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Have you tought about how to zero the x and y axis ?
The Silca Unocode uses an electrical contact between the key blade and the cutter wheel to zero the depth.

You might be able to use something similar on your device. Get the key blank to move in the y direction toward the cutter so that it contacts the cutter at about halfway the lenght of the key blank , untill you get electrical contact (depth zero point) and then withdraw it about 0.1mm , and move the key in the x direction untill the shoulder touches the cutter (Spacing zero point).

Then cut the key to the specified bitting.

* hope that makes sense*

If i remember right, my FB has a lot of runout on the cutting wheel so i will have to spin it round by hand till the "high Point" is aligned with the key, whatever method is used to calibrate it.

What i was going to do was have a simple calibration routine that the user can run... basically flip the alignment arm up on the key vise and align the cutter in X. Then clamp a strip of metal in the key vise that is a know width and calibrate Y.

The machine will then know these coordinates relative to its home position and should be able to cut accurately after its done.

I have been having a think about how to get an Autodecode function working and your conductivity idea may work well for that.... but a Key gauge is pretty quick on its own!

Theres still a long way to go yet. Ive just about finished the mechanical design, i just have to keep asking myself.... can someone do this with limited tools in their shop or can it be made on a 3D printer? its too tempting to make it elaborate and do things the way a machinist would!

Wow - this looks like a great project! Check my post under "Home brew code cutter" for some tips on how to hold the keys. You might find some of the other features handy as well!

Thanks for the link! I bought a set of HPC 4 way jaws and they are ... ok.... so i hope your solution will work better. I have everything i need now, its just a case of finishing up a couple of other projects first.

Looking at it further, i think i will be using Werewolf's suggestion of conductivity to reference the blank. if you zero in on the shoulder and twice along the blade, it would be possible to alter the cuts and adjust them slightly if the blank is being held perfectly parallel.

It always takes longer than you want it to!!!

Impressive. Can't wait to see this come together!

Very nice project. If you are going to go to this much trouble for a code cutting key machine, why not go a little further add the capability of cloning key blanks? (ala Easy-Entrie clone). Or, make it convertible into this type of machine.. The cost of your materials may be cheaper than a full code-cutting machine, but a Foley-Belsaw and a few sets of depth+space keys costs much less and gets the job done. However even a Chinese clone of the Keyway King is a couple thousand, affordable key blank duplication isn't a solved problem yet. Just some food for though.