2477]

this was really helpful thanks!

[@cnc-routers-uk]

wow. you made hard work of that :-) much easier to cut a fine stepover pocket as your reference surface. and always start with the z to rails side reference. i do this often for machine setup- its very fast. no need to shim glass etc which wastes a lot of time. i made a video of my result . the pro tram is a great piece of kit.

[@SKYZGARAGE]

This is a great video. what tool did you use to get that fly cut in the beginning of the video? Thanks

[@chrishayes5755]

from what I've read you're supposed to do the Y axis first

[@thebucketmouse]

So I think I'm at the end of the process with a tram tool like yours - on the x axis, both dial indicators agree they are 15 thou. Then I rotate the tram tool 90° to the y axis, and both dial indicators agree they are 20 thou. Is that ok that they don't both agree on the same single measurement all the way around?

[@MyRobertadams]

In a perfect world they would be the same but sometimes we have to settle for as good as we can get it.

[@msdesignru]

Good idea

[@chriscain2563]

This is very useful. Thank You

[@EasyFold007]

..and what if your top surface as it is is not perfectly flat and you are trying to tram something...

[@tollav]

@@MyRobertadams Glass is genius.... thanks

[@fierceflyer5]

Assuming the CNC is being used for woodworking I don’t see + or - .003-.006 would make a whole lot of difference. Sanding a part after removing it from the cnc can cause more than that. For aluminum I can see the need for the tolerance.

[@MyRobertadams]

Thank you for your comment. I do sometimes cut aluminum on this CNC which is why I was trying to get it as good as possible.

[@Mr_Wh1]

What do you do, if you need to level your CNC bed with your spindle, but the spindle needs tramming too?

[@bonarlibor3067]

.002" over 5 inches.... Not to bad I guess. Spoken like a true machinist 🤣😂

[@MyRobertadams]

Thanks

[@daboyakasha101]

instead of shimming the glass, you could have taken that aluminum from earlier, (or even mdf) faced it with very small step-overs so that all the peaks created by the existing spindle tram error would form a plane parallel to the plane you wish to reference in your tramming procedure. Then lay your smooth and parallel surface, in this case the glass (which i'm assuming you're using because the front and back are supposedly parallel) on top of the faced surface. This would eliminate all of this hassle with shimming you just went through.

[@lumpy2080]

I'm asking not hating on your instruction. If you level the glass and tram to it's surface....doesn't that make the tram to the table out of square? Wouldn't you just lay the glass flat on the work surface and tram it in to that? I'm currently building a CNC and trying to gather information....just wondering....again, I don't know so am just asking.

[@lumpy2080]

Caught the end of the video...resurfacing the fixture.....answers my question :-) Appreciate the video!

[@jamessherrill3454]

I bought one and unfortunately the indicators are worthless.

[@SystematicMechanic]

I got a question.. why use the calibration magnet when you can raise the tramming square and both dials will be 0?

[@MyRobertadams]

To be honest, I don't remember why I did what I did. But thanks for watching!

[@SystematicMechanic]

@@MyRobertadams I am doing the same thing right now on my CNC machine and works pretty good. Thx for the video.

[@MyRobertadams]

@@SystematicMechanic Thank you and best wishes!

[@MrPRECLIK]

And what about "squaring" your axis ? Try to do mill square and measure if both diagonals are same. Plus try to put right angle on your table and move your spindle up and down (with dial atached on spindle and pointing at right angle). When moving Z axis, point of your spindle should have same X and Y. I hope that you understand me

[@cnc_channel510]

For gantry squaring, most accurate way is to mill part along x axis, then flip it arround (mirror it), and run dial guage along milled surface. This way you will see double error. As gantry is not squared and part is not squared. So when you turn it arround, part is not squared in opposite direction as gantry is not. This way you can achieve great accuracy, and you also eliminate need of any special tool.

[@sebastiangregoroff3370]

CNC_channel Nice tip!

[@incubatork]

You need plenty of patience for that job, in the end you more or less got it, a blind man on a white horse at full gallop will never see the difference. I did notice that when you layed over the table the clocks both moved at different ammounts.

[@MyRobertadams]

Derek Greenhalgh Thanks for the comment

[@strujich]

самое интересное мили - плащь или топчик на стол.

[@foadsf]

I don't think all glasses are made perfectly. This could lead to axis misalignment I think.

[@cncrim1]

You are over complicated because first you need to to check the table itself is parallel to the table. If the table it self is warp what you need a nice rigid plate and milling it out done. The plate need stay there permanently for it stay parallel.

[@Egor_ZDE]

Молорик!)

[@khaled4282]

Love u

[@robertavery8897]

Robert .... don’t mean to be over critical, but I’ve trimmed in a lot of spindles and I think your making it overly complicated. You really only need one indicator and a right angle arm. You should be leaving the plate on the table and rotating the spindle and moving the head and y Axis to zero everything out. Maybe you’ve discovered a new way. Good luck. Later.

[@Antonio-Bari]

Correct

[@Zebra66]

Sometimes it's good to figure it out yourself before making a video. You can delete the first 23 minutes of you peeing in the dark and just show the helpful part...

[@MyRobertadams]

True, but some people like seing the process including mistakes.