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This is going to be a bit of a long post! For most cabinet type work, this level of tramming is not really necessary. But for two sided work, like stool legs, where you are cutting 2.5" off the table but your index holes are in the spoil board, it makes a HUGE difference to your finished product to be perfectly trammed (the two sided cuts will actually line up with each other!).
I've been asked by many people how to tram the spindle, so here is a picture of the device I use. (this is a new device since I couldn't fine the bent 1/4" rod I normally use). It does not have to be perfect, or even straight. It just has to fit in your collet at one end, and extend out and bend down to the spoil board. The longer it extends out from the spindle, the more accurate you can be. But there is a point of diminishing returns - I find 10-12" is more than long enough.
Just got a new CR 308 machine from Gary and one of the first things I did was place a spoil board and surface it so I could tram the spindle.
Lower your spindle until the end of the tramming rod barely touches the spoil board and then spin it in a complete circle. It should barely touch the spoil board all the way around. In the picture, you can see that my spoil board surfacing bit left angled cuts, and my tramming rod was out 3/16" along the X axis and 1/16" along the Y axis.
The next step is to figure out what needs to be adjusted. I like to tram along the Y axis first. I first checked the rails on the gantry to make sure that they were square to the spoil board - using a long machinist square set on the spoil board and touching both rails - they should both touch the square at the same time. There was a gap between the lower rail and the square when the top rail was touching the square, so I had to shim the between the lower bearing blocks and the plate so that the Z rails would be perpendicular to the spoil board. If the z rails aren't perpendicular, your bit will change position in the X or Y axis as it moves up and down, even if the spindle itself is perfectly orthogonal to the spoil board.
Once I had that shimmed, I then checked my Z rails to be sure they were perpendicular in both directions. If they are off in the X direction, you will need to twist the plate that is mounted on the X rails (the plate I just shimmed).
I was still off with my tramming rod, so now I had to adjust the angle of the spindle mount itself. To do this, I had to remove the spindle and ream out the holes in the mounting bracket so that I had a little play to twist the spindle in the bracket. This got me perfectly trammed in the X direction, and then I shimmed the spindle mount to get perfectly trammed in the Y direction.
Once I was all trammed, I had to readjust all my tool changer positions in the SPOS.POS file, because I had moved the spindle enough to affect tool changes.
Its smart to get your machine trammed and the gantry squared BEFORE putting any jigs or index holes in your spoil board, because their position will change relative to the home position once you make the necessary adjustments.
I've been asked by many people how to tram the spindle, so here is a picture of the device I use. (this is a new device since I couldn't fine the bent 1/4" rod I normally use). It does not have to be perfect, or even straight. It just has to fit in your collet at one end, and extend out and bend down to the spoil board. The longer it extends out from the spindle, the more accurate you can be. But there is a point of diminishing returns - I find 10-12" is more than long enough.
Just got a new CR 308 machine from Gary and one of the first things I did was place a spoil board and surface it so I could tram the spindle.
Lower your spindle until the end of the tramming rod barely touches the spoil board and then spin it in a complete circle. It should barely touch the spoil board all the way around. In the picture, you can see that my spoil board surfacing bit left angled cuts, and my tramming rod was out 3/16" along the X axis and 1/16" along the Y axis.
The next step is to figure out what needs to be adjusted. I like to tram along the Y axis first. I first checked the rails on the gantry to make sure that they were square to the spoil board - using a long machinist square set on the spoil board and touching both rails - they should both touch the square at the same time. There was a gap between the lower rail and the square when the top rail was touching the square, so I had to shim the between the lower bearing blocks and the plate so that the Z rails would be perpendicular to the spoil board. If the z rails aren't perpendicular, your bit will change position in the X or Y axis as it moves up and down, even if the spindle itself is perfectly orthogonal to the spoil board.
Once I had that shimmed, I then checked my Z rails to be sure they were perpendicular in both directions. If they are off in the X direction, you will need to twist the plate that is mounted on the X rails (the plate I just shimmed).
I was still off with my tramming rod, so now I had to adjust the angle of the spindle mount itself. To do this, I had to remove the spindle and ream out the holes in the mounting bracket so that I had a little play to twist the spindle in the bracket. This got me perfectly trammed in the X direction, and then I shimmed the spindle mount to get perfectly trammed in the Y direction.
Once I was all trammed, I had to readjust all my tool changer positions in the SPOS.POS file, because I had moved the spindle enough to affect tool changes.
Its smart to get your machine trammed and the gantry squared BEFORE putting any jigs or index holes in your spoil board, because their position will change relative to the home position once you make the necessary adjustments.
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