Retrofit router lighting?

[Keith Weber]

but I don't understand what you're trying to see (or what practical value it has once you DO see it) with these lights on a CNC.

Roy, I don't have a CNC router, but I do do a lot of machining on a Bridgeport mill, which has a similar function. One thing I could see it being useful is the initial zeroing of the Z-axis (vertical). Say you want to make a cut 0.050 deep from the surface of your work piece. You first need to know where that surface is, so you lower the bit until it just makes contact with the work piece. A good light would allow you to see when you're there, and didn't go too deep (bit is pressing into the work piece) or not deep enough (air gap below bit). Anytime you change a router bit, you lose your Z-axis reference and need to reset it.

Also, not overly important if you were cutting a piece from a large, blank sheet, but if you were making a cut on a work piece that's already had a bunch of work done on it already, then you'd want to zero your X and Y axes on a particular point so the cut doesn't come out shifted from where you want it. Again, lots of light under the router would make this job a lot easier.

[Roy Harding]

Roy, I don't have a CNC router, but I do do a lot of machining on a Bridgeport mill, which has a similar function. One thing I could see it being useful is the initial zeroing of the Z-axis (vertical). Say you want to make a cut 0.050 deep from the surface of your work piece. You first need to know where that surface is, so you lower the bit until it just makes contact with the work piece. A good light would allow you to see when you're there, and didn't go too deep (bit is pressing into the work piece) or not deep enough (air gap below bit). Anytime you change a router bit, you lose your Z-axis reference and need to reset it.

Also, not overly important if you were cutting a piece from a large, blank sheet, but if you were making a cut on a work piece that's already had a bunch of work done on it already, then you'd want to zero your X and Y axes on a particular point so the cut doesn't come out shifted from where you want it. Again, lots of light under the router would make this job a lot easier.

Good point on zeroing X,Y axis - I usually leave tool path X,Y 0 at the lower left corner of my table (physical X,Y 0 if you will). But - if one has a need to move X,Y 0 around the table, then THAT is something I can see the light being useful for. All the machines I've used (including a large commercial one in a cabinet factory) have used a Z Zeroing plate of some kind - so again I don't need to see precisely where the bit is.

Thanks - when I made my first post to this thread I figured I was missing something, and I was right.

[Bruce Page]

From a practical standpoint the light helps me better see the chip load as it is being cut so I can make speed/feed adjustments on the fly.
I have a laser pointer for locating X&Y position and a touch plate for Z zeroing.

From a impractical standpoint, I like to watch it cut.